A steering lock is hardened steel resting against the nicest part of your interior. Done properly that is a non-issue — every MyLoque has foam or anti-wear padding on the contact points for exactly this reason. Done carelessly, over hundreds of fittings, you can mark a wheel.
Here is how to make sure you never do.
1. Clean the wheel first — once
Grit is what actually causes marks, not the lock. A wheel that has been driven all week has fine dust on it, and clamping steel onto that dust is like fitting fine sandpaper.
Give the wheel a wipe with a clean microfibre before you fit the lock for the first time, and every few weeks after.
2. Check the padding before every fit
Two seconds. Look at the foam contact points. If they have shifted, gone hard, or picked up a stone, sort it before it touches your wheel.
If you run a thick aftermarket rim and the fit feels tight, extra padding gives you more material between steel and leather.
3. Seat it, do not force it
Every lock in our range is designed to go on without effort:
- Baseball Bat — sit it on top of the wheel and twist until it locks. One movement.
- T-Bar — clamp over the wheel so the arm extends across the dash, then lock.
- Alarm Monitored — same as the T-Bar, then arm the alarm.
- Retro Vintage — hook the shackle over the wheel and pull once.
If you are fighting it, something is not seated. Take it off and start again rather than forcing it.
4. Mind the Alcantara
Suede and Alcantara wheels mark more easily than leather and are far more annoying to put right. Be extra careful about grit, and consider rotating where on the rim the lock sits so you are not always loading the same spot.
5. Store it somewhere sensible
A lock rolling loose in the boot picks up grit, and that grit comes back to your wheel next time. Footwell, door pocket, or a bag — anywhere it is not collecting debris.
6. Keep the barrel dry
Not a wheel issue, but worth saying: keep the lock barrel clean and dry, especially over winter. A seized barrel on a cold morning is a bad start to the day.
The honest summary
Ninety percent of this is the first point. Clean wheel, clean padding, no grit — and your interior will look the same in three years as it does today.
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