DFB5.0
Well-Known Member
- Thread starter
- #1
Hands On The Wheel – Cleaning Your Steering Wheel
I like a clean steering wheel! However, keeping a steering wheel perfectly clean is a never ending battle.
Pretty much anything we get or put on our hands will end up on the steering wheel. The most obvious contamination factor would be the natural oils that the body produces to keep our skin hydrated. But there are multiple other factors that contribute to a dirty steering wheel..................
- Hand sanitizer
- Soap residues
- Moisturizers
- Makeup (yes, this is a thing)
- Food and beverage residue (especially greasy food)
- Dirt and grease
- Nicotine residue
- Sweat
So, the steering wheel of your car can be subjected to quite a lot! In fact, you don’t know just how dirty your steering wheel is until you start to clean it. But why should we even care about this? Because the substances mentioned above will degrade the material over time, be that leather, plastic or Alcantara. In some instances, it can be a health hazard too. And most importantly for me, a dirty steering wheel is unsightly and feel gross to handle.
Steering Wheel Material’s and How to Clean Them
There are three main types of steering wheel; plastic, leather and Alcantara, or a combination of those materials…………………and no, those revolting lambs wool steering wheel covers will NOT be counted here. The following is how to take a neglected wheel back to a clean state, then how to maintain it.
Plastic Steering Wheels –
Plastic is probably not the official term for these wheels, but what I'm referencing here is a wheel that is not wrapped with a textile such as leather, suede or Alcantara. Typically found on base models, they seem to be less and less common. While they are seemingly cheap and nasty, a plastic steering wheel is the easiest to deal with.
Deep Cleaning –
1. For this job, I like to use one of those Scrub Ninja pads and a dedicated interior cleaner.
2. Apply the product to the scrub pad (or brush) and agitate until the product lathers up. Wipe clean with a towel.
3. Inspect and repeat if necessary.
4. Apply an interior protectant (optional)
Maintenance –
From here, after each wash simply wipe down the wheel with your interior detailer or rinse-less wash of choice.
Key Tools and Products –
- Interior Cleaner (KCx Pol Star, P&S Xpress, Carpro Inside)
- Brush or Scrub Pad
- Interior Protectant (Optional) (303 Protectant, KCx Top Star, Carpro Perl)
- Interior Detailer or rinse-less wash (Maintenance) (Carpro InnerQD, KCx ASC, ONR, Absolute)
- Interior Towels
Alcantara & Suede Materials –
Traditionally, these materials were used on race cars to provide a more secure grip with gloved hands. However, they have become increasingly popular over the last decade, and personally, I’m not a fan. Alcantara is a trademarked name that car companies need pay to use, so certain car companies may get around that by calling it suede, micro-suede, Race-Tex ect. Treatment is the same though. While the material is tougher than you’d think, cleaning Alcantara isn’t a quick process and requires patience and a specific technique.
Deep Cleaning -
The key with any fabric cleaning is not necessarily the product used, but removing the product afterwards. Compared to leather, you can’t simply wipe away the chemical residue.
1. For Alcantara, you will need a medium stiffness brush and a dedicated fabric cleaner such as KCx Pol Star (spray or foam) or Sonax Alcantara & Upholstery Cleaner (foaming).
2. Apply product into the bristles of the brush, this is where the foaming Sonax product is king.
3. Lightly agitate the material. The key is to not oversaturate as you will make the next step harder.
4. Take a damp towel and lightly rub the material. The goal is to draw the cleaner-dirt emulsion from the fibres and into the towel. Repeat multiple times.
5. Take a dry towel and repeat the step 4.
From here, you can either use a brush or vacuum to fluff the fibres. If you have a steamer, this can be helpful during step 4 as it seems to flush the product out of the fibres without oversaturating the material.
Maintenance –
In this instance, a damp towel is all you need. Fully saturate a microfiber towel and wring it out fully until just damp. Lightly wipe over the material with the damp towel, then follow with a try towel. If needed, you can use a medium stiffness brush lightly fluff up the fibres.
