Today while driving back home I was wondering why my steering wheel was starting to feel grotty, sure it's been a hot and cold day, but I didn't think my hands were that sweaty to have had such an effect. When I parked up back at home I took a closer look at the steering wheel and tried to wipe it off with some interior cleaner and microfiber cloth but it started to peel, like little white specs from the top right (I usually drive with my right hand in the two o'clock position) which started to scare me.

 

I tried using more water instead and the magic sponge, but it didn't seem to help. I don't have any leather cleaner or leather balm, though I'm eyeing up the Autoglym stuff for this but really wanted to stop the flakey, grotty feeling on the steering wheel. I imagine it'll only get worse if left untreated. Looking online, I think I believe the cause for this damage was from alcohol, specifically the alcohol hand gel I've been using so much of! And instead of making sure my hands were dry before grabbing onto the steering wheel, I thought it'd dry out, which it did but in doing so damaged the surface of the steering wheel.

 

The only thing I was happy to confirm was that rubbing some olive oil over the damaged part seemed to have helped stopped it flaking, I can't seem to see any more white specs coming from it and it certainly stopped it from feeling grotty anymore. It's probably only just a temporary fix until I get something sorted out. At least now I'll know better than to gel up my hands before touching anything leather.

 

Has anyone else had this issue? As a side note if anyone knows who has a round heated leather steering wheel with paddles for sale, give me a shout..

My dad has had this happen on his Citroen; hand sanitiser caused it too.

 

the only thing I’ve found to prevent it is let your hands fully dry before touching anything 

So far with one exception at the hospital in the early days of the pandemic I have managed to avoid putting that rubbish anywhere near my hands.

 

Dermatologists are going to have a field day.

 

After all, unless you had some something really stubborn soiling your hands you would not wash them in petrol or paint thinners would you?

Edited 10 June, 20214 yr by J.R.

I can't use the normal hand sanitiser stuff because it makes me get a rash a day or two later but there is a "carex moisture" type that doesn't irritate my skin so that may be less harmful to the steering wheel in future but obviously won't help any peeling that's already started. 

Black Kiwi boot polish, it will feed the leather. It will also add a protective shenn to the face of the leather.

 

Just make sure you polish it off properly  

I used some silicone sealer in a bathroom once and drove the car before cleaning my hands properly. I transferred some onto the steering wheel and it was incredibly slippery. Took me ages to get it off.