Steering Wheel Refurb - DIY

[maupineda]

This won’t be an actual DIY, rather to document that I will give it a go and redye my steering wheel, which is in good condition except for one area where I screwed it by using a magic eraser. This is at the 4-5 o clock on the wheel.

This the area I rubbed color off



The wheel is now masked for:

Cleaning
Sanding
Cleaning
Painting
Clear coating

[nineelevensouthATL]

Look forward to seeing the progress

[BearDeXPS]

OP - think the juice will be worth the squeeze?

[tlow98]

Z4m wheel?

[maupineda]

I was behind with getting all materials I need.

i was overthinking much what kit to use. I was between “magic mender” and “leather repair company” dyes. I chose the former as they sell a cross linker which I understand helps with binding and durability.

i had to buy what I needed separately as the materials I want are not in one kit

Prep solution
dye
clear coat (matte)
cross linker

https://www.leatherrepairkits.com

and I will use this to spray it on (don’t trust myself with the foam methods)

https://preval.com/diy-pro-products/preval-sprayer/

My wheel was actually a 9 but I was too aggressive cleaning and screwed it. So I don’t have to sand it.

[maupineda]

I have cleaned the wheel using the following method

So far...
0. mask all the areas you don't want to dye on, I used my finger nail to get the tape in all spaces between the switches and rim. my wheel trims are new, and do not want to screw them. Since I want to preserve the tri-color stitching, I will be masking this as best as I can.



1. used dish washer and sponge to agitate all dirt and dried with paper towel
2. Using isopropyl alcohol I wiped the wheel, this will removed a bit of dye, as the paper gets black, however, if cleaned again with dish washer and dry, nothing comes off.
3 I repeat the two steps above twice

Next...
4. clean the wheel with the prep solution, which is a water based solvent, this is coming from magic mender.

reserved for pictures

5. mix dye with the crosslinker, one crosslinker bottle is good for 5oz of paint, so I will only use half of it with half the paint. the other half will be for the top coat.

reserved for pictures

6. spray on thin coats, I plan on doing 2-3 coats, and use a hair drier between layers to expedite the process.

reserved for pictures

7. mix top coat with the crosslinker, here I will rinse the container and clear the sprayer, I may juts get another sprayer to avoid screwing things up.

reserved for photos

8. spray on thin coats

reserved for pictures

[maupineda]

This is how the wheel came up. it is not perfect, but better. I think the two main things I would have liked to be different are the color, a bit "blacker" than OE, and the shin, I should have selected matt.





And a few close ups





I am not sure I will leave it as is, since I want a 9/10 status for most things, and these wheel are still available, i may end up buying a new wheel, so this will be up for sale for anyone that is interested.
BTW, the switch trims are new, so the wheel as is is very nice, just not perfect.

These wheels fit E46, but you would need the cruise control stalk to retain that feature as the Z4M wheel doesn't have the CC button on it.

[Maxima SE]

I think it came out great. Props for attempting this project. I needed a new wheel for the Z4 as well and I finally sucked it up and spent the $1100 for a new one before they go NLA or even more insane in pricing

[maupineda]

I think it came out great. Props for attempting this project. I needed a new wheel for the Z4 as well and I finally sucked it up and spent the $1100 for a new one before they go NLA or even more insane in pricing

Same boat here, just threw 1250 on a new one, prices increased recently by 7-8%. I will sell mine and recoup some of the cost. I may just hang to the refurbed one as they will be more and more rare and expensive.