Steering wheel trim change.

ph001 · Post by **ph001** » Tue Jul 07, 2020 8:40 pm

I had the usual wear around the controls of my MFSW so had been considering doing a diy refurb on them for months...

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I’d read all the previous posts on here and wasn’t much looking forward to removing the rubberised oem coating and then getting a good key to the plastic when repainting.

Then some very rare BMW Individual trims came up on Ebay (which may actually have been the same ones that came up for sale on here a few months agi, but i wasn’t quick enough) so I snapped them up.

They were listed as brand new but when they arrived the clips were broken so had obviously been fitted previously, so i negotiated a discount and went about fitting them.

These being silver, what i didn’t quite realise is that you don’t get the switch trims included as these are not separate to the switch electronics, so i had to reuse my existing switches. This did mean that I had to find a way to remove the dreaded coating and paint the switch trims.

After lots of experimentation of using different chemicals like IPA, white spirit, petrol, acetone, I finally tried autoglym tar remover. This seemed the best of the bunch by quite a margin. Basically the rubber coating just rubs off after soaking in the tar remover for about 30 mins or so. What you are then left with is a fairly matt black plastic finish that doesn’t need any further painting.

Refiting everything was simple enough and the broken clips don’t really seem to matter at all, but it took me a while to get used to the new colours....especially the silver trim with the black switches. Now i have got used to it i think it looks ok, as it does match the door pulls well. Certainly better than the old worn look of the previous. What do you think?

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Mr Tidy · Post by **Mr Tidy** » Tue Jul 07, 2020 8:45 pm

They are definitely a huge improvement compared to what you had.

Like you I think I could get used to the silver.

Wookster78 · Post by **Wookster78** » Tue Jul 07, 2020 8:46 pm

Looks good to me, I have the opposite to you, black wheel trims and silver buttons

IRD · Post by **IRD** » Tue Jul 07, 2020 8:50 pm

You’ve made a job there. They look really good.

ph001 · Post by **ph001** » Tue Jul 07, 2020 8:50 pm

Wookster78 wrote: ↑Tue Jul 07, 2020 8:46 pm Looks good to me, I have the opposite to you, black wheel trims and silver buttons

Lol...we need to swap some bits!

Wookster78 · Post by **Wookster78** » Tue Jul 07, 2020 8:52 pm

Ha ha yeah would sort us both out

mjennings23 · Post by **mjennings23** » Wed Jul 08, 2020 9:45 am

I tried getting the rubber stuff off the M Sport wheel I bought second hand, gave up very quickly and just sanded the whole lot down and repainted!

enuff_zed · Post by **enuff_zed** » Wed Jul 08, 2020 10:03 am

I think the combination of silver spokes and black switches works really well. I wouldn't change a thing if it were mine.
At the risk of upsetting Wookster78, I think it is better that way round than his. I like the fact the silver spokes stand out as separate from the rim, and it picks up well with the instrument surrounds too.

Wookster78 · Post by **Wookster78** » Wed Jul 08, 2020 10:09 am

Gutted...... only kidding was the only option I had other than buy new buttons which I can’t justify really will keep and eye out if some come up cheap or for swap on the forum, car has a lot of silver so does not look too bad with the overall look of the rest of the interior

enuff_zed · Post by **enuff_zed** » Wed Jul 08, 2020 10:27 am

Wookster78 wrote: ↑Wed Jul 08, 2020 10:09 am Gutted...... only kidding was the only option I had other than buy new buttons which I can’t justify really will keep and eye out if some come up cheap or for swap on the forum, car has a lot of silver so does not look too bad with the overall look of the rest of the interior

Phew! Yes it's hard to tell when all you see is the wheel in isolation.

Wookster78 · Post by **Wookster78** » Wed Jul 08, 2020 10:38 am

Expanded view for you, any better ....

enuff_zed · Post by **enuff_zed** » Wed Jul 08, 2020 11:08 am

Wookster78 wrote: ↑Wed Jul 08, 2020 10:38 am Expanded view for you, any better ....

Absolutely! Ta v much

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