Key Tools and Products -
- Fabric cleaner (Sonax Alcantara & Upholstery Cleaner, KCx Pol Star)
- Interior Towels (At least 2)
- Medium stiffness interior brush
- Steamer (optional)
It’s been a long time since I’ve had to clean and maintain these materials, so no photos. This video is an excellent reference –
Leather Materials -
Leather steering wheels are the most common in the automotive industry. The material offers a blend of grip, softness and durability. However, it is also the most prone to holding grime and ultimately turning shiny over time. The key thing to remember with leather is that when clean, it should NOT be shiny or greasy. It can have a light sheen depending on the material chosen by the car manufacturer, but never glossy.
Deep Cleaning -
To really strip back the grime that has accumulated over time, you need to be somewhat persistent. You often won’t remove it all in one go, you have to strip back the layers so to speak.
1. Start by applying a leather cleaner into the bristles of medium stiffness leather brush.
2. Using light pressure, begin agitating the leather surface.
3. Wipe the residue away
4. Inspect, repeat the process if needed.
5. Once you are happy with the finish, you can then apply a protectant using a sponge or microfiber applicator.
Even if the wheel isn’t filthy, its good practice to do the above on an occasional basis. However, you may not need the same level of aggression in terms of product selection and number of passes.
Maintenance –
Once clean and protected, its just a matter of wiping the wheel after each wash with an interior detailer, rinse-less wash or even just a damp towel. It’s this regularity that prevents the need for a sledgehammer approach.
Key Tools and Products -
- Leather Cleaner (ColourLock Strong or Mild Leather Cleaner, Koch Chemie Pol Star, P&S Xpress, NV Cleanse, Bowden’s Leather Love)
- Leather Brush or Scrub Pad (ColourLock Brush, Maxshine Leather Brush, TRC VLB, Carpro InnerScrub)
- Interior Towels
- Interior Detailer/Rinse-less Wash (Maintenance)(Carpro InnerQD, ONR)
- Leather Conditioner (ColourLock Leather Shield or Protector, NV Nourish, Bowden’s Leather Guard)
- Microfiber Applicator
Carbon Fibre, Piano Black & Woodgrain (real or otherwise) -
Steering wheels aren’t fully covered in these materials, rather they are used as an accent. In reality, you are dealing with a glossy plastic surface, which warrants separate treatment.
To clean and maintain these surfaces, I would use a plusher towel with rinse-less wash or quick detailer. If needed, clean with an interior cleaner first, then follow with a quick detailer. You can apply a coating to these surfaces, but I probably wouldn’t do this.
Key Tools and Products -
- Plush Interior towels (TRC Eagle or Creature for example)
- Quick Detailer or rinse-less wash (P&S Paint Gloss, ONR, Absolute, ADS Adapt)
- Interior Cleaner (if needed) (P&S Xpress, ADS Pilot)
Case Study -
Whenever I drive my father's car, or after he drives mine, I can't help but notice how sticky and greasy the steering wheel feels. Being a smoker, I can only assume it's the nicotine on his hands being transferred to the steering wheel.
This is how the wheel looked straight off the showroom floor………………….
On this car, the funk is so ingrained that it's a challenge to remove, even with the best tools and chemicals at my disposal. Starting with ColourLock Strong Leather Cleaner, the wheel is lightly scrubbed with the ColourLock brush. After wiping the residue, quite often the shiny and stickiness remains. This means the leather is still dirty, and/or abraded and effectively polished by my father's hands.
In fact, it's at the point now that I end up removing dye when using a brush and a strong leather cleaner in attempting to remove the shiny, greasy look and feel. So, the material has been compromised. At the risk of inflicting more damage, I have to be content in giving it a wipe down with an interior cleaner and calling it good.
Then there are occasions where leather has been abraded over many years, which is typically shown by lighter patches where the dye has been removed. In these situations, you also need to be careful not to make the situation worse when attempting to clean the steering wheel. Ultimately, this is where you move from leather cleaning to leather restoration, which is another level of skill.
Tips, Tricks & Observations -
- Be mindful of the buttons! You want to avoid oversaturating with product around these areas.
