Ragnarok043

my steering has been kind of eye sore for awhile and was thinking of getting it re-wrapped but since the actual leather isnt damaged thought id try refinishing the leather instead.

heres a list of what used
Black Leather Dye - not shoe polish, not leather stain, DYE
Leather Acrylic Topcoat - went with Resolene for a semi-gloss finish but there are gloss and matte acrylic finish too
Acetone - used to soften up old finish and clean surface. fumes can be strong recommend wearing respirator or have good ventilation as well as wearing gloves. also dont be tempted to drown the whole thing in acetone or else something on the steering wheel might dissolve.
Microfiber Cloth - used to wipe on acetone, dont use paper towels, it will leave lint everywhere
Scrub Pad - i ended up using some 200, 400, 1000, and 2000 grit sandpaper as well because the scrub pad left a rough finish
Make Up Foam Blocks - i used these to apply the dye and acrylic finish. when applying the acrylic make sure it goes on very very thin and no bubbles


heres what the supplies look like, even though the airbrush is pictured here i ended not using it.

head on view before refinishing

view of the 6 o'clock position

close up shot of the cracked finish

in the process of sanding off the old finish

down to the actual leather

the face of the wheel didn't require refinishing but i still scuffed it to help blend the new finish

heres the final result, not as smooth as id like but a huge improvement

the blending of the old finish and new finish isnt really too noticeable

the final front view looks pretty much the same

newold_m

That looks really good! I had refinished the steering wheel on my daily E90 awhile ago with Leatherique dye but did not use a top coat, thanks for the tip.

Chuck S

Looks great! I'd prefer a less shiny finish -- any tips?

-- Chuck

Ragnarok043

you can use a matte acrylic finish like this just make sure to shake it up really good cause the matte base tends to settle to the bottom of the bottle.

i also recommend doing either a small inconspicuous test spot before doing the whole wheel or practice on an old leather shoe to get use to it. plenty of youtube videos on how to re dye shoes to give you a better idea of the whole process as well