TunerPlayground

Hey guys. I wanted to share this with all W202 owners out there who have two-tone steering wheels or even single color steering wheels that have become faded, worn, or just plain gross to look at/touch.

Just some background, I bought my 1998 C43 AMG 5 months ago. It's Obsidian Black with the two-tone black and ivory interior.

This was my steering wheel as of this morning (I actually cleaned it up a bit and made it look a lot better about a month before this photo was taken):



Look familiar right?

Pretty common issue.

So I'd been searching for different options for my steering wheel. Trying to find an OEM one in better shape ($450+), or have mine re-wrapped ($250-$350) or even converted into carbon fiber ($600-$800).

Then I stumbled upon a great business in Pleasanton, CA. Advanced Interior Restoration, run by Tom and his son-in-law Chris.

They quoted me roughly $200 for the work over the phone.

I had told them that I wanted to make my steering wheel entirely black, since I was afraid restoring it as two-tone would just lead to problems again too quickly. Tom said no problem, it would take a few hours. I dropped it off around noon.

...

Here is what I found when I picked up my car around 5:30pm today (I took the photo when I got home around 7ish):





The work is absolutely amazing. It's almost brand new again. AND they charged me less than what I was originally quoted!

Feels and looks AWESOME, my photo doesn't do it justice.

I'm so incredibly happy to have "completed" the restoration of my interior.

I would recommend these guys to anyone, message me if you're interested and I can refer you, they said they would be happy to take care of anyone I send their way via the forums. (Located in Pleasanton - SF Bay Area, CA)

Let me know what you guys think!

503C43 ////AMG

Looks GREAT, I love when one of us C43 owners finds a great restoration project that can be done relatively cheap. My steering wheel is already black but is NOT in the shape your is currently in. A restoration on the steering wheel is at the bottom of my list BUT it IS on the list. I will keep these guys in mind when it comes time for the steering wheel to be restored.

appatula

Holy Crap! Awesome workmanship

TunerPlayground

thanks guys. i freaking love it. felt great driving around today.

mbsickness

Looks great. Just out of curiosity, could they have restored the two tone?

TunerPlayground

yeah they can restore it to original two-tone or change the color(s) if you want too. anything is possible with these guys.

OgdenC36

I think it looks great, even better than the two tone in my opinion.

TunerPlayground

yeah i personally like it a lot more all black, especially because i have this shift knob now too instead of the original:

PJmak

whats the exact address and how much did they charge you exactly?

Maybe post their phone number. Wheel looks perfect

TunerPlayground

they're actually a mobile service, they told me that on mon, wed, and fri they're in pleasanton near the lexus dealership because they do work for them there. that's where i dropped off my car.

pm me for the number if interested, i'd feel bad if i posted it out here and it got picked up by those bots that find numbers for telemarketers.

2PHAST

I did the same on my E55 steering wheel, but did not use a 3rd party service. I used Goof Off to remove what remained of the grey so the original leather was completly exposed. The dye I used comes in a can (spray on), actually for vinyl but works equally well on leather. Finished product was perfect and has held up well (did this two years ago)

MarcusF

Nice shift knob. Who carries it?

Leather can be recolored. It's not hard and I've personally done it a number of times. If the leather looks like crap, then someone may wish to use all the recomendations listed here. If it's just faded, then the leather can simply be cleaned and colored. The same products can be used to make two-toned interiors. It doesn't rub or wash off.

TunerPlayground

nice!

the knob was from Jerry at formymercedes.com

it's not one that's listed i don't think, he recommended it to me personally

Alexbenz

been thinking about doing this to my driver's seat on my lexus.....my only problem is i here about some people complaining about it becoming sticky during summer time in the heat....

MarcusF

I've personally used Surflex on a daily driver for several years and it never became sticky or came off. This includes jumping in the car right after playing basketball, and taking the car out to Phoenix AZ . . . . . . in the summer . . . . . . where it doesn't *drop* to 100 degrees until nightfall. Surflex is good stuff. Colorplus has A LOT of standard colors and will custom mix you a batch if you can send them a sample. During the summer in SoCal, Surflex takes about an hour to dry. Two at the most. After that, wait a month before using any leather conditioner.

StapleGun

Nice work the perforations look great - I did the same (ALL black) the white was a really bad idea, it stays nice for two days. The heat expands the pores and traps dirt, grim, oil etc...I used Alan Gunn at aglausa.com for about $200

TunerPlayground

Thanks man. Yeah I was going to try Alan Gunn after I saw your post, but then these guys were local and it only took a few hours so I gave it a shot and it came out great.

PJmak

Wont the white come through once the black starts wearing out again??


Id refinish mine white and maybe wrap it with some kinda see through protector

TunerPlayground

Hmm. I'm not sure, I hope not. We'll see!

2PHAST

If you were to do this properly, the remainder of the white dye should be removed first. This is how I did my restoration.

DRBC43AMG

A bit of spit and polish this weekend...

austinholloman

Does anyone know what spray dye was used in this job?

popey24

DRBC43AMG

Looks like invisible ink IMO

austinholloman

This reply made my day. Thank you sir!