- Over the Covid period, alcohol-based hand sanitizers were contributing to accelerated wear on leather steering wheels, one company was even refusing warranty replacement over this issue.
- Don’t be a wheel shuffler. Not only does it transfer more skin oils, but if you are a tradesman or someone who works with their hands, the skin on your hands will be rougher, which acts like an abrasive. Jewellery will do the same.
- Regular wipe downs are key. After each wash, the interior gets a quick wipe over with an interior detailer, steering wheel included. This prevents the build-up that happens over time.
- If you do need a sledgehammer to cut through years of neglect, a Ninja Scrub Pad or the Carpro InnerScrub teamed with a leather or interior cleaner will be a real timer saver over a brush. Just do a test spot first as these are more abrasive than brushes.
- Some leather materials have a slight natural shine, the key is to know this before hammering down on a shiny steering wheel. A slight sheen is normal here, a mirror finish shine is not.
- In the past, I’ve read comments regarding the use of leather protection and conditioning products not being suitable for steering wheels. The concept being you make the wheel slippery and a potential hazard. Hmmm, ok……………………….not if you are doing it properly.
- With the previous point in mind, this is a case of what NOT to do. Notice how much gloss is going on here, that’s because I loaded the wheel up with an old-school leather balm that is designed to be slick and glossy for maximum before and after effect. Don’t do this, in fact, this is where the slip hazard comments comes from. From memory, I used Auto Glym Leather Care Balm or Meguiar’s Gold Class Rich Leather, both are junk.
- And finally, I’ll be flamed for saying this, but……………………stop eating and drinking in your car! Frankly, I have no idea why its ok to eat and drive at the same time, yet the use of electronic devises and loud music isn’t. All are distractions! Focus on driving, eat and drink when you get to where you are going.
Final Thoughts -
Quite often, the steering wheel of a car will show wear and tear much quicker than other parts of the vehicle. So, with that in mind, the goal is to prevent or minimize this wear, in turn making it nicer to use but also help with resale value once trade in time arrives.
Clean, protected and ready for the road!
I like a clean steering wheel! However, keeping a steering wheel perfectly clean is a never ending battle.
Pretty much anything we get or put on our hands will end up on the steering wheel. The most obvious contamination factor would be the natural oils that the body produces to keep our skin hydrated. But there are multiple other factors that contribute to a dirty steering wheel..................
- Hand sanitizer
- Soap residues
- Moisturizers
- Makeup (yes, this is a thing)
- Food and beverage residue (especially greasy food)
- Dirt and grease
- Nicotine residue
- Sweat
So, the steering wheel of your car can be subjected to quite a lot! In fact, you don’t know just how dirty your steering wheel is until you start to clean it. But why should we even care about this? Because the substances mentioned above will degrade the material over time, be that leather, plastic or Alcantara. In some instances, it can be a health hazard too. And most importantly for me, a dirty steering wheel is unsightly and feel gross to handle.
Steering Wheel Material’s and How to Clean Them
There are three main types of steering wheel; plastic, leather and Alcantara, or a combination of those materials…………………and no, those revolting lambs wool steering wheel covers will NOT be counted here. The following is how to take a neglected wheel back to a clean state, then how to maintain it.
Plastic Steering Wheels –
Plastic is probably not the official term for these wheels, but what I'm referencing here is a wheel that is not wrapped with a textile such as leather, suede or Alcantara. Typically found on base models, they seem to be less and less common. While they are seemingly cheap and nasty, a plastic steering wheel is the easiest to deal with.
Deep Cleaning –
1. For this job, I like to use one of those Scrub Ninja pads and a dedicated interior cleaner.
2. Apply the product to the scrub pad (or brush) and agitate until the product lathers up. Wipe clean with a towel.
3. Inspect and repeat if necessary.
4. Apply an interior protectant (optional)
Maintenance –
From here, after each wash simply wipe down the wheel with your interior detailer or rinse-less wash of choice.
