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Wrapped the inside of my steering wheel matte white
- Thread starter TLLMRRJ
- Start date
Great job! I really wanted to do it without removing the steering wheel too. I started by asking the vendors if they could make a pre-cut kit, but they said it would not work out well, and refused.
I started with bulk film trying to do it with the wheel on, but I really wanted the film to go under the tight fitting steering wheel pieces so there's no way to tell it was wrapped when looking up close, and you just can't do that without disassembly. When they wrap entire cars, they pull the bumpers, lights, emblems and trim off for the same reason.
Plus the awkwardness of doing the tedious wrapping while sitting in the car with difficult working angles was quickly becoming more work than just removing the wheel, so I went that route.
The Tesla steering wheel is one of the easiest steering wheels to remove on a modern car, and the steering wheel comes apart very easily once it's off. It's also nice that the spline is keyed so you can't put it back on crooked.
If I had to do it again, I wouldn't hesitate to take the wheel off to get better results and do less overall work.
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That is amazing. I couldn't imagine doing this without disassembling the steering wheel. But then again this was my first time wrapping vinyl....if you have the right "spudgers" and technique I guess its possible!
Agree..the wheel comes off easily. Can't say it much easier to remove than my experience with other cars, but definitely not harder. My steering wheel hub bolt was a bit difficult to break loose (they always loctite them at the factory) but nothing complicated. The keyed spline is KEY and a game changer as far as idiot-proof re-installation goes.
MightyThings
Member
Good eye! No, I didn't. The white is simply the white cardboard overlay that came with it in the original box.
I much prefer the white, but ultimately removed it because my phone slid around too much and would slide out of place with it on. The black mat has a rubberized texture which prevents the phone from sliding around.
They did make an early gen of the wireless charger with a white mat, but it doesn't let you place the phone horizontally.
If you look closely, you can see a rubber band that I was using for a while to hold my Airpod Pro case in place to charge. I've since found that simply placing it on top a an empty chewing gum box works just as well. Too bad the Airpod case is too thick to allow you to close the console lid though.
nice job! I wouldn’t call any of this a nightmare but there is definitely a learning curve. I actually have to redo mine at some point this week/next weekend. I originally did it Satin white and am going to switch to matte while I also wrap a couple other interior pieces. But the real reason is mine got slightly torn/tattered during a recent wheel alignment. I’m guessing the bar/blocker they used to lock the steering wheel nicked things at its attachment points.
Did you use heat on the wrap? Without heat, it's a nightmare, with heat, the wrap becomes like soft putty that's easy to mold around the curves.
Boy I hate getting alignments. It's got to be one of the top services that you just can't get them to do it right due to laziness or incompetence, or both.
I finally ordered a laser tool for making my own accurate toe adjustments, and it's a godsend!
Trackace, DIY Laser Wheel Alignment Tool, Car Truck Front End Tracking
I thought I’d give this a try this weekend, but the nut that needs to be loosened to remove the steering wheel will not break loose for me. My car was built in the fall of 2018, and I can’t break it loose using a ratchet with 3 feet long piece of pipe used for more leverage. I feel like if I try any more force, I’ll end up breaking something.
It has loctite / thread lock on it from the factory. If it is that tight, don't try and break it loose by yourself. Instead, what you should do is have a helper hold the steering wheel (outside the car is okay) and provide counter pressure to it (turn towards passenger side) while you break the nut loose. Use a rapid motion to break the nut loose...slow/steady leverage with a breaker bar even seems to make it much harder. If you need, get your ratchet on there securely and use a rubber mallet or deadblow hammer to tap (with strength) the bottom of the ratchet handle counterclockwise. Make sure to hold the ratchet in place while doing this to avoid any slack and ensure it is fully engaged on the nut to avoid rounding anything off or slipping and causing damage/injry. The other option is to use an impact wrench to break it loose because you need to break the thread locker's bond and the vibration helps.
In the end, if you aren't comfortable doing the above yourself...don't. Have a pro do it.
For me, I did it myself sitting in my car. Left hand holding the steering wheel tight and using A LOT of force with my right hand to break the nut loose.
This looks awesome. Your interior looks completely awesome and I've been trying to do something like this except I have the black interior so I'm wrapping the wheel with blue to see how it looks. I actually tried this today and could not get the steering wheel off, so I attempted to wrap it without removing the wheel. Long story shot, it looked like garbage because I either cut it too short so there wasn't enough to tuck into the creases or too long so it wouldn't ALL tuck into the creases. After making a few accidental nicks to my steering wheel with the razor, I just called it quits. How did you cut yours so precisely?Wrapped mine without taking the steering wheel bracket off
Also, I noticed you wrapped that silver part of your dash in blue. I would love to do something like this and haven't seen anyone else do this. How did you wrap this part? It doesn't detach from the top part of the trim so it's really hard to get a super precise line - especially hose tiny spots behind the screen/steering wheel.
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