How To - Steering Wheel Spoke Refurbishment

Yeah, but I drive it every day PVR - I've done 18,000 miles since I bought it last September. The car had done 58k miles when I bought it, and the plastics were all worn. Every car you see with reasonably high mileage on Autotrader with an //M wheel has worn plastics... Look carefully :wink:
 
I really want to refurbish the spokes on my steering wheel. I just have the standard Z4 steering wheel do I still need to remove the airbag to get the plastics off ?
 
philip27 said:
I really want to refurbish the spokes on my steering wheel. I just have the standard Z4 steering wheel do I still need to remove the airbag to get the plastics off ?
Click to expand...

You need to remove really otherwise you will break something. Airbag removal is easy enough.
 
Has anyone else done this refurb? I used plastidip and the results were fantastic...until a recent heatwave ( rare in Swales!)! It had a shrinking effect; and peeled off around the edges.

Just wondering if anyone has used a different product and how it has stood up to regular use?
 
Grwilliams23 said:
Has anyone else done this refurb? I used plastidip and the results were fantastic...until a recent heatwave ( rare in Swales!)! It had a shrinking effect; and peeled off around the edges.

Just wondering if anyone has used a different product and how it has stood up to regular use?
Click to expand...

Paint or plastidip still I believe.

I use plastidip and I get about a year out of it before it tears / wears through.
 
sk93 said:
Grwilliams23 said:
Has anyone else done this refurb? I used plastidip and the results were fantastic...until a recent heatwave ( rare in Swales!)! It had a shrinking effect; and peeled off around the edges.

Just wondering if anyone has used a different product and how it has stood up to regular use?
Click to expand...

Paint or plastidip still I believe.

I use plastidip and I get about a year out of it before it tears / wears through.
Click to expand...

I used plastidip this time and after the heat it lasted a week. Think I'm going to try a Matt black spray this time around and see how it goes.
 
Paint will last much longer than plastidip. If you weren't in contact with the spokes all the time then it would be fine, but paint will be better.
 
Hello,
The link for removing the air bag has gone stale. Any other suggestions on where to get this step? Also, any reprogramming peculiarities to know about after reconnecting the battery?
Thanks!
 
Buzz said:
Hello,
The link for removing the air bag has gone stale. Any other suggestions on where to get this step? Also, any reprogramming peculiarities to know about after reconnecting the battery?
Thanks!
Click to expand...

Just disconnect your battery and leave for 30 minutes or so for any charge to clear.

Then insert a screwdriver through the holes on either side of the steering wheel to press on the spring clip which will release each side in turn.
 
Thanks very much. I found a video on YouTube that showed what you have said. This was a good afternoon project and the wheel looks much better. I highly recommend it.
 
I've started painting the back parts of the steering spokes, gives me some room for error before trying it on the visible front parts!

A few images below show the original, then painted with Plasti-kote matte black. the problem with this is even after drying the final layer is very soft and is easy to scratch.

The last image is sprayed with Plasti-kote satin clear coat, altough it doesn't look as good, it's much more resilient

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20161029_094444.jpg
 
Bing said:
Great write-up srhutch :thumbsup:

Time & delivery of goods permitting I'll do mine next weekend and post some pics for those of us with flappy paddles...

EDIT - I also use mine daily so can report back on wear as and when :driving:
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I will look forward to this , myself also being lazy in the left hand and leg department :D
 
I'm thinking of doing the same refurbishment to my steering wheel since it does not match the rest of the car..
However has anyone found a way to do this that actually lasts?
I dont really see the point in doing this if the new paint will just peel off the first time the temperature gets above 20degrees celsius..
 
Snowman said:
srhutch said:
Normal paint works fine, it's just Plastidip that doesn't
Click to expand...
Oh okay thanks for the reply!
Do i have to use a specific paint for plastics?
Or any plastic primer?
Click to expand...

Has anyone else repainted the covers with paint?
If so, did you use any specific plastic paint or just one layer of regular paint?
What about clearcoat?
 
Great guide!
I'm painting mine satin black for the alcantara wheel.

Has anybody managed to get ALL buttons off before painting..?
Would make things easier.
 
Another refurb complete

I read alot of issues about getting the airbag out, but just ram the screwdriver in with force, all your doing is pushing that big spring inwards that looks like a massive paper clip vertically mounted, it'll click out. Took me 2 mins.

80% of the time was just getting that nasty rubber coating off. I got it all off, used meths, white spirit, all purpose oil spray and 800 grit, with a rag it finally comes off with mix of all those.

I left the buttons in, tried to undo the 4 mini torx, but they were just too small and did not want to damage, so just masked off, making sure the tape poked well down the gaps

Went with Plasti-Kote matt back - I never want to see that rubber stuff again, once it starts to wear just looks ugly, mine looked like a bad sunburn peel

5 coats in all with a mid 1200 grit flatner

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I re did mine last year with Matt black and then a special lacquer which gives a very similar feeling to the original finish, a soft/rubber finish.

It also seems to be holding up well.
 
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