Key Tools and Products –
- Interior Cleaner (KCx Pol Star, P&S Xpress, Carpro Inside)
- Brush or Scrub Pad
- Interior Protectant (Optional) (303 Protectant, KCx Top Star, Carpro Perl)
- Interior Detailer or rinse-less wash (Maintenance) (Carpro InnerQD, KCx ASC, ONR, Absolute)
- Interior Towels
Alcantara & Suede Materials –
Traditionally, these materials were used on race cars to provide a more secure grip with gloved hands. However, they have become increasingly popular over the last decade, and personally, I’m not a fan. Alcantara is a trademarked name that car companies need pay to use, so certain car companies may get around that by calling it suede, micro-suede, Race-Tex ect. Treatment is the same though. While the material is tougher than you’d think, cleaning Alcantara isn’t a quick process and requires patience and a specific technique.
Deep Cleaning -
The key with any fabric cleaning is not necessarily the product used, but removing the product afterwards. Compared to leather, you can’t simply wipe away the chemical residue.
1. For Alcantara, you will need a medium stiffness brush and a dedicated fabric cleaner such as KCx Pol Star (spray or foam) or Sonax Alcantara & Upholstery Cleaner (foaming).
2. Apply product into the bristles of the brush, this is where the foaming Sonax product is king.
3. Lightly agitate the material. The key is to not oversaturate as you will make the next step harder.
4. Take a damp towel and lightly rub the material. The goal is to draw the cleaner-dirt emulsion from the fibres and into the towel. Repeat multiple times.
5. Take a dry towel and repeat the step 4.
From here, you can either use a brush or vacuum to fluff the fibres. If you have a steamer, this can be helpful during step 4 as it seems to flush the product out of the fibres without oversaturating the material.
Maintenance –
In this instance, a damp towel is all you need. Fully saturate a microfiber towel and wring it out fully until just damp. Lightly wipe over the material with the damp towel, then follow with a try towel. If needed, you can use a medium stiffness brush lightly fluff up the fibres.
Key Tools and Products -
- Fabric cleaner (Sonax Alcantara & Upholstery Cleaner, KCx Pol Star)
- Interior Towels (At least 2)
- Medium stiffness interior brush
- Steamer (optional)
It’s been a long time since I’ve had to clean and maintain these materials, so no photos. This video is an excellent reference –
Leather Materials -
Leather steering wheels are the most common in the automotive industry. The material offers a blend of grip, softness and durability. However, it is also the most prone to holding grime and ultimately turning shiny over time. The key thing to remember with leather is that when clean, it should NOT be shiny or greasy. It can have a light sheen depending on the material chosen by the car manufacturer, but never glossy.
Deep Cleaning -
To really strip back the grime that has accumulated over time, you need to be somewhat persistent. You often won’t remove it all in one go, you have to strip back the layers so to speak.
1. Start by applying a leather cleaner into the bristles of medium stiffness leather brush.
2. Using light pressure, begin agitating the leather surface.
3. Wipe the residue away
4. Inspect, repeat the process if needed.
5. Once you are happy with the finish, you can then apply a protectant using a sponge or microfiber applicator.
Even if the wheel isn’t filthy, its good practice to do the above on an occasional basis. However, you may not need the same level of aggression in terms of product selection and number of passes.
Maintenance –
Once clean and protected, its just a matter of wiping the wheel after each wash with an interior detailer, rinse-less wash or even just a damp towel. It’s this regularity that prevents the need for a sledgehammer approach.
Key Tools and Products -
- Leather Cleaner (ColourLock Strong or Mild Leather Cleaner, Koch Chemie Pol Star, P&S Xpress, NV Cleanse, Bowden’s Leather Love)
- Leather Brush or Scrub Pad (ColourLock Brush, Maxshine Leather Brush, TRC VLB, Carpro InnerScrub)
- Interior Towels
- Interior Detailer/Rinse-less Wash (Maintenance)(Carpro InnerQD, ONR)
- Leather Conditioner (ColourLock Leather Shield or Protector, NV Nourish, Bowden’s Leather Guard)
- Microfiber Applicator
Carbon Fibre, Piano Black & Woodgrain (real or otherwise) -
Steering wheels aren’t fully covered in these materials, rather they are used as an accent. In reality, you are dealing with a glossy plastic surface, which warrants separate treatment.
