i recently read a post asking how to get the sticky mess off of a 70's 4 spoke steering wheel. I have one that was also very very sticky. So last week i decided to try laquer thinner on a clean shop rag. It worked great!!! Took off all the goo and its still dry and smooth. No more sticky. It may remove some or the original grain but thats ok it was an unusable mess as it was. Again i didnt see any good answers to this post so i thought i would share this.

 

Wax and grease remover used to prep cars for paint will also work and not harm the material of the steering wheel.

 

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...tml#post488415

heres what I did that worked

 

Excellent! I used denatured alcohol to get the goop off my steering wheel, it worked great.

 

X2. I've been using this for over three decades with no ill effects on the wheel(s). Prep-Sol is one brand name. This is the same stuff as Goo Gone, but I buy it for car painting in gallon cans instead of the small consumer-size containers.

 

It also works to remove double sided adhesive tape which makes sense as i did not know it was pretty much the same as goo gone.

 

But does the "sticky" come back again with wax and grease remover? I've got one of those sticky steering wheels on my '69 4-4-2. I've cleaned it with various liquids in the past, only to have the "sticky" come back in a month or two.

Randy C.

 

Yes. I used wax and grease remover on mine too and it came back. It took 2 years though.

 

over time the steering wheel material softens up and soaks up the oils your skin emits it's the same with newer older cars ., My dad's 2000 dodge durango does the same thing. You gotta just give the steering wheela little tlc or wear driving gloves lol.

 

I use tuff stuff upholstery cleaner mine twice a year, seems to keep it under control. Just spray on a rag and wipe it down and then use a clean dry rag after.

 

The sticky stuff is the plasticizer, the softening agent, in the wheel coming out. It will always continue to come out after cleaning. SEM Products has a Tac Free Sealer that is supposed to seal the wheel and prevent it from coming out. You add it as part of the repaint process and when the paint dries the tac free is dried also preventing the sticky plasticizers from leeching out.

 

After installing a new Legendary pearl interior, I went with the new wheel from Fusick. The pearl interior ia a real P.I.T.A to begin with never mind having to deal with steering wheel goo.

Dave