air bag does need to be disconnected. I had to remove my trim to change out my steering wheel buttons, i went with a carbon fiber wheel and i forgot to bring over the controls, so i had to do that part when i realized.Just curious and asking those that have tried this, did the trim piece really just pull off the wheel? I watched a couple of videos where they had to remove the airbag and the wheel to do this. Looks like if you pop the trim and unplug the connectors the airbag and wheel may not have to be removed.
FYI - my trim piece is also looking bad so I am wanting to paint or swap it. Not too fond of messing around with the airbag - I try to avoid things that explode when I don't want them to go bang.