Hi Jay
I've restored two steering wheels, the Daimler and more recently an Impala
wheel.
First I glass beaded the whole wheel, then used PC7 to fill the large cracks
after veeing them out a bit. It cures slow so you can shape it using an
Exacto blade and denatured alcohol. You need to get the filler slightly
lower than the wheel since it's harder than the original wheel.
Then prime with epoxy followed by a good primer surfacer. Sand it out, then
use a regular spot putty to fill smaller cracks and to level out the large
cracks. Either a laquer based putty or a polyester will work. Remember there
will be some shrinking, so let it sit for while. Sand (320 grit) and prime
until you get it where you want it, finish sand with 600 and paint it. I
used laquer on the daimler, and urethane on the Impala.
They both look great, and it's not really hard, there isn't much surface
area so sanding and priming is easy. The biggest problem is the shrinking of
the filler. Before final sanding let it sit in the sun for a few weeks to
minimize the effect. The cracks haven't reappeared, five years later.
I did them over the winter, then when I was priming other stuff I would do
the wheel.
You can save a few bucks to put towards something else.
Good luck
John
----- Original Message -----
From: <Jay_Laifman@countrywide.com>
To: <british-cars@autox.team.net>
Sent: Wednesday, November 08, 2000 3:55 PM
Subject: Restoring Steering Wheels
> I have a steering wheel for my '55 Alpine that is cracked and the cracks
> have expanded. Like many other cars, the steering wheel has a metal ring
> running around the inside and it's covered by this plastic/bakelite type
> stuff. I know there are services that will restore steering wheels for
> something over $300. Has anyone tackled this themselves? I was thinking
> something along the lines of spraying in the cracks with a Rustoleum type
> paint and then filling the cracks with bondo and sanding to regain the
> shape. But, I am also worried that the rust inside will continue to
> expand, causing the cracks to reappear and further separations. Anyone
> have any thoughts?
>
> Thanks,
> Jay
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