86WS6

iTrader: (1)

I am starting to do some detail work on the 82WS7 to get her ready for the spring shows. The car is 100% original, except for the battery, and with 24,300 miles on the clock has little wear and tear on it. The OE steering wheel is loosing the shiny off of the finish, and I want to make it look new again. It does not look bad, but does make the car look old... There is no wear, chips, or tears in foam padding. It looks like a clear coat of some type that has dried out and is flaking off. Anyone know what to use to restore the OE finish to the surface? I thought about spraying it with black vinyl dye, or something like clear urethane, however I am not sure if any of these products have enough flexability to hold up to use. On my 83, I installed a leather wrap and it looked great, but it no longer looked OE. I will drive the car on a limited basis, and want it fully functional. It would be nice to keep the original wheel, but have it look perfect. Did a search, and found little information. Aftermarket is not an option since the car will show as stock. Although there are some great aftermarket wheels available, this car has to remain original. Thanks in advance.
Charles

navy02ws6

Interior dye might be your best bet...I would imagine it has some flex additive in it since it's made for seats and plastic panels and such.

We've dyed plenty of leather steering wheels on Corvettes here at work, I can't speak for how they will hold up being driven regularly, but we've never had to re-dye one from cracking/peeling from just exposure to the air/sun or anything like that.

86WS6

iTrader: (1)

Thanks, That might work. The finish looks like it has some sort of clear coat on it. The clear finish is what is coming off, leaving the foam exposed.

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

Those wheels develop cracks in the vinyl covering. Every once in awhile I see a nice one for sale on Ebay. If you find one from a later model year that has a different horn button you can take the wheel apart and replace it with your correct horn button. Otherwise your only hope is to find an NOS wheel. You could have it recovered in leather, but like you said, it won't be original.