Nathon

welcome to the club of frustration, lol Let me know how it goes if you do it. But yes exact same thing. My fingerprints were In mine too. I still haven't cleaned mine yet. Not looking forward to it. : )

sfsvettes

Found the Ala's Awesome at the Dollar General and used the two faced sponge with the scotch brite looking side .. About 30 mins worth of elbow greasy and I'm very happy with the result
The $ 1.00 spray bottle & 1.00 sponge did the trick

mikesvette1

I live in Arkansas and the previous owner used what even to make it look good and it did the same as yours did. I used a little bit of alcohol and some of my wife's face cleaning pads just doing a little bit at a time and it came out no sticky no more then applied McGuire leather detailing to it. Its not glossy anymore and might have stripped the glossy clear of of it but looks and feels great.

Glensgages

for the last year, my steering wheel has become sticky, and tonight I used some Goo-Gone with a sponge


after cleaning it off, air-bag pad is about 70% better, so I will let it set for the night, and apply a 2nd treatment tomorrow

corvettezman

I got the sticky off with goo gone and then used SEM to re-dye it. I think it looks pretty good.

Glensgages

didn't get a chance to look at my project Saturday, but early Sunday morning, it appeared to have returned to it's previous, gooey-mess condition, so I tired again, with slightly better results

after re-reading this thread again, I moved the C5 into the blazing Florida sun, let it sit for 2 hours, and tried it a 3rd time:
except for some small places (where the air-bag cover flares into the 4 spokes) that need some minor touch-up, it seems that heating the surface is a key feature, as it is now dry to the touch

thanks for the helpful tip

mrlmd

There are numerous threads on here about this problem and many solutions have been offered to get the sticky off.
My 2000 A4 just developed this - it has been cold down here, car is always under the house out of the weather and sun, never used Armorall or anything on it, it just decided to get real sticky. It has to do with "outgassing" of the vinyl and is a natural part of the aging process of this material.
Suggestions to clean it off have included a degreaser, Goo Gone, Goof Off, lacquer thinner, saddle soap, scrub with a Scotchbrite pad, and others I have forgotten. I used what I had around the house -
I tried first with Pine Sol (degreaser), which worked somewhat but not entirely, alcohol (did nothing), mineral spirits (slightly effective), and because none of these harmed the surface, then went to a rmicrofiber towel with a little acetone on it, That did the trick and did not harm the surface at all, just cleaned it off to new. Sounds drastic, but it worked and did no harm, and was quick and easy.
Then, to protect it, I sprayed it and wiped it down with Silicone spray, and now it looks like new and feels great, smooth, clean, and not too shiny. It's been like that a few weeks now. - very happy with the result. I may spray it and wipe it down every few months, if I remember.

glassman2000

I used the Ala's Awesome from the Dollar General. A little rubbing and being sure to turn the cloth so to wipe each area
with a clean surface. I wiped the area down afterward with clean water and then applied some meguars interior detailer. Looks good..
Cost of product $1.00 .( approximately 30 min.)

bradleyss14

Revived this old thread and wanted to share what worked for me. Tip: remove the fuse for the horn so you can scrub harder without pissing off the neighbors.

I started with goo-gone and a microfiber towel. That didn’t work very well at all. The microfiber towel I think was the biggest part. Those are only good for applying finishes or removing wax. Not good for cleaning in my experience.

I saw someone else suggested saddle soap. I wet a small terry cotton washcloth and used saddle soap. That worked very very well. I was left with a nice matte finish that was clean and smooth without any stickiness. I decided to saddle soap the steering wheel itself to prep it for leather treatment as well. When the center was finished, I applied 303 protectant and buffed it back to a finish I would equate to

eggshell. Not matte. Not satin. Somewhere in between. It looks very “factory” and not “car show unnecessarily shiny”.

Mfr

My air bag was sticky too. My detailer told me to use orange hand cleaner and microfiber. The cloth is black, the airbag is the same color and it only took 5 minutes and its perfect !

F1Fan

Lyle from C&S corvettes has a vid on youtube about how to fix this, white vinegar and a rag, it's all you need, fixed mine completely.

Hepcat

I have the same issue developing. Putting more dressing on won't solve the issue. I do need to tackle; here's a few video tutorials:

corvette.cw

I used saddle soap. I just used it with an old toothbrush and an ordinary clean rag, didn't bother with microfiber towels.

corvette.cw

This topic comes up from time to time. You'd think that someone would make this a sticky thread!

Hepcat

I’m curious why saddle soap works. The other solutions suggest they work as removal agents taking the “gummy” away. Does saddle soap work as an abrasive? Thanks.

LSgoBRRR

I've been using their wipes forever, never had an issue with them on my other cars, the dash, doors, steering wheel, pillars... if it's plastic or vinyl I wipe it with them.

Glensgages

I bought a 1979 Z28 off the showroom floor in October of '78, and Armor All is the only thing that's touched the interior the entire time

Jerry Allen

My steering wheel air bag cover was like black chewing gum. Here's what worked for me and a few others, HD Degreaser. Don't use Goof Off or Goo Gone. Diluted the degreaser; 1 part degreaser, 2 parts water. Shake well. Spray the cover, let it sit and do it's work. Put a towel under the wheel. It should start to drip black. Spray again, let it sit for a minute. Use a dish scruby, the blue kind with a sponge on the other side. Scrub the cover, spray, scrub repeat until all the gooey stuff is gone. Took me about 15 minutes. Rinse well with wet towel. Now here's interesting tip, once dry, lightly coat with mineral oil or baby oil, same thing, smells nice. Let that sit for a minute or so, then buff. Mine looks brand new. Not sure how long this will last, but it looks great.

Luigi9999

91% isopropyl alcohol and paper towels. Takes less than 10 minutes. The paper towels need to be used to absorb oxidized vinyl while scrubbing off residue. Use old soft toothbrush to get into logo areas. After all residue removed I used Chemical Guys VRP to dress.

bjones7131

Ammonia and green scrubbing pad, took all that junk off, looks new.