To clean and maintain these surfaces, I would use a plusher towel with rinse-less wash or quick detailer. If needed, clean with an interior cleaner first, then follow with a quick detailer. You can apply a coating to these surfaces, but I probably wouldn’t do this.
Key Tools and Products -
- Plush Interior towels (TRC Eagle or Creature for example)
- Quick Detailer or rinse-less wash (P&S Paint Gloss, ONR, Absolute, ADS Adapt)
- Interior Cleaner (if needed) (P&S Xpress, ADS Pilot)
Case Study -
Whenever I drive my father's car, or after he drives mine, I can't help but notice how sticky and greasy the steering wheel feels. Being a smoker, I can only assume it's the nicotine on his hands being transferred to the steering wheel.
This is how the wheel looked straight off the showroom floor………………….
On this car, the funk is so ingrained that it's a challenge to remove, even with the best tools and chemicals at my disposal. Starting with ColourLock Strong Leather Cleaner, the wheel is lightly scrubbed with the ColourLock brush. After wiping the residue, quite often the shiny and stickiness remains. This means the leather is still dirty, and/or abraded and effectively polished by my father's hands.
In fact, it's at the point now that I end up removing dye when using a brush and a strong leather cleaner in attempting to remove the shiny, greasy look and feel. So, the material has been compromised. At the risk of inflicting more damage, I have to be content in giving it a wipe down with an interior cleaner and calling it good.
Then there are occasions where leather has been abraded over many years, which is typically shown by lighter patches where the dye has been removed. In these situations, you also need to be careful not to make the situation worse when attempting to clean the steering wheel. Ultimately, this is where you move from leather cleaning to leather restoration, which is another level of skill.
Tips, Tricks & Observations -
- Be mindful of the buttons! You want to avoid oversaturating with product around these areas.
- Over the Covid period, alcohol-based hand sanitizers were contributing to accelerated wear on leather steering wheels, one company was even refusing warranty replacement over this issue.
- Don’t be a wheel shuffler. Not only does it transfer more skin oils, but if you are a tradesman or someone who works with their hands, the skin on your hands will be rougher, which acts like an abrasive. Jewellery will do the same.
- Regular wipe downs are key. After each wash, the interior gets a quick wipe over with an interior detailer, steering wheel included. This prevents the build-up that happens over time.
- If you do need a sledgehammer to cut through years of neglect, a Ninja Scrub Pad or the Carpro InnerScrub teamed with a leather or interior cleaner will be a real timer saver over a brush. Just do a test spot first as these are more abrasive than brushes.
- Some leather materials have a slight natural shine, the key is to know this before hammering down on a shiny steering wheel. A slight sheen is normal here, a mirror finish shine is not.
- In the past, I’ve read comments regarding the use of leather protection and conditioning products not being suitable for steering wheels. The concept being you make the wheel slippery and a potential hazard. Hmmm, ok……………………….not if you are doing it properly.
- With the previous point in mind, this is a case of what NOT to do. Notice how much gloss is going on here, that’s because I loaded the wheel up with an old-school leather balm that is designed to be slick and glossy for maximum before and after effect. Don’t do this, in fact, this is where the slip hazard comments comes from. From memory, I used Auto Glym Leather Care Balm or Meguiar’s Gold Class Rich Leather, both are junk.
- And finally, I’ll be flamed for saying this, but……………………stop eating and drinking in your car! Frankly, I have no idea why its ok to eat and drive at the same time, yet the use of electronic devises and loud music isn’t. All are distractions! Focus on driving, eat and drink when you get to where you are going.
Final Thoughts -
Quite often, the steering wheel of a car will show wear and tear much quicker than other parts of the vehicle. So, with that in mind, the goal is to prevent or minimize this wear, in turn making it nicer to use but also help with resale value once trade in time arrives.
Clean, protected and ready for the road!
Sponsored
. Now eating, still perfectly legal ....
