ok, so poss not mech & tech (or is it?) but after years of trying to clean the steering wheel with every product EVER (prob over statement) it still leaves my hands black if they get wet or sweaty and then i transfer it to my new vinyl covers. why does it do this? what can i do to stop it? i know it's not the most mech/tech problem and believe me i have more expensive ones to sort out but it's annoying and making a mess of interior and clothes. thans in advance, Lisa
A good scrub (I mean scrub) with Cillit Bang - and the dirt is gone ! There's a whole layer of 30 year old congealed sweat you need to remove...
It's also known as hand cheese. lol Ewe. I can't believe it's still dirty if you've already scrubbed it. Try steel wool with pure ammonia. Nothing is better at cutting gunk. Except maybe carburetor cleaner. It's funny, I was just thinking how your bus would look good with a hemp rope steering wheel wrap anyway. Have you ever seen that? Just go round & round with thin hemp rope or jute twine. After a while the raised bumps will become smooth and shiny like an old wooden hand rail. Then macrame a tiny plant hanger with the left-over and put a bud vase in it. ^-^
Baywatcher may be right. The later Bay wheels are made of a soft rubbery compound that seems to stay sticky even if it's been cleaned. The earlier ones are made of hard plastic. I wonder if after 30-40 years, the stuff's just decomposing. Rubber parts don't really stand the test of time. Could put a wheel cover on it.
I have the same problem with my steering wheel. I bought an early wheel to compare and there is definitely a difference in feel. I think I am going to sand, fill and paint my one..
One thing that makes plastics go sticky is suntan cream, or hand cream. The steering wheel on my 74/75 bus is hard plastic. It was wrapped in several golf club handle grip tape wraps. I took these off and underneath it was rough, dull, sticky and worse still chipped and split down to the metal core in one place. A bit like somebody had dropped it hard. So cleaned it with soapy water, wet and dry sanded it , then I filled it with Isopon and sanded more and primed and resprayed it gloss black. I then wrapped it with 10 metres of 10mm wide black leather craft strip - quite cheap on eBay but it is made out of lots of pieces of leather stitched together every metre or so, as there are no animals with a clear 10 metre straight section of hide... The stitching at the joins wears out but you can always restitch it if you catch it quickly. It gives a nice textured grip while you can still feel the ridges on the underside of the wheel.
Don't even consider painting it. It isn't even currently in a proper solid state. I don't know if there is a way to reset it. First try putting a few spoons of baking soda in a juice glass and top it off with vinegar. Mix it well. That might do something. Let us know how that works. If I had any resin hardener lying around I might be tempted to try that, but I wouldn't count on it. Tell me, does your skin react unusually harshly to cheap jewelry? Does low quality metal rub off green on your skin after just a short time wearing it? I only ask because my friend who has the ever-melting steering wheels can also corrode cheap metal at a bizarre speed, turning it green and infecting her ears in minutes. I always wondered if the two were related. I swear, sometimes I just sit back and wait for the mothership to beam her up and return her to her home planet, that girl. I only saw the hemp (or jute?) wrap once on a gorgeous California surfer bus. It was all decked out in Hawaiian tribal with tables and cabinets made from polished raw gnarly root wood & such. It was amazing. He used rope that was a little thinner than a pencil but you could go thinner if you want. I don't know how long it took to get all smooth and polished, but it really had character, ya know? Like old broken-in leather. I'll see what I can find on it. If you want to try it I can show you how.
I used Blackfriar degreaser and cleaner. Bought it from TOR paints, it was fairly expensive but Ive used it for loads of degreasing jobs (engine bay, cleaning road tar off the paint etc etc) It was the only thing that worked on my steering wheel. Took a few goes but eventually did the trick. Suppose other degreaser type products would work? found this link, didnt get it from them, it was just the first google page http://www.promain.co.uk/product/Blackfriar_Cleaner_and_Degreaser_for_Oil_and_Grease_id3846
