Dang. Nice job! I know this a common issue, but I always assumed it was caused by using some type of spray or cleaner on the rubber. When I bought my car, the rubber was all sticky and the grey paint was scratching off of the ring. It looked pretty bad, and I really wanted to capture the feeling of the car when it was new, so I ended up ordering a new airbag and just replacing it, which is easily the most expensive solution and there are much better ways to go about it, as you've demonstrated.

 

I was going to purchase a new airbag also. But then I found some very helpful information on a Corvette forum. I combined his steps and a few from a buddy of mine. Thanks for the compliment!

 

Looks amazing! I have the exact same problem definitely will be doing the same. Was it hard to take it off the steering wheel??


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Not hard at all.
-Disconnect the NEGATIVE terminal first from your battery, then the POSITIVE.
-Turn your ignition on to ensure all power is off.
-Then use a 5mm hex key to remove the single bolt from each side of the steering wheel- 2 bolts total.
-pull the airbag out slowly
-pull out the small tab in the center of the wire harness. This will then allow you to pull the harness out of the airbag.
-revome the sticky
-install the airbag
-connect the POSITIVE terminal first to your battery, then the NEGATIVE.
-start the car and admire your new wheel

 

Not hard at all.
-Disconnect the NEGATIVE terminal first from your battery, then the POSITIVE.
-Turn your ignition on to ensure all power is off.
-Then use a 5mm hex key to remove the single bolt from each side of the steering wheel- 2 bolts total.
-pull the airbag out slowly
-pull out the small tab in the center of the wire harness. This will then allow you to pull the harness out of the airbag.
-revome the sticky
-install the airbag
-connect the POSITIVE terminal first to your battery, then the NEGATIVE.
-start the car and admire your new wheel

Appreciate the detailed response! Another winter project [emoji846]


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Finished appearance

 

I’m late to the party, but how has the finish held up a year later?

 

Sorry for the slow response. It still looks perfect. Keep in mind the car is garage kept and never exposed to extreme heat or cold conditions.

 

They got sticky from inappropriate use of cleaning fluids, proabably ammonia based for years, or lots of hand lotions

 

It turns out that isn’t the case. The airbag on my ‘05 was starting to get sticky, so I removed it and opened up the brand new OEM airbag and steering wheel that I‘ve had squirreled away. Pulled it out of the box and - the airbag was already starting to go sticky. Just about the same amount as the original that’s on the car. Seems to just be natural degradation of the soft touch material.

 

Good stuff, I did mine a few months ago following your process and it came out great, thanks for this!

 

I pulled my gummy airbag today. Cleaned and stripped it as suggested above, then hit it with a magic eraser. No repaint here, just the plastic underneath. I might give it a coat of paint in the future, but for about $5 and an hour of work, it looks 100x better.

 

No repaint here, just the plastic underneath. I might give it a coat of paint in the future, but for about $5 and an hour of work, it looks 100x better.

That actually looks fantastic. Let us know if that bare plastic holds up over time

 

I'll add this in here as another alternative, though more expensive but I think better quality. I did initially strip off the sticky substance on the wheel but used 3M adhesion remover which unfortunately left some discoloration in areas along with some existing scratches. By the time I noticed, it was a little too late (just straight up isopropyl would have been fine, since the other half I did with just that turned out great). The other option was painting with plasti-dip like the OP to cover the discoloration, but I'll be honest, I'm not a fan of the plasti-dip look. So I went with a different option which was a little bit more expensive (50 bucks) and got my cover cerakoted, and wow is all I can say, it turned out amazing and looks and feels very stock and am extremely pleased:

 

Baking in the garage for years by chance. After 20years of Elise and Evora, never 1 sticky part