Today while driving I noticed that the back of my steering wheel has a different color compared to the front of the steering wheel. I don't know if this is the leather cracking or the material deteriorating but it doesn't look good to me. Not sure if this is from the killer Texas heat or from my oily/sweaty hands. If anyone knows a good fix to this I would greatly appreciate it. I will also be attaching photos.

Thank you!

 

Dang, how tight are you holding the wheel? It also looks like sun damage too. There's no fix for that other than replacing the wheel. I suppose you could dye it and seal it but it looks like a sunscreen for your windshield is in order. I'm from Houston so I know what you're going through.

 

Definitely looks like it's flaking, but just in case it actually is some sort of grime have you tried cleaning it? Have you seen any black flakes on your hands after driving?

 

I have not tried cleaning it, mainly because I'm scared I would do something wrong and mess it up even more. I was looking at leather protectors earlier this month, specially McKee's 37. Hopefully I could get this looking better soon.

 

Just use a damp towel and see what happens. No interior protectant will do anything now and to be honest if it is flaking off I would definitely take it to MB and have them fix that under warranty. The car is not even 2 years old.

 

Maybe use a leather cleaner and lightly wipe it and then use a conditioner, it might help.

I use Lexol on my dash, seats, etc.

 

Looks like grime to me. You need to clean steering wheel leather just like any other. In fact clean it more regularly if you have dirty, greasy or sweaty hands to prevent the leather from taking up all the dirt and grease

 

Wow that's bad. How old is the car?
If you're in a hot climate I suggest you keep some regular leather cleaner and conditioner on that hide. I tend to use this combo from the chem guys, which I've found really good .. leaves the leather nice and nourished without going greasy or slippery:
http://www.chemicalguys.com/Leather_...spi_109_16.htm

 

All leathers in our mercs are coated...
No "nourishing" leather product will do anything.... Unless the coating has failed.......

So initially clean it with a mildly soapy microfibre cloth... If that changes the state then apply something like 303 aerospace protectant afterwards.

If not try an APC with a short nap towell... (Slightly more aggressive).
Then ally the 303 or similar...

If no change and the texture is flaked... Then cleaning will do nothing and pursue warranty...

Later invest in a dash sun screen and apply 303 to the dash top and steering wheel ....

 

Although I agree with that in some sense, polyurethane coatings, regardless of their substrate, are never impermeable - especially in the thickness they are applied on flexible materials. The coatings are always good for repelling some dirt and liquid but certainly won't stop anything from going into the leather. Put a drop of water with some food dye on a scrap piece of coated leather and see how quick it shows up on the reverse side.

The moisture level of the substrate will determine to a great extent what happens to the coating applied above it. I won't argue against that fact that plain water (i.e. cleaning with a regular damp rag) will keep the leather in probably just as fine a condition, but a moisture emulsion will do the same and depending on composition won't dry out as fast.

 

Leatherique should take care of this, see threads on leather care for more details. It's two step process and takes some time, but it is well worth....

 

Not a professional,but that looks just like dirt. Try some sanitizer for your hand before driving to take the oils off your hands. You should really just clean it before that stuff starts to build up.

 

Update: I put on some Lexol leather cleaner and conditioner last night and it looks a lot better today, no grime or flaking seen at all. Hopefully it stays like this.

Thank you all for your suggestions!

 

looks like you need to dust the inside of your car too

 

What's the mileage?

 

I currently have 13,000 miles on the car.

 

Just in case anyone's leather does start to come, especially with cashmere interiors, the stuff LeatherWorld has works pretty awesome. i just used it on my CLS550 and it works great. Here's a video for anyone who unfortunately doesn't have a dirty wheel: