Rebuilt my steering wheel, I know its just a small item, but sometimes its in the details. Started with a falling apart 1950 Mercury Steering wheel. I didn't know what to do to try to save it, it was pretty cracked and tattered. Not to mention missing a chunk of it. So I sanded it all down, pretty smelly stuff when you do that. Cleaned out all the cracks on it. Put some JB weld on it, little by little, taping and using cardboard to shape it. Also the screws I added, I did have to do a little grinding to cut the heads off. Once I had it back to shape I handed it off to my buddy who is a professional painter, and he laid down a good layer of paint, but more importantly, he loaded the clear on. I think it turned out pretty good.
Looks good,I did basically the same thing with a '54 Ford steering wheel except I used PC-7 epoxy. HRP
Yes, looks great, did the same to mine. I was going to chuck it and get a better one. Lots of time spent but turned out nice.
Way more time than I originally anticipated. I also thought about getting a different one but I wanted to keep the huge wheel for a little extra help turning.
I would image epoxy would do just fine as well, depending on what you had for epoxy, I went with JB weld for its durability and sandability. That center piece little gem is epoxy filled to make it look like a little stone type thingy. haha
Looks fantastic I did mine like that also. 1950 ford. I as others have mentioned used PC7 available at Ace Hardware, I then shot it with Adhesion promoter (Bulldog) and PPG Concept single stage, with a bunch of clear on top of that. Its a lot of work and tough to get in nooks and crannies but a dremel helps and sanding blocks are your best friend. I let mine bake in the hot sun for a few days to fully cure. As to if it will last or not, only time will tell.
I have done this a number of times over the years and have always used JB Weld. Some claim that it will crack due to shrinking and expanding from temp changes but I have never had that problem. Pic is of a wheel for a wooden boat restoration that I did a few years ago. No problems with it at all and it spends a lot of time out in the sunshine and weather. Plus I always use paint with an added hardener on them vs a rattle can as the acid from your skin/sweat tends to break down non hardened paint. Torchie.
I never could get JB Weld to work. I'd sand it down and topcoat it, only to find out that it expanded at a slightly faster rate in the Texas heat than the surrounding Fordlite material, leaving tell-tale marks showing each area that had been filled. Through some experimentation, I found that liquid CA glue mixed with bakelite/Fordlite shavings made a perfect repair; Step 1 (not shown): Carefully grind cracks (a v-shaped file works well here and will allow you to save the shavings/dust for later use). Step 2 (below): Lightly 'dust' bakelite shavings into gaps, cover with a small amount of CA and apply a final dusting of bakelite on top of the CA (the glue will 'kick' instantly) Step 3: Carefully sand excess and reapply as needed. Results after application of CA/bakelite mixture and sanding with 600 grit; Step 4: Paint with your choice of color. I chose black lacquer, as it is indistinguishable from polished bakelite once wetsanded. Here are the results after hitting it with 800, 1000, 1500, and 2000;
I've done several steering wheels now using 'plumber's putty'. Recently the best brand I've found is Loctite, and it's available at Walmart. The advantage to this over the other methods I've seen is how easy it is. It's like working with play-dough. It hardens fast, then you sand it and paint it. It's always been durable in the Florida sun.
Another approach.................................. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/steering-wheel-resto-job-finished.590437/
Doing it yourself is the way to go as I found out. First couple of shots are what I got back from a 'pro' wheel restorer that advertises in multiple locations. Second two are what I then did myself. 6-8 coats of acrylic enamel and a LOT of sanding, finished with 2k and then moved to polishing compound. Used acrylic enamel so it will hold up to use, tougher. Make sure you get the hardener right or you will have a tacky wheel in the heat of summer.
wex65, your wheel looks even better in the car... jkluge, nice work, yours looks great. Turning into one of the more informative threads on steering wheel resto too. I've got a couple hanging in the garage that might actually get put back into service with some of this info.
Man, these are BEOOTIFUL! No way I'm showing my amateurish crack repair and rattle can paint job from my avatar truck. It actually looks good - to me. (Naturally! Hahaha)
Just read through the link in Brigrat's post and his referral to Marine Tex looks like a great find....for a lot of things. When I did my '55's wheel I repaired all the cracks successfully but the "backside" where your fingers wrap around the wheel has symmetrical bumps tha,t are damaged and I hadn't been able to figure out how to rebuild them. At about $20 delivered for just 2 oz. it's not cheap but I'd it works it'll be well worth it. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=1970559082&pf_rd_i=desktop
gwhite, That looks fantastic! wex65, Yours looks great as well. Who was the pro? I've restored one wheel myself and was less then pleased with my results. I have a couple wheels to restore, and may still try them myself with a different method, but have also thought about having someone do them. Don't wanna choose the wrong person if I go that way.
I did some research before posting the guys name. As it seems I wasn't the only one to have these issues I am posting. He goes by fiftiesfords on ebay and his own site (same name with .com). Another guy had same issues as you can see on this page below which WAS on HAMB but has been deleted but can still be seen here in Google's cache. Check out his photos, pretty bad. http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...-ford-parts.916215/+&cd=7&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us To be fair to the guy he refunded me like 30% of my money and I invested in some acrylic enamel, 1500 and 2000 paper and some polishing compound. It came out like a mirror after a bunch of coats and many hours sanding/polishing.
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