What the material on the steering wheel of a Fusion 2 ( 2003-2009) ?  I guess it is a  bi-cast coating ( Leather sawdust coated ) , anyway I digress: the coating has peeled right off to reveal an unknown material underneath -please  see picture 

 

The first logical thought was to purchase and sow on a wheel skin , which potentially is the way forward , however the bespoke wheel skins (  I have found ) do not cover the inner three wheel spokes  they just cover the outer rim of the wheel 

My thoughts were to rub it down and buy some kind of textured spray coating or dye to cover the wheel spokes , then stitch on a wheel skin 

 

Has anyone had any experience with coating wheels , including the spokes? It seems there are no leather coats that include the spokes 

Alternatively a replacement steering wheel can be found on Flea-bay for around £20 -30 ; I am pretty adept with tools - perhaps replacing is quicker ? 

Currently the wheel is very slippery without the textured coating , so it needs to be sorted asap - Ideas appreciated 

Oh and this was  just purchased, a 2003 fusion 2 with 45K miles , owned by same family ( Partners )  ; £950 - Not bad eh ?  The wheel needs attention though 

Ok

 

After assuming it was some composite material , it appears to be a coated leather .  The solution in the end was peeling all the old covering off , then sanded  from 160 Grit in stages up  to 600 grip to  smooth and prepare the wheel for spray-painting ( sounds crazy I know ) 

 

The wheel was then cleaned with alcohol then sprayed in thin coats , with a multipurpose paint Black Matt  ( £2.99 in Aldi ) . The result is shown in picture . The paint was left overnight but took around two days to fully harden . I was actually really surprised with the result , it feels like new again and the grip is a lot better . I guess time will, tell how long it lasts but , I feel it will be a while