2010 Volvo XC60: Tan Wheel Dirty Hands

is this how the vehicle was crashed? someone was cleaning it and taking pictures while driving?

Maybe I'm just too barbaric but the steering wheel before picture didn't look dirty at all, the Armor All just made it shiny.

Dark wheels do get grungy--I hate it when you can feel the accumulated muck. The thing about cleaning steering wheels is--just about every product I have seen for cleaning interiors says somewhere on the label that it shouldn't be used on the steering wheel because it makes it slippery. And I think that includes the Armor-All wipes. But, who bothers with label instructions?

lostboyz: Who said I was driving?

bc1960: Actually, my Z3's wheel was LESS slippery after using it. Note that the after photo had different lighting than the before shot. It didn't look shiny to me and it certainly felt better. But if someone loses control and rams into another pole because their hands slipped off the buttered up wheel, I'll take the foul.

bc1960 says:
10:05 AM, 08/27/10

"Dark wheels do get grungy--I hate it when you can feel the accumulated muck. The thing about cleaning steering wheels is--just about every product I have seen for cleaning interiors says somewhere on the label that it shouldn't be used on the steering wheel because it makes it slippery. And I think that includes the Armor-All wipes. But, who bothers with label instructions?"

Armor All Cleaner Wipes aren't Armor All Protectant Wipes, so the only residue left behind is one of wholesome cleanliness. They're wonderful!

Haha.

Actually I just cleaned the black leather wheel in my car yesterday. It looked fine, but I figured what the heck. Sure enough, a lot of dirt came up.

The Mr. Clean magic erasers also work well on grime like that. We have a car with a light gray leather interior, and the seats kept getting dirtier and dirtier. I tried several products before trying the magic eraser as a last ditch effort, and it worked GREAT. I tried it on a small spot first, to see if it damaged the leather, and it didn't, so I did the whole interior. When I was done, the leather looked like new. After I was done, I also wiped the leather off with a wet cloth and conditioned it just to make sure the magic eraser didn't dry it out or anything, but I was very pleased and surprised. So if you ever run into grime in a light-colored interior again, maybe you can try that if the Armor All Cleaner Wipes don't work!

accordfan83 says:
10:45 AM, 08/27/10

"The Mr. Clean magic erasers also work well on grime like that. We have a car with a light gray leather interior, and the seats kept getting dirtier and dirtier. I tried several products before trying the magic eraser as a last ditch effort, and it worked GREAT. I tried it on a small spot first, to see if it damaged the leather, and it didn't, so I did the whole interior. When I was done, the leather looked like new. After I was done, I also wiped the leather off with a wet cloth and conditioned it just to make sure the magic eraser didn't dry it out or anything, but I was very pleased and surprised. So if you ever run into grime in a light-colored interior again, maybe you can try that if the Armor All Cleaner Wipes don't work!"

For sure, the Magic Eraser is wonderful for auto detailing. It truly is like "magic" and that kind of freaks me the hell out. They work so inconceivably well that you wonder if you just traded a piece of your soul to remove an ink stain.

I believe James used the armor all cleaning wipes not the armor all protectant wipes. I use the clean wipes all the time and they work well for most applications unlike the protectant wipes which are useless. Fwiw I've also used the clean wipes on the steering wheel with no I'll effects. Once it dries their is no slippery residue. The clean wipes do have a tendency to streak though if used on a warm surface or when they get too dirty. They also streak when I used them on the black zebra trim of my Mazda 6 sGT. Zaino detailing spray works great on the trim though

accordfan83:

I'm glad to hear you've found success using the Magic Eraser. I find it interesting that you'd worry about it damaging or drying out your seats, however, and made sure to use a wet cloth afterward. As the Magic Eraser contains no chemicals, but rather is essentially an engineered sponge (it's actually melamine foam), I don't see how it could do much in the way of damage, as the only solvent you're using is water. If the damp cloth didn't damage the seats, the Magic Eraser isn't going to either.

Josh was eating Pizza in another car wasn't he?

Yeah the magic eraser is definitely Martian/Area 51 tech. :)

I think a light colored wheel (interior in general) just kills the resale value. You know after a few years it will just look dirty and no amount of cleaning will make a difference.

throwback, check out some of the detailing message boards. Some of their before and after pictures are just insane how bad they look at the start and how brand new they look in the end. I agree though it is still much more time consuming and costly to keep up.

They are getting better with the design of some cars by having limited amounts of lighter materials. The new Regal with the light interior has black carpet and a dark brown steering wheel to offset the lighter areas.

to give a true comparo the wheel should be shot from the same angle for both the before and after wheel. Its hard to tell from the pics imo.

How the hell do you guys maintain your cars? Our steering wheel in our S70 is light coloured and it looks pretty clean. We do wash the car like every two weeks...

throwback says:

"I think a light colored wheel (interior in general) just kills the resale value. You know after a few years it will just look dirty and no amount of cleaning will make a difference."

I agree 100%. Have you ever seen a Range Rover with the light cream/white interior after an auto show? Those things get DENIM dye stains just from someone sitting and or sliding across the interior.

for me, i need to clean and sanitize steering wheel, dash, armrest, headrest, door handles and shifter every single week to keep my sanity intact. i can't imagine my steering looking like this xc60. ugh.

My '06 Jetta was the last car I will ever buy with a light interior (it was Pure Beige - that rich looking German beige, not the typical tan). It looked very rich when it was clean, but damn that beige carpet, headliner and those door pulls to hell.

As far as magic eraser. Be wary using it on soft touch painted on plastics, it ate right through the soft touch paint on one of my Jetta door pulls before I realized it. It did work great for scuff marks on the harder plastics though.

After nearly 4.5 years with that light interior I went back to a full black interior and am thrilled. However this will keep me on a regular steering wheel cleaning scheudule.

I have to disagree. Tan wheels look digustibg new and clean. Looks very feminine and more like an older persons color. Then again I dont like beige interiors at all and have never owned one. Black or brown for me please much richer, sportier and wears much better.

Being a tire shop tech., I hate light tan steering wheels.

I personally dislike light colored interiors for a car that is driven on a daily basis. I currently have a light colored interior now and have had a dark colored interior and I will nvr get another light colored interior again..Its so much work cleaning it and passengers are dirt prone, lol..But the wipes do wonders if you wipe down the interior consistently