Just bought a euro RS4 steering wheel for my RS4. Its perforated and full leather. Its in perfect condition however the leather is a bit shiney. Anyone have any good ideas on how to return the leather to being matt vs. shiney?

Thanks in advance!

Derek

 

As the skin of your hands are in contact with bare leather, perspiration and body oils are both acidic , which along with any dirt and grime will become absorbed. Besides staining your leather, it will also make it shiny and can also can weaken and break down the stitching as well as the leather, degrading the finished leather leading to ultimate failure.

Leather covered steering wheel:

Steering wheels have an extra coating of protective finish on the already finished or coated leather. Perspiration and dirt are absorbed readily into the dry leather, and combined with the ultra violet (UV-B) radiation of the sun a chemical reaction occurs that degrades the finished leather. All of us have seen this wear on steering wheels

A finished leather steering wheel is protected with a urethane clear top coat. UV heat will allow any dirt / grease to become imbedded and the surface becomes more soiled the abrasive dirt / grit produces a shine.

Using leather oil-based conditioners on finished leather may cause delamination from the leather substrate. As the oils will permeate the leather via the stitching or any micro-cracks in the surface, once oil gets between the urethane and the substrate it causes loss of adhesion (See also Oil and Oil based Products)

Most manufacturer’s advice against using oil-based conditioners on steering wheels as it makes the surface slippery and could be dangerous if you lose control of the vehicles steering


1. Clean the wheel’s leather surface with a leather cleaner (Leather Masters™ Strong Effect Cleaner ) or a Limonen (citrus) based de-greaser (P21S Total Auto Wash) diluted 5:1 with warm distilled water in a spray bottle; dependant upon type and extent of soil or stain
2. For oil or grease stains useLeather Masters™ Leather Degreaser (check for colour fastness) this aerosol product is ideal for cleaning this type of stain as it dissolves the oils and transforms them into a powder that is more absorbent than the leather.
3. This powder is what is wiped off, cleaning and degreasing the leather.Allow the white powder to dry fully. If the powder is drying to a yellow colour, it means that there are still a lot of oils in the leather.

Using a Medium / hard horse hair brush, or a soft sponge, spray and work the cleaner into a foam, lightly scrub surface and immediately wipe with a terry towel to remove excess moisture, especially around stitching (you may need to repeat this process).
4. Then use a compressed air nozzle to dry
5. Once wheel is thoroughly dry apply Leather Masters™ Leather Protection

Do not use an abrasive on the surface as you’ll remove the ultra violet protective topcoat


Maintenance – hydrate the leather surface with a damp 100% cotton towel, occasionally use a diluted 1:10 degreaser (Leather Masters™ Leather Degreaser ) solutionand distilled waterto remove any build-up of body oils from your hands

 

So, there may be some different procedure to use these oils. Can anyone suggest some tips..??
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Invest in the Leather Masters Strong Leather Care Kit. It will make your life much easier, especially if the rest of the interior is leather. It comes with everything you will need to do the job.

Simply put some of the leather cleaner onto the microfiber towel, or the scrub brush but that is difficult to do on a wheel, and gently work it into the surface. Let it dwell for a little bit then wipe it off. Steering wheels are notorious for oil build up. This should remove most if not all of it. Then you can lightly apply the condition if you want. Just be sure to let it cure and buff all of the residue off or you can get slightly slippeyr hands which is not safe for driving.