Lesson learned, now how to fix faded steering wheel center?

[plainsman]

I was trying to remove some light scratches from the center of my steering wheel (2015 Rogue). Thought, "I'll try the toothpaste trick!" Used white Colgate toothpaste. It removed some of the burrs, but also has left a slightly discolored spot, just larger than the size of a quarter, right near the center of my steering wheel. Guess the toothpaste trick is a no-go for whatever that material is, some type of vinyl I guess. In low light it all blends in, but when it's sunny, it looks dull, like I've rubbed the shine off of it. Any ideas on how to get that back? Basic cleaning wipes make it look great, but as soon as they dry, you can see the slightly faded spot again. BTW, it's charcoal interior (so very dark gray, almost black). Any tips? I feel silly for doing that, should have left well enough alone. And yes, I'm talking about the airbag unit cover - sigh.

[datechboss101]

First of all things, disconnect the battery so the SRS steering wheel air bag won't deploy on you while you are working on it. Next, remove the part you are working on.

Now, with the part you wanted is off the steering wheel, get some sandpaper, with the grit size increasing by alot by each paper and spray each sandpaper with water and start sanding down the area you are going to work on. After doing that, get some touch-up paint and paint the part back. Reinstall everything and reconnect the battery and you are good to go.

Another option is getting a replacement unit.

This is as simple as I can explain. If my answer doesn't work, then, someone else will give an idea.

[macgiver]

mac,exactly - the old ( I've done a million times) "go and spray paint it " OR ,I'm older now , and simpler thing is that if the toothpsate , after all you THOUHGT it was doing something good on the SMALL AREA ?? Just TOOTHPASTE the WHOLE DAMN THING - so it looks uniformly weird yet OK