(Sorry for sideways pics!)
I have a solid driver... I've been looking at replacing the steering wheel.... which would be a $500 investment. The center section and stitching are in good shape so I thought I'd give a steering wheel refurb a try... What did I have to lose? I was REALLY happy with the results. It cost me $16 for supplies from Amazon.
To start, the steering wheel leather was in rough shape. It was very dry and the top (sun facing) was cracking and rough.
The first step was to sand the leather. It takes some guts.... I put down sheets to catch the dust and started with 400 grit... worked up to 600 grit. I sanded all the leather until it felt smooth to the touch. The next step was to apply black dye. I did about 3 rounds of dying.
After the dye dried overnight... I applied a leather conditioner (I had some for my leather seats). I conditioned until the leather stopped absorbing it. Finally, the most drastic improvement was made with the Resolene. I applied 2 rounds of resolene.
It is not perfect... I didn't try to fill the deep scratches but a million % improvement.
I'm very happy with the results.
-Jim