After almost 80,000km of use,the steering wheel of my Jazz was showing obvious signs of wear and tear. Discolored patches had developed on it and were an eyesore on an otherwise impeccably maintained car. I am completely adverse to the regular PU/art leather covers you get in the market for 200-500-700 bucks. They don't fit properly, ruin the tactile feel and worst of all, look ridiculous. I wanted a proper leather wrap which had to look as close to factory-fit as possible.
I had been looking for someone who could do a good enough job for quite some time. After asking around among friends and checking up on a few online recommendations, I found this guy, Raju, who has his shop in Palika Bhavan in Delhi. Finally, one Sunday morning, I woke up early and drove all the way there for what is the sole cosmetic mod of an otherwise stock cabin.
Condition of the steering after 4 years/75000+km
Wear and tear
Patches. What an eyesore!
The steering has to be removed and taken away for wrapping. For this, the first step is to remove the horn/airbag module.
The horn/airbag module with the infamous Takata airbag. This one was replaced just a few days back under recall.
The steering is then removed by undoing the hex nut.
Steering removed
Inside the workshop, the first step is to remove the plastic cowls.
Steering audio control module is removed and safely secured with a tie.
Measurements being taken.
Ustaad-ji at work, marking the leather.
This is genuine camel hide. Surprisingly, it comes from Mumbai and not Rajasthan. The biggest advantage of genuine leather is that it does not get very hot under the sun. No burnt palms.
He cuts of 4 individual pieces, which are stitched together to make a rough form.
He then tries the rough form on the steering, making corrections and trimming edges wherever necessary.
Once he is satisfied, the form goes for stitching. I chose red thread to go with the color of the car. In hindsight, I should have gone with black. Contrast red stitching looks real sporty in a black cabin. But in a car with beige interiors, it just sticks out.
Stitching done.
Ustaad-ji tries it on again and is happy. He then applies adhesive onto the steering
Finally the leather is pulled and meticulously sewn by hand. This requires skill and is a time consuming task.
Pulling the leather is critical to ensure a tight fit. Notice how the dimpled contours for the fingers are clearly visible.
Almost done. The audio controls and the cowls are re-attached
Final results
Close look at the stitching. Notice the wrinkles on the hide. Just the way it should be.
Close look at the spokes and the steering controls. There are no rough edges at all. Full marks for workmanship. This is as close to factory-fit as you can get.
Parting shot. Overall, a job well done. It took around 2 hours. They charged Rs 2000 for their troubles. I happily paid without bargaining.
Impressions after 1 month of usage.
-Stitching is robust and is holding up very nicely. There are no loose ends
-Leather does not get hot, even in peak Delhi summer heat.
-Leather has been wrapped so tight that the thickness has increased by just a few mm. Barely noticeable.
-Feel of the hide on hand is fabulous. It is so good to hold that you just don't want to let go. A BMW 320d steering is not as satisfying to hold as this.
-I checked with the stock leather wrap of the City VX at the showroom when the car went for service. This has just as good overall fit and finish and is actually better in terms of material quality and feel in the hand.