# Smoke smell on steering wheel - leather



## Golf07 (Sep 20, 2010)

Hi,

I have recently purchased an 07 plate Golf and the previous owner was a smoker. I have had the car cleaned by the autotrek system and the smell has disappeared from everywhere except the steering wheel.

I have tried the following - bicard of soda & warm water, spraying some neutradol air freshner on the wheel, alcohol gel (like you get in hospitals) - all to no avail. 

Any suggestions / ideas would be great.

Cheers


----------



## 888-Dave (Jul 30, 2010)

Blimey you have thrown everything at it! Its a long shot but I have found a cheeky little product before now but cant for the life of me remember what is was called... I found it in a pet shop, pets at home or something like that and it treated unwanted smells at the source. It worked by killing the bacteria that causes the smell, therefore removing the smell. Worth a try :thumb:


----------



## Motoract (Feb 18, 2010)

APC? just pure kitchen APC?


----------



## Golf07 (Sep 20, 2010)

Thanks for the replies - any of these ring a bell? - http://www.petsathome.com/webapp/wc...0&y=0&storeId=10551&catalogId=10601&langId=-1

APC? - Is that All Purpose Cleaner - if so, any suggestions and how to clean it - cloth/brush.

Cheers


----------



## jay_bmw (Jan 28, 2010)

try a 'magic eraser' from JML, they are there to bring leather back to new 'matt' finish, but also may bring out the smell as they remove years of worn in dirt from hands.


----------



## Golf07 (Sep 20, 2010)

Thanks - might give that a go, think they sell them at Argos. 

With regards to APC - where abouts woould I buy this from and what quantities would you suggest? I have seen a few on eBay, but seem huge bottles. 

Any other ideas/suggestions woud be great

Cheers


----------



## weekenddetailer (Aug 17, 2010)

I would suggest a little caution when rubbing any APC product though, especially if you are using a sponge thats a little abrasive. The last thing you want is the smell gone, but also the pigment / colour coat.


----------



## Guest (Sep 22, 2010)

Try a leather cleaner first, dont want an aggressive apc on the leather just in case it damages it.

Might take a couple of goes thou.


----------



## judyb (Sep 7, 2007)

In our experience using Magic Sponges (erasers) remove the finish coating on the leather so it might be best to avoid trying these (also they will do nothing to remove an odour)
You may like to try Em Clean which is formulated to deal with odours in leather but it may be that the smoke has penetrated the insides of the wheel (padding etc) and unless these are thoroughly cleaned as well will still smell.
Using ozone (if you can remove the wheel and find someone who provides the service) seems to be the only way to thoroughly remove the odour from all the component parts.

Hope this helps


----------



## Cquartz (Jan 31, 2009)

try the CleanAir (soPure) 
it will remove the smell 

Avi


----------



## Fatman Soldier (Sep 24, 2009)

worst comes to it, just buy a newish steering wheel off the evil bay. 

I have used apc and a stiffish brush to clean up the steering wheel in the past. But im not sure if it will get rid of the smoke smell.


----------



## [email protected] (Aug 6, 2008)

1z Premium ****pit Cleaner :thumb:


----------

