Pagoda SL Group
W113 Pagoda SL Group => Body, interior, paint, chrome, and cosmetic items => Topic started by: mdsalemi on May 01, 2023, 14:23:22
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Looking towards the long drive there and back to the Chicago event in September...
...has anyone wrapped their OEM plastic steering wheel with anything like leather or other kind of cushion-y material? I find the plain plastic isn't the best feel for long drives, for me. In only a "round one" of checking all I see are kits and wraps for 15" diameter wheels, not for the bus-sized one we have.
Any suggestions?
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Michael, I've used wheelskins to leather wrap my black steering wheel. Nice feel and it adds a bit to the thickness of the wheel.
https://wheelskins.com/
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Marcus, Do you have a pic of yours installed? Was it easy to install with a good ginal appearance? Thanks.
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..that's why people in the 60s and early 70s used "Driving Gloves". 8) -- "Gloves without fingers?" :o
I still have a pair in the glovebox of my SL...
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Marcus, Do you have a pic of yours installed? Was it easy to install with a good ginal appearance? Thanks.
Unfortunately I do not. John Lews should have one as I believe he has also used Wheel skins. I used black leather and the final look and feel were excellent. It takes patience to install as you need to make sure you keep the stitching tight and consistent around the wheel. Not difficult to install. They give you instructions. I swapped my black wheel for an ivory one many years ago, which I have not covered for obvious reasons. I can take of a pic of the wheel off the car if interested.
Now, as Mike mentions, I wear blue leather (to match my interior) driving gloves. They are very light and thin and can be worn even in the summer.
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Michael, I've used wheelskins to leather wrap my black steering wheel. Nice feel and it adds a bit to the thickness of the wheel.
https://wheelskins.com/
Thank you, just what I was looking for. I think this will work. May go for the two tone. Black and Red, just like my car (black interior and red paint). Nice to see that they are made in USA and somewhat custom in size.
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Wheelskins is great. Mine's been on for 15 years. Very comfortable and good looking. Don't do the two tone, not Pagoda elegance.
If you want, I have the perfect size measurement to order.
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Wheelskins is probably the best way to go. As noted, just take your time with the installation.
I was fortunate to have a talented interior guy wrap my steering wheel with leather when he was doing some other leather work on my interior.
Norm
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Here is another pic...
Norm
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Very nice looking! The black leather on black wheel looks better than I thought. Sometimes tone-on-tone can be off a bit an look bad. I'm sure the Wheel Skins stitching is more basic than what Norm had done professionally, but from the driver's perspective it looks great!
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Very nice looking! The black leather on black wheel looks better than I thought. Sometimes tone-on-tone can be off a bit an look bad. I'm sure the Wheel Skins stitching is more basic than what Norm had done professionally, but from the driver's perspective it looks great!
Yes, the black leather is the same as the wheel itself so to just glance at the wheel you might not notice it was covered. My only other comment would be that if you do this yourself make sure the start and end point is exactly at the very bottom of the wheel.
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I had a Leather cover, left over that never been used.
I removed the soft part and only used the perforated leather and had to do two splits so it would fit the big steering wheel. I’m pleased with the outcome. :)
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Here are the Wheelskin dimensions for a nice, tight wrap.
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I thought I'd just show the lacing. My seam is where the finger indentations are in the wheel. This is a bit different than is shown by Wheelskins, I didn't want to see the lacing from the front anywhere. The lacing falls into the first crook of my fingers when I hold the wheel and is very comfortable, could even postulate that the position provides more grip with an irregular surface if needed. Both pics are tonight, 15 years after installation.
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Thank you, just what I was looking for. I think this will work.
Michael,
Did you order samples? I did and I like the look and feel of the material. I'll check to see if I have to send back the samples. If not, I can forward them to you (or anyone else) who wants to have a look.
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Did you order samples? I did and I like the look and feel of the material. I'll check to see if I have to send back the samples. If not, I can forward them to you (or anyone else) who wants to have a look.
I thought the price a bit high (on Wheelskins) and decided to search around a bit more...and I found this instead: https://a.co/d/b7wJcc1
It has arrived, and I did stretch this around the wheel; it looks like the fit will be great. The installation called for waxing the thread. Despite my seamstress's wife collection, she did not have this in her kit: https://a.co/d/6yk6F4O and that just arrived yesterday.
