Discolored Paint/Finish(?) on Steering Wheel Airbag Cover

Hi all,

I'm running a 2017 SR5 and have a question regarding the paint/finish(?) of the plastic piece that covers the airbag portion of the steering wheel. In short, I noticed some crusty stuff on the plastic piece and wiped it using the only cleaning wipes in my car, which turned out to contain 75% ethyl alcohol. As a result, some of the paint/finish(?) came off the plastic piece, and it now looks like crap. Any thoughts on how to restore the paint to its original color/finish? After looking online, it seems that Black Graphite (Code FB22) is the original color but I'm not sure. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers

 

Have you tried a protectant like aerospace 303, armor all or something similar? That may be enough to bring some color back.

 

Have you considered maybe trying some Lexol leather conditioner on it? Maybe try a very small spot first regardless of what you try.

 

I mean....it's probably more trouble than it's worth to be honest with you. There are vinyl dyes that come in aerosols. You can take your entire steering wheel apart. There are videos on YouTube that show you how. Then you could spray it, let it cure, and then put the steering wheel together. You could attempt to spray some of the paint in a cup or bowl and then use a sponge brush, but that will look like crap as you'll never get it to blend in just right. You can buy a new airbag straight from the parts counter, but then you have to watch the YouTube video how to take the steering wheel apart. At that point....well it's just more trouble than it's worth.

 

It's true - this could turn into a prohibitively large project. If the simple treatments don't work, I'd be willing to try dye (I've dyed portions of leather seats with great success).

 

Another suggestion is to see if there is an auto or boat upholstery shop near you maybe for classic cars. Lots of boats shops near me. You would be suprised at the things these craftsman can do. It’s worth a shot anyway v

 

Cross you fingers for an airbag recall? Hey, you've got a good shot at it!

But in all seriousness, I'm sorry to hear about that OP. Annoying for sure.. Good luck!

 

Use fabric or interior dye. Matt black. Use only water based dressing. No ARMOR ALL. They will make plastic crack in time. Also there are some interior cleaner which you can buy from local detail supply store. Not from auto parts store.

 

Try some warm water with a little dish soap in it- maybe what you were wiping off just spread and made it look discolored

 

A good auto upholstery shop is a good option. You won't believe what they can do.

 

Can it simply be replaced? I'm not sure they come off without effecting the airbag??

 

Also don’t rub sanitizer on your hands and then jump driving. Known issue.

 

No. It's all attached together. You can't buy the cover separately

 

Following up here, OP. Did you find a solution? I did the same thing.

 

Those wipes just removed oils out of the plastic. I doubt they removed any finish, unless they became black themselves. I have cleaned many an interior and afterwards, there can be discoloration due to old plastic interior pieces losing their oils from a deep cleaning.

I just use some Mother's or Maguier's vinyl rejuvenator\protectant (not a fan of Armor All). The oils in them will seep back into the plastic and should remove the discoloration. It may take several applications over a month or so until the discoloration stops coming back.

Hopefully an easy fix.

It's always possible that the plastic Toyota used reacts badly and you'll either need to paint or replace it to make it perfect.

 

Not true. I replaced my airbag cover a few months ago because the same thing happened to me. Not sure about others but my airbag cover when in the sun had some blue color in it. There’s a company that just sells the plastic airbag cover and their cover is true black and oem as well.

 

This is gonna sound really getto, but how about some black shoe polish?

 

From whom did you get the cover? And was it an easy replacement? Thanks!

 

I got it from a site called 1mautos.com. Yep it was pretty straightforward. I posted about it here - #16062 https://www.4runners.com/posts/260795

 

Thank you! Did 1mautos provide instructions? I see that they’re only offering the part without the Toyota emblem now.

 

Nah, they may send you a video of how to unplug an airbag but that's about it. You may be able to salvage your existing emblem. You just have to snip through the melted tabs in the back.
If you need help just DM me.

 

Thank you!