Steering wheel restoration

[FESTER60]

As promised here is a picture of my restored steering wheel. I have a bit more polishing to do on the ring and center. Not perfect, but acceptable for my car.

Edited March 5, 2014 by FESTER60

[Jim Yergin]

Looks great. Nice work.

Jim Yergin

[OldDad67]

As promised here is a picture of my restored steering wheel. I have a bit more polishing to do on the ring and center. Not perfect, but acceptable for my car. 102_1838small.jpg

Very nice work, I just did a 48 P-15 wheel and a 41 wheel which needed alot of TLC. Here's a photo of my Corvette wheel for my 52 Hardtop I did a couple of years ago and it's still holding up. I'm getting ready to paint the 41 wheel as soon as it warms up a bit. Did you use epoxy on your wheel when you restored it?   

[littlemo]

 looks great FESTER60, I'll send you mine before reinstalling !!! lol..   Cass, alias littlemo...

[Labrauer]

The steering wheels look great. How in the world did you guys do those to make them look so new and original? My son has a 52 truck that needs to be done so how is it done and with what?

[OldDad67]

The steering wheels look great. How in the world did you guys do those to make them look so new and original? My son has a 52 truck that needs to be done so how is it done and with what?

Labrauer it's really pretty simple, if I can do it believe me anyone can. It really depends on how much time and expense of materials you want to use. I use a Dremel tool to grind out the cracks so the Epoxy will stick. I use marine epoxy that won't shrink, I force it into the cracks and let it cure then sand and prime and then paint. You can use cheap rattle can paint or I prefer to use urethane paint with a hardner. If you get the cracks cleaned out well and undercut them so the epoxy has a good grip it should last a lifetime, easy for me to say I'm 70. Give it a try you really can't hurt anything and I think you'll be suprised at the results. I just finished a 41 Plymouth wheel that had missing chunks and serious cracks, I haven't painted it yet but it came out really good and was actually fun to do. Other than my time the total cost was about 15 bucks. Of course that doesn't include the urethane finish coat.

[BobT-47P15]

I think there are a few people out there who do wheel restorations.....cost may be in the $300 range.

 

Heres one place                        http://www.qualityrestorations.com/

 

 

A couple how tos on you tube......................http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsdKYtHsSc4

 

                                                                   

[FESTER60]

Well mine looked pretty bad when I started. As stated by Old Dad I ground out all the cracks with a dremel using the little end mill bit. There were a LOT of cracks. Then I used that P7 expoxy paste to fill them. I made the mistake of getting carried away with the filling. I used too much and spent a lot of time grinding/sanding the excess. Then it was just like body work. Sand, fill, repeat untill it's smooth. I used glazing putty for the small low spots.

The paint is all Rust-o-leum rattle can products so they wouldn't conflict with each other. 2in1 filler/primer then Professional high performance enamel gloss black and several coats of their clear coat.

I found that you need to be patient. It can't be rushed or the finish will suffer. Be sure to follow the directions about re-coating times. Don't ask how I know this, just trust me.

It's not hard to do. It just takes time.

[40desoto]

What is the material the guys in the video used?  Ive used Expoxy glue. Worked well but a couple of years later noticed cracks in the glued area.  He stated what he was using expands and contracts so Im interested but his accent make it a bit difficult to understand.. 

[OldDad67]

What is the material the guys in the video used?  Ive used Expoxy glue. Worked well but a couple of years later noticed cracks in the glued area.  He stated what he was using expands and contracts so Im interested but his accent make it a bit difficult to understand.. 

They make a special epoxy just for plastic that won't shrink, you can buy it at Home Depot. You may have used the type of Epoxy that shrinks up, also it's important to get the cracks really clean and undercut so the Epoxy has something to hold on to. The Corvette wheel in my post above I did 8 years ago and there are no cracks, Before that I did the wheel in my 57 Chev over 10 years ago and it too is still going strong. So I would conclude it must be the material used for the repair. Also Fester60 makes a great point and I wish I would have known about that sooner, don't put on too much because you do have to sand it off, I also learned that the hard way Fester60! 

[dlrides]

They make a special epoxy just for plastic that won't shrink, you can buy it at Home Depot. You may have used the type of Epoxy that shrinks up, also it's important to get the cracks really clean and undercut so the Epoxy has something to hold on to. The Corvette wheel in my post above I did 8 years ago and there are no cracks, Before that I did the wheel in my 57 Chev over 10 years ago and it too is still going strong. So I would conclude it must be the material used for the repair. Also Fester60 makes a great point and I wish I would have known about that sooner, don't put on too much because you do have to sand it off, I also learned that the hard way Fester60! 

 

Name, brand, type ?

[OldDad67]

Name, brand, type ?

I don't have any left from the project. But it is in a tube with all the other glue, you have to cut a chunk off and kneed it to mix the 2 parts together. It says right on the tube for plastics and is a national brand, just can't remember, wish I had kept the tube. I don't think you can miss finding it. I'll try and remember to look on my next trip to Home Depot. If you can't find it let me know and I'll make a concerted effort to get the name for you.  

