How clean vinyl steering wheel?

Joined
Sep 23, 2014
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Toronto Canada
I have a 20 year old car and the interior is in excellent condition but I just can't get the steering wheel clean. I've tried strong dish detergent and "vinyl cleaner" but nothing seems to get the grime and dark discoloration off of the vinyl steering wheel. Any suggestions?
 
I wonder if it is not dirt, but discoloration of the vinyl. on my 98 mustang I found the only way to make the steering wheel look good again was to put a nice cover on it. Many neat designs available at Walmart or any auto parts store.
 
A cover. Whoever has driven it may have had lotions, chemicals, or whatever on their hands that have permanently discolored it or affected the finish. Sunscreens are notorious for this as a example.
 
Originally Posted by old1
I wonder if it is not dirt, but discoloration of the vinyl. on my 98 mustang I found the only way to make the steering wheel look good again was to put a nice cover on it. Many neat designs available at Walmart or any auto parts store.

Had a Kia Rio that had a low end leather cover that deteriorated. I was forced to get a wheel cover. Thought I'd hate it but it worked quite well. Much better than the lace up ones from the seventies and eighties.
 
I might try the Magic eraser as suggested by Tom. The steering wheel is 21 years old, there may be no hope and I don't want to damage with something to strong. Looking for some magic solution I guess.
 
i used dawn dish soap on a beat up tan colored steering wheel...took some of the crap off but like someone said I think some of it was just discolored from the sun ,age .whatever else
 
Well this interesting, I took some paper towels and vinegar out to the car and I was surprised to find it removed about half of the grime but after doing around 1/3 of the wheel I started to wonder this was the best thing to use so I went and got a can of cheap leather/vinyl protectant I use on my furniture. I applied it with a clean rag and found with a little work it removed all but perhaps %10 of the remaining grime. Did the entire wheel with this "protectant" and stopped with the vinegar. Right now the whole wheel is a little sticky but we'll see how that goes. Funny how dish detergent and some vinyl cleaner made by prestone didn't work anywhere near as well.

I noticed the cheap leather/vinyl protectant says "cleans, conditions and protects" in small print. Made by AutoBright. Bought it at some discount store a couple of years ago. I may go back and see if still have some.
 
Hand sanitizer normally works quite well. Must use a washcloth and grab each end and work back and forth while putting a good amount of thension on the washcloth. It gets really soft a sticky from the hand sanitizer and you probably will need to change the washcloth a time or 2 don't regrind dirt in that has come out.
 
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