I will do the "baseball stitch" per their instructions and other instructions on YouTube; it's much like threading laces through sneakers, albeit instead of two ends of the same lace you are using two needles. On the Amazon link, for the product, they show images of the Cross Stitch and the Baseball Stitch. I don't know which stitch Thelews did, but I don't think it's either of those. They supply the needles and the threading. The instructions seem pretty clear on the YouTube videos; less so in the packaging. It's the starting and the tie-off that may prove a challenge. There seem to be plenty of ways to do this so I don't think there's only one way.
The quality of this leather was remarkable considering it cost just $17.00. The leather is supple, with the smell of leather. Seems to be plenty thick. Our OEM steering wheel takes the XL0 size. The XL refers to the diameter of the wheel, the the 0 refers to the circumference of the wheel rim. I ordered black leather/black lacing.
It will be installed this weekend.
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The quality of this leather was remarkable considering it cost just $17.00.
I ordered black leather/black lacing.
Wow, that's quite a lot less than the $75 from WheelSkins. I'll have to decide if it's worth $60 to support an Ohio company. They're in North Royalton.
I'm surprised you didn't go with red lacing. Lots of current MB models have red stitching available for seats, door panels, and dashboard.
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Wow, that's quite a lot less than the $75 from WheelSkins…I'm surprised you didn't go with red lacing.
I think I did but they shipped black. All ok.
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Hello Michael,
Looks like I'm late to this steering wheel cover party, but here a couple photos of my job.
Regards,
Larry in CA
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Hi Larry! I remember you from old PUBs. I hope you're healthy and happy! So, it looks like you tried to match the upholstery instead of the steering wheel itself. Is that a wheelskins wrap or something else, how long has it been installed, and are you still happy with it? Thanks.
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Hi Larry and others--
Well this morning I'm about ⅔ of the way through the steering wheel wrap project.
I made a huge mistake yesterday, only because I never saw the suggestion. REMOVE THE STEERING WHEEL. I would not suggest even trying to lace a leather or other wrap around a wheel in situ; never, ever. Not again. Don't make this mistake.
Even if you did yours when installed, well more power to you; it still would be far easier outside the car. In my case the exceedingly long threads--two of them with two needles, kept getting tangled; I was doing what was called "the baseball stitch". In addition during the threading process they consistently found every possible place in the cockpit to get caught on. It was exasperating. I was contorting to see the pre-punched holes from the backside. It was simultaneously frustrating and maddening. Progress was a snail's pace. For those with a biblical bent, there was much "wailing and gnashing of teeth."
Then I decided to remove the steering wheel. I popped the bonnet/hood; in one minute I removed the ground from the battery. In 10 seconds I popped the horn pad off. Using a 13MM socket on a short extension I removed the five nuts in about 2 minutes. Using a Phillips, I removed the horn wires. In less than five very easy minutes, the steering wheel was on my kitchen island in an expansive brightly lit workspace. I made more progress over the next 40 minutes than I did in the prior two hours.
"Tight is right" they all say on the lacing. The challenge is as you pull the threads to tighten, the leather is pulling back. So, I decided that with each inch of progress on the circumference of the wheel, I needed to "hold the tightness" of the lacing. Tie wraps were perfect for that. Lace an inch or so, pull tight, install a tie wrap to hold it in place. One thing I did NOT do, but will for the next time, is use miniature bar clamps on the unlaced portions to hold the leather in position such that the seam will not be shifting. As you progress the leather will want to shift and twist and turn, and it helps to kind of hold it in position. Of course, once its complete all the tie wraps will be cut off and I'll do my best to uniformly twist any uneven seams into position...or try again with new thread sometime.
The observant will note the difference between Lurtch's leather and mine. While he didn't say what brand wrap he has, his edges are rolled and finished and mine are just cut. My wrap was all of $17 on Amazon; see the prior post. While the leather seems to be of good enough quality, it's not finished nearly as well as a more costly wrap on the edges.
