Here is the finished product. The wheel looks just like the original piece and is just as flexible and soft as when it came from the factory 35 years ago.
So here it is, after about a week of work and approximately $40 in materials, sitting on top of my wife's prized antique, ceramic sugar bowl:
With a little leather preservative applied (after this photo was taken), it brought the sheen up to what the original was supposed to look like. I'd rather have it too flat than too glossy, as the wheel surface will shine up with age and use. (That's another old modeler's trick: if you want to duplicate black leather upholstery on a model car, paint it flat black and then once dried, buff the area with your fingers to bring up the shine )
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