Well, since I’ve broken my Z (more about that fun to come later) it is just sitting in the garage in need of some love.  Recently I came across the following helpful write-up online and wanted to give it a try to help get rid of an issue I have my steering wheel:

 http://apidaonline.com/index.php/guides/item/how-to-clean-leather-steering-wheel

I’ve always had a problem with the steering wheel making my hands smell and feel oily after driving the car, especially when the weather is warmer.  I am pretty sure this comes from one of the previous owners having used a cheap steering wheel cover and the rubber had a strong gasoline-like smell to it that soaked into the leather.  I’ve tried to clean it with numerous cleaners but haven’t had any luck.

I followed the simple cleaning method listed in the article above and used a Magic Eraser with water to clean the leather steering wheel.  I’m not sure if it will ultimately get rid of the smell but it certainly worked great to clean up the wheel and get a lot of funk off of it.

Here are some pictures of the before/after and how dirty the water was.  I’m not sure if any of that is leather dye that comes off but I plan to have the steering wheel re-done at some point so I’m not too concerned about that.  If you are going to try this and you are worried about the dye coming off I wouldn’t scrub too hard.

Happy defunking!