Basically the leather (which has a lacquer on it) wears thinner and thinner until then eventually the colour pigment then wears. In your case cleaning it with the wrong product has just removed more pigment. Pigment (when talking in leather terms) is just a posh word for leather paint (not dye).
What I would do is clean it with a leather cleaner ideally, if not then something neutral. Then sterilise it all with pure alcohol (isopropyl), its cheap off ebay.
Then I would apply a solvent lacquer for leather (it's not expensive), this is to create a strong bond/barrier as the surface can be a bit iffy on the steering wheel. Then I would apply the pigment carefully using a sponge or sprayer. Maybe 2 coats. When fully dry apply either the lacquer used earlier (matt, but can give a sheen) or use another water based mat lacquer to give that true matt look.
I did mine a few weeks ago and it is rock solid and should last absolutely ages, I took a sample from the seat to get the same shade.
Apologies for not taking the exact same angle on the pics, but you can see clearly anyhow.
__________________
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Done:
New leather & walnut steering wheel, headlight restore, new badges to rear & engine, walnut facia trims, full size spare wheel, timing belts, Plenum spy hole, DD head unit.
• This vehicle was the 67,855th 75 to run off the production line, out of 112,381
• This vehicle was the 2,457th 75 2.5 V6 Connoisseur SE to be made out of 3,671
|