good morning, the steering wheel on my gsx has the dreaded sticky condition. i have tried cleaning it a couple times without any good results. i had a 79 z/28 a few years ago with the 4 spoke sport wheel that was grungy/dirty and like touching a glue trap. could not get that to clean up after several cleaning attempts until someone told me to run it thru the dishwasher set to pots and pans {hi heat}. it came out of that dish washer literally like a brand new wheel! color was bright + no stickiness whatsoever and stayed that way. dishwater did no harm that i could see or feel. was wondering if anybody has tried this trick with the gs sport wheel? i do not want to take the chance with my rare/ hard to get {expensive} gsx wheel. charlie,,,
http://v8buick.com/index.php?threads/whats-the-fix-for-a-sticky-steering-wheel.252266/#post-2064717 http://v8buick.com/index.php?threads/can-a-sticky-wheel-be-saved.346441/#post-2966171
Never heard of the DW trick. The otherwise beautiful wheel in my '71 is sticky. I might have to try if no one else does it first (of course not as difficult to replace as yours). Would rather try it on a lesser wheel - Only other one I have is quite possibly the biggest POS wheel I think I've seen and of course it's not sticky. On my old GSX, the wheel wasn't sticky when I got it but the interior was dirty/moldy & I cleaned the wheel w/SG and maybe it was just coincidence, but right afterwards it became sticky. This was 35 years ago and I've hardly, if ever used the stuff since. As I got older, of my paranoias (not sure if I had it beforehand) is using the wrong chemicals on something.
The "oils" are coming out of the wheel and it is also probably getting harder as well. That is what happens, I mean it is 50 years old. You can clean it up and remove the "stickyness" but it will return and you will have to clean it again. This happens to all the sport wheels regardless of type, due to the material they used. Duane
i am really surprised at how well it has aged actually! just thought if the dishwasher trick would work and not harm the wheel i would not mind doing that once a season. here in chicagoland area we get ALOT of humidity which makes the sticky thing worse. if dano does not try the DW trick, i will by a used sticky regular sport wheel and try it out myself. or i would not be against paying for 1/2 of someone else,s wheel if they try it out. charlie,,,
Let us know if it works. I have a 16" original 69-70 blue sport wheel in my 69 car that gets sticky over time. Duane
I use laquer thinner once a driving season on mine for many years now. Just be careful not to get it on any vinyl or plastic surfaces.
Probably would need to be Everclear or Appalachian Shine,..if you go that route But I've used thinner more times than i count too,...won't hurt a thing
Took my car out after sitting for a few weeks yesterday, ended up having the sticky goo all over my hand from the wheel, never this bad. Wiped it down with Simple Green, seemed to work.
Back in the 80s used purchase the tri-spoke sport wheels off Skyhawks in the junkyard all the time. STICKY every time! Goop brand hand cleaner worked great to clean ‘em up and remove the “sticky”. Just slime the wheel up real good and let it sit 5 minutes, rinse wipe and go. Still use Goop for hand cleaning but it doesn’t seem as potent as it used to be(?) Steve weim55 Colorado