# Cleaning Ford Focus Leather Steering Wheel



## blue51 (Feb 7, 2008)

Cleaned the leather wheel on my 2001 Focus a few weeks ago with just a slightly damp MF and it came up well. the cloth was VERY brown after a couple of wipes, and afterwards the wheel felt nice and clean and a bit 'rejuvinated'

so when I cleaned the car again last weekend, I did the same thing. Still loads of brown marks on the cloth, but this time the wheel has been all 'sticky' ever since  

some areas are worse than others - mainly the sides where it's been held the most

what can I do to sort this out? is there something i can clean it with that won't leave it too slick and slippy?

help!


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## judyb (Sep 7, 2007)

If you were removing 'brown' on your cloth (assuming you have a brown steering wheel) then it sounds as though you have removed the finish on the leather and are now removing colour. Removing the finish would result in you getting a sticky feel to the leather.

The finish and pigment need replacing but this will have its own problems as steering wheels often have grease residues present which will cause adhesion problems.

If you want to send me some photos or post some on here I can have a look and advise accordingly.

Cheers
Judy


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## blue51 (Feb 7, 2008)

it was brown coming off, but it is a black leather wheel

...which made me assume it was just dirt and grease coming off - as after all I was only using a slightly damp MF, and I am assuming no one has bothered cleaning it before


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## judyb (Sep 7, 2007)

It still sounds as though it is pigment especially if the wheel is left sticky. Black can very often be very dark brown which on a cloth would appear brown not black. The finish could also have a colour in it which may be what is coming off.

If the finish was weak (through not cleaning and body oils) then the finish/pigment would come off very easily even with just a damp cloth. MF cloths do tend to pull more off if the finish is weak.

Hope this helps
Judy


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## blue51 (Feb 7, 2008)

cheers judyb

so is there anything I can do about it then?

just leave it and let enough crud build up to cover the stickiness?

or is there something i can treat it with?

...and how do I clean it in future?


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## judyb (Sep 7, 2007)

You can try cleaning with a foam leather cleaner but if the finish has been removed this is not going to rectify the problem. The stickiness will only be added to if you allow dirt to build up.

You can try restoring the finish but it may need degreasing before you do this as otherwise there will be an adhesion problem.

You can try a coat of Leather Protect which may also help and if you restore it this should definitely be done to helop prevent the same thing happening again.

If you do not restore the finish cleaning and protecting will not have any real results and eventually the leather itself will start to break down and at this stage would need to be replaced.

It may be easier to replace the leather now and then look after it appropriately so the same thing doesn't happen.

Give me a ring if you need any further info.
Cheers
Judy


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## blue51 (Feb 7, 2008)

judyb said:


> You can try cleaning with a foam leather cleaner but if the finish has been removed this is not going to rectify the problem. The stickiness will only be added to if you allow dirt to build up.
> 
> You can try restoring the finish but it may need degreasing before you do this as otherwise there will be an adhesion problem.
> 
> ...


I don't think any finish has been removed - it is still black and clean etc

can you recommend a good leather cleaner?


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## sunnyV5 (Jul 26, 2006)

Do you or anyone who drives the car use hand cream/moisturiser? Perhaps that has stuck to the wheel when it was clean, and now it is sticky and attracting more dirt


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## blue51 (Feb 7, 2008)

davemarkey said:


> Do you or anyone who drives the car use hand cream/moisturiser? Perhaps that has stuck to the wheel when it was clean, and now it is sticky and attracting more dirt


no only me, and I don't use anything like that

its only been immediately after I cleaned it the second time that its been like it


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## sunnyV5 (Jul 26, 2006)

I think a similar thing happen to my ford fiesta steering wheel. The leather seemed to go sticky after cleaning with all purpose cleaner.

But now it is normal. Perhaps you just need to wipe it down with a clean microfibre, that is slight damp with just water, no products.


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## blue51 (Feb 7, 2008)

davemarkey said:


> I think a similar thing happen to my ford fiesta steering wheel. The leather seemed to go sticky after cleaning with all purpose cleaner.
> 
> But now it is normal. Perhaps you just need to wipe it down with a clean microfibre, that is slight damp with just water, no products.


thats what caused the problem though - just a damp MF

was wondering if armourall leather wipes may clean it, then wipe with a damp mf again to remove any slipperiness?


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## judyb (Sep 7, 2007)

Unfortunately I think this will only compound the problem.
If there was colour on your cloth this is not dirt and really does mean the finish has gone which will also cause the sticky feeling. You would not necessarily see this with the naked eye but the cloth is the give away so it may not look any different but you can obviously feel it.

Cheers
Judy


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## blue51 (Feb 7, 2008)

judyb said:


> Unfortunately I think this will only compound the problem.
> If there was colour on your cloth this is not dirt and really does mean the finish has gone which will also cause the sticky feeling. You would not necessarily see this with the naked eye but the cloth is the give away so it may not look any different but you can obviously feel it.
> 
> Cheers
> Judy


what can I do then?

don't really want to spend money on it and am not overly worried about it - but if there's something easy to try that can't make it any worse I might give it a go


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## Ben Staerck (Oct 28, 2006)

If the colour still looks ok, then all you need to do is spray a lacquer onto it to seal it in.

Since I cannot give you a link to a specific product, just search for leather finish in google and you'll get what you need.

Sprayiong a finish on will re-seal the leather and so, remove the sticky feel.


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## judyb (Sep 7, 2007)

This will only work as long as there is no grease present. Leather finishes are available from us for this work but adhesion may be a problem. Due to the handling on the steering wheel grease will always be present but as I said in my original post refinsihing is an option. 
We have seen a problem recently where pigment and finish were applied to a surface with an oily finish and it simply peeled off again (not our product) so you do have to be careful what advice you take and which products you use.


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## cheezemonkhai (Jan 29, 2007)

i've used the ***** leather cleaner you can get in halfords (orange) on the focus wheel and then this left the wheel every so slightly tacky while it was drying.

When it was dry i used autoglym leather feeder on it and then just rubbed it in until dry with a MF cloth and left for half hour.

All good after that


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

crikey, im scared to clean anything leather now, lol, whats the best way to clean the leather steering wheel, for future info?

was it a suedey leather btw?


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