My black sterring wheel turned white?

[dave6672]

I decided to clean up the steering wheel from a 70 C10 that I'm parting. It was not in good condition to start with and was pretty grimy, but it was black. It fit in the utility tub in the basement so I figured I'd just let it soak for a while in some hot water with Dawn added. For a while ended up being all night since I forgot about it. It is no longer a crappy black steering wheel, but is now a crappy white steering wheel! What gives?

[special-K]

Is that just on the surface? Does it scratch off or is the material all white now?

[dave6672]

I took some #0000 steel wool to it and the white would not rub off.

[57taskforce]

That’s pretty crazy. I guess I know what I won’t do to mine. I wonder if you got it blasted with something gentle like walnut shells if maybe it would take the white layer off.

[dave6672]

Yeah, I won't do it again that's for sure. The wheel was off a truck that had been sitting in a field for 20 years so maybe the plastic had broken down somewhat which contributed to this happening? It was still a pretty solid wheel I thought, just a lot of cracks.

[Stocker]

Wouldn't think an overnight soak in water with dish detergent could do that. After all, it's pretty mild stuff. Any chance it was white before someone put something on it to turn it black? Could it have been covered in black mold? What color does it seem to be if you look into the cracks? What does the back of the wheel look like?

[MAC71Cheyenne]

White wheel with black shoe polish or dye?

[vics stuff]

Originally Posted by MAC71Cheyenne

White wheel with black shoe polish or dye?

I would have to second that.
Vic

[dave6672]

Pretty confident the wheel is/was black - I didn't think they made a white wheel. The SPID spells out a black interior and here's a pic of the wheel before.

[dave6672]

Originally Posted by Stocker

Wouldn't think an overnight soak in water with dish detergent could do that. After all, it's pretty mild stuff. Any chance it was white before someone put something on it to turn it black? Could it have been covered in black mold? What color does it seem to be if you look into the cracks? What does the back of the wheel look like?

It's black in the cracks and it's black in the center where the horn button was located.

[special-K]

There were never any white steering wheels. The wheels are colored by dye in the mold. I think something broke down. Just don't know what it is. Dawn is mild while being tough. I use that to wash up after working on my truck. I have Fast Orange sitting right there and I go to the Dawn. Cuts grease really well, so not as tame as it seems I'm guessing. I mean chemical wise.

[dave6672]

I think was a combination of where the sun had broken down the plastic over the years and the Dawn. Where the sun didn't shine on it, like under the horn button, it remined black.