My goal is to finish this today, and re-install. Big car show this weekend (Pinehurst) and I need to do other things on my car. If I don't like this wrap, I can alway try again...better to experiment with this less costly version and if I try a better one I've got my own guidelines for a better job.
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All finished--and reasonably pleased with this project. The leather is nice and supple; the stitching, though not without a couple of flaws (almost impossible to spot) is nice and tight and despite the extra effort, happy I did the "baseball stitch". [I suppose there's any number of ways to stitch this, it's no different than doing a pair of lace up tennis shoes, and you would believe some of the crazy lacing people come up with.] The tie wraps left some indentations but even in moments as the leather relaxed, these marks are disappearing. I expect them to be mostly gone before long and with use. I tucked the starting point under the last part of the stitching and when I did the tie off, finished it with the ever so smallest drop of glue on the knot.
Installed the steering wheel back, tested the horn and all is well. Put some leather conditioner on it, wiped it down and it's good to go.
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Great write up. With the zip ties so tight, how did you cut them off without cutting the leather?
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Great write up. With the zip ties so tight, how did you cut them off without cutting the leather?
CAREFULLY. I used a small end nipper; but I think I could have used a standard diagonal nipper on the head of the zip ties.
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Great job Michael, thanks for sharing!
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Thanks for this great thread. Hope it stays archived. I am about the start the same project.
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Thanks for this great thread. Hope it stays archived. I am about the start the same project.
Take my advice… Look early in the thread. Remove your steering wheel and do it in the brightly lit area inside the house!
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I used wheelskins to great satisfaction with the wheel in place. I liked have the wheel held firmly in place while I did the lacing.
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I have wheel skins on the 230 sl and 300d
very happy with the product
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Great job Michael, now that you are in the “south” the leather will feel so much better on those hot days, instead of the hot plastic wheel. I always put a sun shade in my windshield when parked in summer. Bob
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Great job Michael, now that you are in the “south” the leather will feel so much better on those hot days, instead of the hot plastic wheel. I always put a sun shade in my windshield when parked in summer. Bob
Thanks, Bob. As I mostly drive/drove the car in the summers anyway, just the feel of the plastic wheel wasn't that great under most conditions. Some would say, "wear driving gloves" but that to me would be not in my character and as pretentious as specialized driving shoes! I was never in a race and these things are a bit alien to me.
Anyway I don't intend THIS inexpensive wrap to last forever, but I wanted a less costly unit as a trial to feel comfortable with the process. I figured if I made a mistake no big deal to toss it all and start over with something else. The next incarnation will be one with a bit more padding.
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Wheelskins is probably the best way to go. As noted, just take your time with the installation.
I was fortunate to have a talented interior guy wrap my steering wheel with leather when he was doing some other leather work on my interior.
Norm
That is unquestionably the nicest leather wrapping I’ve ever seen. Completely bespoke and it shows.
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I read this thread with some wonder since I never experienced the standard wheel as anything but a pleasure. On longer trips driving straight ahead, I just touch it with a finger or two, hand in my lap and when turning, the plastic/bakkelite or whatever just feels great to me. And I must say that each of these leather wraps look a bit off to me. Well, to each their own!
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I read this thread with some wonder since I never experienced the standard wheel as anything but a pleasure. On longer trips driving straight ahead, I just touch it with a finger or two, hand in my lap and when turning, the plastic/bakkelite or whatever just feels great to me. And I must say that each of these leather wraps look a bit off to me. Well, to each their own!
A good deal of the 20,000+ miles on my car since the restoration over 20 years ago has been very high-speed high mileage in the summer. Many trips from Michigan down to Joe’s at 4000 RPM for hours at a time, in the heat of summer. Going to Chicago in the heat of summer for an MBCA event. Going to Cincinnati in the heat of summer for a Concours. Even travel around Michigan in the heat of summer for various events. My hands tend to sweat and that does not bode well on a plastic steering wheel; starts to feel slippery. It just doesn’t feel right and never has. My guess is that’s why they invented drivers gloves!
To each their own for certain, but understand that most cars manufactured today and offered for sale in the USA do not have an uncovered plastic steering wheel; it’s covered with leather or some kind of padding and similar. It’s what the market is demanding I’d imagine.