How to repair scuffed leather?

[MC Hammered]

I took my car to a hand car wash and the girl cleaning the interior scuffed the leather steering wheel as shown in the pics.

I tired using some leather conditioner to help smooth it back down but the scuffed leather doesn't stay down.

Any ideas/tips on how to fix this?

[CAOSyAMOR]

try Doc Bailey's or some other conditioning leather dye. That looks as though some of the surface finish has actually been taken off.. Best you can hope for is to blend the color without any major effort involved.

[MC Hammered]

I'm not as worried about the look. I actually want to smooth out the damage so I don't feel it against my palm when the wheel is turning.

[AndrewBird]

Try just pushing on it with the handle of a screwdriver or something similar. Sadly, it will never look like it used to. Once the surface finish is gone, there is no fixing it.

[CAOSyAMOR]

I'm not as worried about the look. I actually want to smooth out the damage so I don't feel it against my palm when the wheel is turning.

very fine sand paper.. But you will probably do more damage than good from an aesthetic point. May almost feel suede-like but you'll be digging into a deeper hole and want to do the whole wheel.

[MC Hammered]

Instead of cleaning my office I decided to fix the scuff since it was burning in my mind.

So I raided my shoe cleaning kit and took some black conditioner and a horsehair brush to the damaged area. It sure helped blend the damage in with the rest of the wheel but I could still feel the roughness.

So I didn't have any shellac or lacquer on hand so I used the next best thing... liquid snowboard wax!

I dripped some of the liquid snowboard wax and spread a thin film over the scuffed area. I watched it fill in the tiny gaps and I let it soak in and dry for 15 minutes.

I took a MF cloth and buffed off the excess, ran my hand over area and it was smoother. So I repeated the process, let dry for 15 minutes and the layers of wax are slowly building up.

So I'm hoping after 3 more applications the section will be smooth again.

[Cobra Jet]

If it were me, I would have bitch slapped her, then brought the damage to the attention of the Car Wash Manager or Store Owner and would have told them they would be reimbursing me the cost of a new factory steering wheel... Get the price of a new steering wheel and show them the "estimate" for repair, get them to pay and buy yourself the same wheel (or something better)...

I hate it when others F-up vehicles or parts of them, of which the owner's really take pride and joy in...

[jaxliner]

i agree with cobra jet
but ur repair really does look muck better