Just leather wrapped my steering wheel!!

Ok here it is. With imperfections on the rear I had to double side tape

 

Just to clarify. Are you recommending using tape just on the 3 and 9 o'clock positions and nowhere else?

 

That is correct because you want it to move into position as you sew. Tapping down the rounded section will cause wrinkling unless you got lucky and applied the wrap just right and since this will be your first wrap, that's unlikely to happen. Where there's stiching, you don't need to tape as the stiching is what conforms the wrap tightly around the steering wheel.

 

Thanks guys, now I have to do this! Anyone have a pic of the preferred tape method at 3 and 9?

 

Fabric upholstery double sided tape is very thin. Outline the 3 and 9 flaps or directly on steering wheel but do not release the top liner until you're ready. Place a few strips inside the outlines as well. Do the entire flap if you like. This will ensure no bubbles or air pockets.

 

Very nice look. Dang...too many ideas...

 

Decided to give it a shot for the $60 it cost on Amazon. LOTS OF PATIENCE. Took a few hours, left it on, and did not remove the airbag. Had to constantly start the truck to move the wheel into the right position for sewing. A professional probably would’ve done a much better job but for the money and time into this I am VERY happy. Feels great and looks awesome.

I needed to add some glue to the areas you see I have held in with paper and business cards and let sit overnight. There just wasn’t enough material tucked in to keep it from coming out. So now you cannot even tell.

Overall, I would highly recommend this upgrade

 

How hard is it to remove the steering wheel. I want to do this and I would prefer to remove the steering wheel, but i'm a little leary of removing it due to the air bag. Is there a video on how to remove the steering wheel?

 

I watch a bunch of videos on how to remove it and was not afraid to do it. In fact I had initially planned to remove it. However I felt it was going to be easier to sew being in a fixed position.

 

This was all super helpful info. In the end, I did pull the airbag and controls, but not the wheel. I feel that you have to pull the airbag and controls at a minimum to get a good tuck on the edges. There were a few spots that would have been easier with the wheel pulled all together, but I found it manageable, and actually favored having the wheel stationary. A few additional details of my experience.

• I found it easier to have the double sided tape on the wheel rather than the cover. This was so I could sew a few stitches to get the placement, then loosen a bit, peel off the backing and then stick the cover and continue stitching. This also was critical for the 3 and 9 o clock positions, the contours of the spokes front and back and the tops of the spokes. Also, taped the edges where the leather tucked. Didn't use much tape on the top or bottom sections.
• I would regularly go back and use the needle to pull on the thread and take up slack. I would do this every 7-10 stitches or so, then go back and tighten things up a bit.
• The wheel wrap had a few places that were much thinner than others. As a result, the thread ripped the leather in 2 places. These were places that tucked behind the trim, so I picked up on the next hole as a starting point. In the end it wasn't noticeable on the finished product, though if I hadn't already sewed part of it, I would have exchanged on Amazon. May be worth checking to see if there are any defective issues or thin spots before starting.
• I did the bottom first, then bottom right, bottom left, then stitched top of spoke to where the dimpled and smooth leather meet (2 o'clock), then did a long run all the way around to finish. I think this worked for me, would do that pattern again. Also, there is a faint line in the wheel that served as a center line for the stitching all the way around. This helped me keep the seam in the center of the wheel.
• 2 things I would do different. First, be really mindful to get the 10 and 2 seams aligned initially. When I completed the wheel, I realized the right seam (dimpled and smooth meeting point) was easily about 1/2" higher than the left (see pic below). Second, is to really form the leather to the spokes front and back at 9 and 3 and tuck the seam into the top of the spoke where it meets the whee before and during sewing. The first time around (more on that shortly) I left this section too unformed on the right side, and it left the leather loose and pouchy. Even with tape it was still loose. After doing the whole wheel my OCD kicked in and I went back the next day, cut the thread and re did both the spoke section (right side only) and the top part of the wheel to align the seams better. Although I left a little bit of the used tape in place thinking it would still work, and it got bunched in a few places and left some small but mostly un noticeable bumps here and there. Oh well.
• The first seam on the bottom went really quick. I laughed at the idea of it taking 6 hours, but sure enough I ended up about 5.5 day one, and another hour day 2.

Overall, super happy with the end result and the leather feel is excellent. If any of the blemishes I caused ever bug me enough, I may re-do it now that I have the experience. Although at this point, sticking with it and will see how it wears. Thanks to all for the tips, couldn't have achieved the result I did without the forum. Picture from day 1 and after restitching part of it day 2. Seam was still a bit off on the right side in the end, but close enough to call it good.

 

Very nice of you to come back and post all these tips. It turned out awesome too.

 

Looks great and wish I had the patience to do this on my 2012 Tundra.

 

Here is another option as well

 

Someone should buy yours and use it as a core....wrap them, then sell it already wrapped to another user, and charge the replacement cost, and refund that amount when they ship theirs back...they used to do this on another forum I was a member of for 4runners.

 

@RegGex can share the wheel I was able to source which I'll be adding soon.