Leather Steering Wheel Refinish?

[757guy]

I have a 2006 Jeep Liberty Limited that has a leather steering wheel that has the original color and finish worn away on the top portion of the steering wheel. You can feel where the "leather" has worn away to a plastic feeling black material underneath- and I only have 28,000 miles on this Jeep and it is always in the garage. I have noticed that there are a high percentage of steering wheels on Jeep Liberty's that look the same way (original tan color with black showing from underneath) so maybe this is just a bad design spec. from Jeep.

Does anyone have experience refinishing steering wheels, and if so, what are my options for refinishing, i.e., taking it to a professional shop, buying a new steering wheel, DIY kit.

FYI- I don't really care for some of the "Steering Wheel Covers" you see on ebay or at Target, Pep Boys and other automotive stores. I prefer a nice factory leather steering wheel if possible.

Any recommendations?

 

[Kestas]

I just researched this on the internet. You have a number of options.

One is to send the wheel out to have it recovered. This costs around $150.

The other is to buy a kit where you can sew the cover on yourself. It is the sewing that is labor extensive and costly. Ready cut pieces cost around $35. I'm not sure if they have a pattern for your Jeep.

I've read of one guy who did the whole job from beginning to end for his Ferrari by himself, and it looked pretty good. He cut the leather to fit and stitched it up.

Search on the internet. You'll probably find the same web sites I did.

 

[dparm]

Find a local auto upholstery shop. They can re-wrap the wheel for $200 or so.

 

[RiverWolf]

I haven't tried this myself, yet. Depending on how large the effected area is, there are a number of "leather repair" kits available online with some even including dye kits for matching to OEM colors. I've also found suggestions of using thin layers of superglue to seal and build up abraded areas...superglue is possibly the compound used in some of the leather repair kits. Permatex makes a vinyl/leather repair kit that can probably be found at your local Autozone/Advance type place.

-Brent

 

[aquariuscsm]

When you get it restored,keep a leather conditioner on it. I do mine once a week or more. Here`s mine,and it`s almost 15 years old :^) Still looks showroom new.

 

[boro]

I understand your aversion to covers, I have that same aversion.

However, consider this I purchased for my S10 pickup:

$40 and an hour of your time. Brand is Wheelskins and can be found through many online vendors custom made to fit your specific steering wheel, also comes in several color options.

Mine has been on three years and is holding up perfect. I need to restitch along the bottom where one of my knots came loose (my fault) but along the rest of the wheel you can see how tight the stitches are. It looks and feels like a factory leather wheel.

It's real leather too so it's tough and responds well to conditioning.

Another option for you to consider that saves you from having to remove your steering wheel and might save you a few bucks as well.
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[paulswagelock]

Wheel Skins. I have used them on several past cars. The installation takes 45 minutes and looks great.

 

[GMBoy]

May fit yours:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/08-09-Jee...es#ht_500wt_956



Other ideas:





http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Jeep-Leat...#ht_2787wt_3730


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/JEEP-2-To...#ht_3592wt_1058

 

[asiancivicmaniac]

Anybody have an idea of how thick Wheel Skins are? My car has a leather covered steering wheel and the thickness is about right. Would putting a Wheel Skin over it make it huge?

 

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted By: paulswagelock
Wheel Skins. I have used them on several past cars. The installation takes 45 minutes and looks great.


I wish that they made them in suede as well.