Thanks for the great tips on the wheel.
Roland Dudley <cobra@scs.agilent.com> on 11/08/2000 02:18:24 PM
To: jdagostino@mediaone.net
cc: Jay_Laifman@countrywide.com, british-cars@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: Restoring Steering Wheels
As it happens the Eastwood kit consists of 2-part PC7. Don't know if
that's more than the stuff cost in a hardware store or not.
Roland
>
> 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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