[FESTER60]

I don't have any left from the project. But it is in a tube with all the other glue, you have to cut a chunk off and kneed it to mix the 2 parts together. It says right on the tube for plastics and is a national brand, just can't remember, wish I had kept the tube. I don't think you can miss finding it. I'll try and remember to look on my next trip to Home Depot. If you can't find it let me know and I'll make a concerted effort to get the name for you.  

That sounds like the stuff I used. It is called PC7. Instead of tubes mine came in two jars. It's a putty, one black and one white and you kneed them together. You need to keep your fingers wet though or you have a sticky mess.

[dlrides]

I don't have any left from the project. But it is in a tube with all the other glue, you have to cut a chunk off and kneed it to mix the 2 parts together. It says right on the tube for plastics and is a national brand, just can't remember, wish I had kept the tube. I don't think you can miss finding it. I'll try and remember to look on my next trip to Home Depot. If you can't find it let me know and I'll make a concerted effort to get the name for you.  

 

 

Thanks !

[OldDad67]

That sounds like the stuff I used. It is called PC7. Instead of tubes mine came in two jars. It's a putty, one black and one white and you kneed them together. You need to keep your fingers wet though or you have a sticky mess.

FESTER60 I should have read your post about keeping my fingers wet, I'm still scraping the stuff off my hands. What I used was not PC7 although I was looking for that when I found this stuff I used and it said made for Plastic. Most guy's i've talked with recommend the PC7 as you have. Early on I used a 2 part marine epoxy that was not as thick as wet finger kind. But i needed something thicker on this 41 wheel do to the large missing chunks from the hub area. I wish now I had taken some photo's of how bad this wheel was so guy's could see what is possible. A friend took his 57 Nomad wheel which is about 17 1/2" and cut the center spokes down in length to make it a custom 15" wheel. It really looks great, a lot of work though. But goes to show what you can do if so inclined.  I should mention that he replaced the outside 17 1/2 ring with a 15" ring off a different wheel and rewelded it to the now shorter spokes and filled it the welded area with the epoxy. Hope I haven't confused anyone. May'be I should go wash my hands.  

[OldDad67]

FESTER60 I should have read your post about keeping my fingers wet, I'm still scraping the stuff off my hands. What I used was not PC7 although I was looking for that when I found this stuff I used and it said made for Plastic. Most guy's i've talked with recommend the PC7 as you have. Early on I used a 2 part marine epoxy that was not as thick as wet finger kind. But i needed something thicker on this 41 wheel do to the large missing chunks from the hub area. I wish now I had taken some photo's of how bad this wheel was so guy's could see what is possible. A friend took his 57 Nomad wheel which is about 17 1/2" and cut the center spokes down in length to make it a custom 15" wheel. It really looks great, a lot of work though. But goes to show what you can do if so inclined.  I should mention that he replaced the outside 17 1/2 ring with a 15" ring off a different wheel and rewelded it to the now shorter spokes and filled it the welded area with the epoxy. Hope I haven't confused anyone. May'be I should go wash my hands.  

Here's some photo's of that Nomad wheel I mentioned above: 

[FESTER60]

Well this was my first shot at this. I thought about a different wheel, but I figured adapting it to my stock steering column might be tricky. I wanted a large wheel to assist with my armstrong steering system, so I thought what do I have to lose and went for it. I was tempted by a NOS Kenworth wheel at a swap meet though.

[_shel_ny]

Another resto thread, or 2

 

http://p15-d24.com/topic/28783-steering-wheel-restore-chronology/?hl=+wheel%20+restoration

 

http://p15-d24.com/topic/28762-por-epoxy-putty-versus-pc-7-epoxy-paste/?hl=%20wheel%20%20restoration

[LAKOTA169]

I don't have any left from the project. But it is in a tube with all the other glue, you have to cut a chunk off and kneed it to mix the 2 parts together. It says right on the tube for plastics and is a national brand, just can't remember, wish I had kept the tube. I don't think you can miss finding it. I'll try and remember to look on my next trip to Home Depot. If you can't find it let me know and I'll make a concerted effort to get the name for you.  

Sounds like what I used. A friend gave me a tube of Pig Putty. It had one material wrapped around another. You kneaded them until it turned a solid color. Was easier to sand than the PC7 I tried.

[OldDad67]

Sounds like what I used. A friend gave me a tube of Pig Putty. It had one material wrapped around another. You kneaded them until it turned a solid color. Was easier to sand than the PC7 I tried.

I went by Home Depot just to get the name of the epoxy I used, JB Weld is the brand and it's called "PlasticWeld" and it's made just for plastic. It's in the adheasive section of the Home Depot. Hope this helps

[pflaming]

Paint on the steering wheel. I too learned that it takes patience. I followed the directions on the can then I hung it up where I could not see it and let it cure for three days. Probably did not take that long, but I did not want to smudge it again. 

 

Cutting one down would be a task. Good work, enjoyed the read.. 

[fstfish66]

I agree  nice  looking  work  on this topic,,,