Soft Touch Restoration DIY

[InnerBlueSkies]

Special thanks to ToddinTN chief and SAMM3Y

Sam sent me the steering wheel trim for free with the intention I test some suede covering on it (those days are over).

Todd and Chief had some great input regarding materials. THIS PROJECT ISNT COMPLETE YET .... just thought I'd get the ball rolling. Start with Citrus strip, I left it on for 4 minutes.... there was light etching, follow-up with 1500 grit.

[InnerBlueSkies]

more

[InnerBlueSkies]

Done, 95% happy. Be sure to wet sand, I started with 400, came back with 1500

[InnerBlueSkies]

Could have done a better job sanding. For what it's worth, this camera picks up the details.

[chief]

Well done!

One of the lessons I learned was to add more coats of paints until I liked the finish (I averaged 4 to 6 coats). And since now I was working with paint rather than the rubbery stuff, I sanded a piece an additional time in the middle of the paint job because I didn't like the finish (I got a drip).

[InnerBlueSkies]

Originally Posted by chief

Well done!

One of the lessons I learned was to add more coats of paints until I liked the finish (I averaged 4 to 6 coats). And since now I was working with paint rather than the rubbery stuff, I sanded a piece an additional time in the middle of the paint job because I didn't like the finish (I got a drip).

Same here, 1500 grit and a respray gets the job done. I went very light with three coats. I have a rear console and the door handle to address. Here are the final install after cleaning up. I know this sounds crazy but the imperfections you see are not as rough when you look at it in person, would have never reinstalled it looking like that. I made a video to show what I am talking about. They are there but visually not enough for me to pull them off and refinish right now.

[chief]

Looks good to go!! And light years ahead of where you started.

It's fun breathing new life into the interiors of these older e9x Ms. They respond well to TLC.

[Cyberdemon]

Thanks for sharing, it's hard to tell completely from the pics, but it seems like the citristrip didn't fully remove the soft touch.

The base plastic has a relatively glossy surface finish out of the mold, so I think part of the key to get that same effect is to remove as much of the soft touch with a non-abrasive/chemical method as possible before ever getting to an abrasive. If you're using sand paper to remove chunks of soft touch, you're also going to take some of the plastic with it.

This reminds me that I have a very gross old soft touch wine bottle opener I need to strip the soft touch off of cause it's gross and sticky but we were hoarding rubbing alcohol because of Covid so I didn't want to waste it.

[MPizza]

i removed most of the soft touch from my door trim today by using duct tape, worked surprisingly well!

[amrazM]

Nice work, there is great pleasure to be had in restoring these small pieces.

[Bubbles]

This stuff works great. Impressed with the results, hoping the durability matches.

[chief]

Originally Posted by MPizza

i removed most of the soft touch from my door trim today by using duct tape, worked surprisingly well!

Wow! Didn't see that one coming

[Iyzmi]

Nice work! Do the steering wheel next, I've been waiting for a good DIY on steering wheel leather refinishing.

[InnerBlueSkies]

Originally Posted by Iyzmi

Nice work! Do the steering wheel next, I've been waiting for a good DIY on steering wheel leather refinishing.

Do you know of a reputable outfit that supplies the kits. It's worth a shot!

[chief]

Originally Posted by Iyzmi

Nice work! Do the steering wheel next, I've been waiting for a good DIY on steering wheel leather refinishing.

I used saddle soap, leather honey, and finally leatherique rejuvenator.

The saddle soap did a good job of cleaning the steering wheel (and dress shoes!).

The leather honey is great for reconditioning all leather and worked great on my seats.

The leatherique did a great job or returning the leather to the 'factory' style finish. Its more of a matte finish than what you get from saddle soap or leather honey.

If I am to recommend 1 product, I think I would go with the leatherique rejuvenator. Its a great one step process that cleans up with a clean damp (preferably warm) microfiber towel.

[Iyzmi]

Originally Posted by InnerBlueSkies

Do you know of a reputable outfit that supplies the kits. It's worth a shot!

Originally Posted by chief

I used saddle soap, leather honey, and finally leatherique rejuvenator.

The saddle soap did a good job of cleaning the steering wheel (and dress shoes!).

The leather honey is great for reconditioning all leather and worked great on my seats.

The leatherique did a great job or returning the leather to the 'factory' style finish. Its more of a matte finish than what you get from saddle soap or leather honey.

If I am to recommend 1 product, I think I would go with the leatherique rejuvenator. Its a great one step process that cleans up with a clean damp (preferably warm) microfiber towel.

I love Leatherique Rejuvenator but my steering wheel would take more effort than that to bring back to life. It's not just dirty, it's worn. Based on his pics, I think OP is in the same boat.

I've considered trying the Leatherique Steering Wheel kit but have never gotten around to it:

http://www.leatherique.com/steering-wheels.html

[WagonR]

Looking at the pictures, it looks like some of the imperfection comes from the paint stripper etching into the plastic. Is that the case, or do you think some of the original coating was still on? It would be nice to get the original coating off without damaging the underlying plastic. Seems like that's either rubbing alcohol, or duct tape? I'm guessing a lot of effort as well. Paint strippers seem pretty hit or miss on how they react to plastics (the type of plastic matters too). Any other suggestions?

Also, don't get me wrong, it looks way better and I'm sure the camera is overstating how it looks compared to real life. Just seeing if there's a way that would avoid the sanding process and help the overall finish.

[InnerBlueSkies]

Originally Posted by WagonR

Looking at the pictures, it looks like some of the imperfection comes from the paint stripper etching into the plastic. Is that the case, or do you think some of the original coating was still on? It would be nice to get the original coating off without damaging the underlying plastic. Seems like that's either rubbing alcohol, or duct tape? I'm guessing a lot of effort as well. Paint strippers seem pretty hit or miss on how they react to plastics (the type of plastic matters too). Any other suggestions?

Also, don't get me wrong, it looks way better and I'm sure the camera is overstating how it looks compared to real life. Just seeing if there's a way that would avoid the sanding process and help the overall finish.

100% etching is what you see, 400 grit wet sanding followed up with something a bit less abrasive actually will result in a near perfect finish.