amcdonal86

Hey guys,

Sorry I don't have any pics, but my steering wheel was peeling REALLY bad over the last several months.

I decided to try a product called "Leather Magic", which is basically a dye/paint for leather repairs. You simply clean the leather with soap and water, let it dry, sand it, put the "leather prep" alcohol solution, and then start painting the wheel. As soon as one coat dries, you can put on another. (I put several thin coats, as recommended.) Then I let it dry for a few hours, and then I sanded it lightly (to remove any bumps), and then I put on a final coat.

This is where I am now. After 48 hours, Leather Magic recommends putting a high quality leather conditioner on the treated area.

I just put it on, but I am already VERY impressed. The color is an exact (and I do mean EXACT) match for the steering wheel of my '97 LS400 (Dark Taupe LX13). The feel of the leather coat is almost exactly how it felt when it was stock.

The only concern I have is about longevity--I've heard a lot of leather dyes/paints so not last long at all. I will keep you posted on how it holds up, and when it's light out I'll take a photo of the final result.

Even if it doesn't last, it's no big deal, because the kit was $50, and I still have enough materials to do this at least 20 more times (literally).

RA40

iTrader: (6)

Pics.....?

amcdonal86

I don't have any before pics, but I'll get some after pics. It's dark now, though.

FrankZappa

I'd be pretty interested in seeing this as I've thought of doing the same thing to my steering wheel.

amcdonal86

OK I have two pics but they are bad.

amcdonal86

The area that it is zoomed in on (2-3 o-clock) is wheel all the peeling occurred. You can still almost barely notice where the edge of the peeling was, however you really have to look for it, and only in the reflections.

Overall, I am 100% satisfied. Didn't have to remove the wheel, and it took only an hour of actual effort to get these results. The only problem is if you're not careful, you will get little tiny bubbles in the dye that will dry as little bumps. However, you can carefully sand them down, and then apply another coat on top until you get a smooth finish. I have a few "bumps" left but I think they will go away with wear.

RA40

iTrader: (6)

Interesting...thanks!
I'm going to give this a try for some of my other leather projects.

98LS

I've got a worn spot about 7 o'clock on my steering wheel, that might do the trick. Where can you get this product?

amcdonal86

LeatherMagic.com

Yotarip

I'll vouche for Leather Magic. I bought a 1990 cressida a few months ago with navy blue leather interior. The passenger and backseat are solid with no tears but they were weather worn and had thousands of discolored wrinkles. The back of the backseat headrest had turned from a navy blue to almost white. In some spots on the upper backseats that were exposed to the sun, the leather dried and the coloring had completely flaked off showing the bare leather hide. I bought the Leather magic recoloring kit and am happy with the result. The coloring kit did not make the wrinkles disappear but it filled in the the wrinkle with color. Now the seats look like a nice well used leather seat and not worn out. When I applied the color to the bare hyde section you couldn't tell that it was recolored. I'll post pictures tonite.

I will redo my seats soon because they did not have toyota blue but the did have lexus blue. I took a chance and bought the lexus blue for my toyota. The lexus blue turned out to be a shade lighter but I applied it anyway. They do custom mixing so I will send them a swatch of my seat so they can match the color. It has held up so far to daily use and 100+ degree weather cooking in the sun. The interior looks so much better.

amcdonal86

Steering wheel application may be a little more susceptible to wear, just because of all of the oils in your hands and fingers, and that you are always touching it and moving your hands on it.

Yotarip

^^ That's true.

Here's a comparison pic of my worn seat and the recolored seat.



The bench seat looked just as bad as the worst section of the bucket seat.



The color looked like a decent match in the house until I used the flash!!!



Then I took it outside and confirmed it. Lexus blue is lighter than toyota blue. I'll recolor them shortly and make sure that I work in better light.