Z4M Steering Wheel Trim Cleanup

[PLV]

Hey all,

So, having been in a bit of a DIY frame of mind lately, I decided to tackle the ghastly steering wheel trim...

I will upload pics as I go... but so far I have dismantled the trim. Many thanks to Clinton for his guidance! I owe you a couple of beers!

Anyway... starting off, you will need a hex type screwdriver thingy... not quite an alan key, but something that will fit the socket. Seeing as I am not as young and bright as I used to be, it took me a while to actually look properly to figure out why the 'normal' approach wasn't working...
There is one of these for each side trim, and there are two for the lower trim piece. Remove these screws.

Once you have removed the screws, you need to start wriggling the trim loose. I carefully used a flat head screwdriver to get some purchase, and then the rest I just slowly and carefully wriggled until it worked itself free. As you will see form the pic, there is a long piece where the screw fits into, this is why you can't just pull the trim loose, and need to wriggle up and away slowly.

Once you have wriggled enough, you will be able to pull away the trim. You will then also be able to disconnect the wiring. The left trim has a single wire connection, whereas the right has two. Carefully un-clip these.

Once you have un-clipped these, you can decide if you want to further disassemble or not. I chose to go ahead, as per picture below...

You can also remove the remaining trim pieces by gently wriggling them free too (and as mentioned, use a flat head screwdriver to help if needed)...

The intent now is the clean the hell out of the steering wheel and the trim pieces, and then to attempt a nice matte black plastidip on the trim. It is scary how dirty the steering wheel is once you get a camera and flash on it to show it's true colours! Ouch!

I will add the steps and photos as soon as I progress with that!

Hope this helps, as I struggled to find any decent photos/videos of exactly how to dismantle the trim... especially without breaking anything!

Thanks again Clinton for your help...

 

[MikeR]

:coolShake: cant wait to see end product

 

[Razz]

Nicely done


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[Kish2604]

Well done on the first part of your Diy... Please do not use plastidip as you will end up doing it again in a few months. It's not as hard wearing as you would expect. If you can prep it well enough and get the surface perfectly smooth then why not get a panel shop to spray them in Gloss or Matt black.

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[rodga]

+1 on the spraying. BTW it's Torx not hex.

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[PLV]

Thanks guys! You are right, so I opted for a flat black spray instead of the plastidip..

Will post pics later today!

Thanks for the suggestions!!!

:ty:

---

 

[PLV]

Some of the final pics...

Assembly is so much easier once you can actually see what's going on!

Now just to steam clean the actual steering wheel leather and give it a leather treatment and I'm good to go!

Thanks again guys for the advice!

 

[GoCart]

Great results Pete, well done :clapper:

 

[Clint@MMS AUTO]

You welcome Pete, looking fresh now... :clapper:

 

[tman]

The difference is night and day! Well done! raise:

Please do let us know how the plastidip keeps up with with normal wear & tear? I was under the impression that its the type of product that doesn't really like any type of friction/touching too much?

 

[Iceman12596]

The difference is night and day! Well done! raise:

Please do let us know how the plastidip keeps up with with normal wear & tear? I was under the impression that its the type of product that doesn't really like any type of friction/touching too much?

He didn't go the plasti dip route bud.

 

[Razz]

looking good!:clapper:

 

[tman]

The difference is night and day! Well done! raise:

Please do let us know how the plastidip keeps up with with normal wear & tear? I was under the impression that its the type of product that doesn't really like any type of friction/touching too much?

He didn't go the plasti dip route bud.

Ah snap, I missed that, apologies.



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[PLV]

Some of you have asked what paint I used.... I got the below from Builders... :=):

I opted for flat black, and this particular brand because it said it was for any surface, etc.

 

[tman]

Some of you have asked what paint I used.... I got the below from Builders... :=):

I opted for flat black, and this particular brand because it said it was for any surface, etc.

Rustoleum is an awesome overall product.

What ever you do, just never paint with "Spectra"- worst spray paint ever made. If you look at it funny it will crack and peel.

 

[PLV]

If you look at it funny it will crack and peel.

:roflol:

Shall stay well clear then!

Oh yes, and before I forget, I used 1000 grit sandpaper, as well as some sugar soap to get the trim super clean before I sprayed them.

 

[sajk]

Thanks for this. I did mine this weekend. To fix the breaks in the plastic trim I found plumbers pvc weld (for joining pipes) to be highly effective. Builders W/H stock it but probably any plumbing suppliers do.

I did not spray the switch gear. I could not figure out how to mask off or remove the buttons

 

[PLV]

Awesome man. Such an easy, yet effective DIY! The buttons themselves were quite easy just to push out actually. Once you play around with one you will realise and then the rest are pretty easy too.