As with many LS430’s the wooden part of the steering wheel develops cracks. I refinished mine so the cracks are less visible and the surface is now nice and smooth. Here is how I repaired it in place.
Here is the original wheel…..



First step is mask off the leather and place towel behind and below the wheel.



Next sand down with around 330 grit paper just until the cracks feels smooth.






Clean surface with alcohol and clean rag


Next apply thin coat of water base Minwax wipe on poly. ( bought at Lowes) I applied with piece of cotton tee shirt. This stuff is great because you wipe on. No brush marks or drips.


allow to dry for 4 hours than lightly sand with 3000 grit paper. Wipe clean with rag. Repeat coating every 4 hours for 4 coats.

I didn’t sand between these coats. After last coat has dried remove masking tape.


Here is the finished product. You can still see much of the cracks but the wheel is nice and smooth since the cracks are filled in and
covered with the poly.

My last LS I put on 10 coats but that was overkill.

 

I’ve done this job before. I tried the wipe on poly originally. I will tell you, you will be far more satisfied if you use General brand poly. I’ve done a lot of wood projects since then and this product is far superior.

General Finishes Gloss

 

You are probably right about the General being a better finish, however application with a cloth made the Minwax product very easy and its low odor water based formula was easy to use in the car. I went with this on my last LS and the wheel was holding up well after a year.

 

I can agree with those points. I used a towel to wipe on the General finish and it looks excellent and feels hard with just one coat. If anyone is looking to do this job in the future and doesn’t mind the VOC’s I can not recommend General enough.

The guy also told me they have other alternatives that are water based. He mentioned one product, I cannot recall the name, from General that actually has built in UV protection qualities. He was explaining that it is often the choice for boats that face harsh conditions.

Great job on the wheel and the write up with pictures. Always appreciate people who take the time to document.

 

Great job on the steering wheel and the details of this post! I have a similarly cracked wheel that I bought a cover for, but I might try this instead. The rest of the grey part is fading off pretty bad and the chrome on the emblem is peeling. Not sure how to tackle those parts, but at the least the wood would be fixed! Thanks again!

 

Thanks SqeakyGoat. You may have noticed the leather is worn on the upper left side. I ordered some Clyde’s gray dye but it’s too light. I’m waiting for some help from Clyde’s. Maybe they can give me a shade darker. I may have to leave it. I’ll post some pics if I end up repairing the leather.

 

Got some Wipeon Poly for my LS. The wheel was badly cracked on top due to the previous owner leaving it outside in the Texas sun for years. Did a test run on the bottom portion of the wood and am pleasantly surprised how easy it was and how smooth it is after.

Great post!

 

Romanova, my former LS430 wheel was split at the wood seam on top. I sanded it so the seam was even the did 10 coats of Wipeon poly. It came out nice and smooth. If you looked at it closely it wasn’t that great but to the untrained eye it was fine.

 

I would be curious to know about this Clyde's product if you find and acceptable shade. I have more pronounced wear on my grey steering wheel, and I'd love to fix this!

 

When I purchased my car 12 years ago, the steering wheel had the standard cracking in the clear, but was not all that bad. Since then and even today, I treat it periodically the same way. I coat the wood with a good quality car wax, and then rub it briskly with a soft towel as if I were shining my shoes. Not only does it smooth out the cracking in the clear, it gives the wheel a nice sheen. Of course my wheel had only minor surface cracking in the clear, but it has kept the wheel cracking from progressing, especially in the heat of Florida... FYI..... I ALWAYS USE A WINDSHIELD SUN DEFLECTOR, to protect the dash as well as the steering wheel. It really helps!

 

Just did mine today using a sponge coated hard sanding block so that any ridges were totally flattened. Feels factory new again. The old coating still has some visible cracking but after the sanding and top coat its totally smooth, and the dirty areas of the cracks are now clean again so it's not really noticeable. I top coated with a wipe on VOC poly and did 2 coats before it got dark outside. Maybe a couple more tomorrow. Feels like new again instead of the bumpy/ridgey surface.

 

DC777 Did you sand it after it dried with 3000 grit paper? Thanks in advance for your response.

 

No, I didn’t feel the need to go that far because it was already very glossy and smooth.