Projects Getting the sparkle back in an old 60s steering wheel

Picked up this 60s-70s "Superior 500" sparkle wheel (knockoff) today for $20. Did a quickie clean/polish on it. Any tricks to deep cleaning the dingy plastic grip to maybe get some more sparkle back?? I did a wheel refurb earlier this year....and while hard plastic....bleach really pulled out the grunge and discoloration. This being a softer plastic/rubber.....I'm wondering if bleach could be too rough. Looking for recommendations.

Also looking for for a horn kit and assembly. Anyone got an input on using this with an earlier 30s-40s Ford steering column?
R/
Boxcar

 

try rubbing compound.

 

Scuff it and clear it.

 

Soft scrub on a soft towel will clean it up.

 

I used Wizards Turbo-Cut on a rag on a few of those and was able to polish it up quite nicely. I'm sure any buffing/rubbing compound would work but I wouldn't use anything overly aggressive. Plastic polish would probably also work well. I'd be afraid bleach would wreck it, and clearcoat would almost surely peel off during use since that grip is somewhat flexible.

 

#0000 steel wool & Mothers on the chrome. Then follow w/soft rag & Mothers again. The grip needs to be rubbed w/moderate rubbing compound. Follow w/fine polishing compound. Finish w/a soft fiber towel & Mothers (or preferred metal polish) 'cause the metal flake needs polished too. You may top BOTH surfaces w/a sealant rather than wax, 'cause its last's longer.

 

Thanks all for the recommendations...ill give it another round soon. Yesterday I soaked in an ol timey solution of Naptha. I had a bar of it and shredded it up like parmasan cheese then mixed in hot water. Kept it submerged for 5 hrs with a steel wool rub every hour or so. End result was clean but marginal effect to plastic clarity. I'll report back.

 

Try GoJo hand wipes and a little brake clean sprayed right into the wipe

 

Thank you for the post and the advice- I have a gold wheel that's half "brown"

Looking forward to seeing what works for you Boxcar!

 

I also just use Gojo or other hand cleaners like Zep

 

Gojo is a pretty safe cleaner and the glycerine in it is easy on vinyl. I use it on my white interior and convertible top with great results.

 

I wouldn't use any solvent based cleaners on it; if the plastic gets soft and gooey it's garbage. The rubbing compound approach sounds best. If it feel rough you could lightly sand it first with very fine paper.

 

Grant should have horn and column adapter kits

 

Lost track of this thread..too much going on. I have yet to go round two with the wheel....FB Marketplace caused a big distraction for me earlier in the week. But I should be back to normal when I find a frame for this new project.....Yea, were moving on UP...to the Top, to Deeeee-lux apartment...in sky-y-yiiiii!

 

I was going to crash into this thread with "Hey, use Gojo" but I was WAY late to the party.

 

Nice 30/31 coupe body!

 

Anything that's solvent based doesn't sound like the best stuff to use on that soft plastic material.

If you have one of those hand-held "Steamin' Weasel" (or whatever they call them) household cleaner contraptions laying around I'd give that a try.

 

Hello,

When I built this all-smooth, finished cedar/redwood backyard fort/climber for my son, he enjoyed it to no end. It was hard to keep him from staying outside all day and only coming in for lunch or snacks. Once he figured out he could take his snacks in a little cooler, he was in 7th heaven out there.

The structure was a multi-story climber. It had a top viewing level, a short ladder platform half way down and a bench in the shade for his snack area. It was built into a small hill/slope, so there was one more level as the slope reached the sidewalk. To get to the lower sloping ground for a feel of being in a cave, I built in a short ladder and a trap door on the platform.

The tallest tower had different plumbing parts to be whatever it gets to be. A swiveling fire hose, or machine gun or telescope were the main uses. Finally, below the tallest tower, was the main ship communication area. A real old wall phone, a shift lever and an old Moon Steering Wheel for those fast getaways…


Jnaki

We always wanted our son to play with stuff we got for him and this old wheel had been in the garage attached to an old tool cabinet door. When he was little, he wanted to be out in the garage with dad, doing what dad’s do out in the garage. I mounted two steering wheels on the two adjacent doors. One made it to the newly structured fort and the other one stayed on the cabinet. It was an 8 inch deep dish lowrider wheel that I tried attaching it to some scooters I made.

In order to clean off years of little kid greasy hands turning the large steering wheel for his pretend racing, I tried plain soap and car leather cleaner, to no avail. The built-in grease was tough and it took usage of this product called Amway L.O.C. (Liquid Organic Cleaner ). It is a liquid soap, but works like lacquer thinner as it gets just about anything clean.

It is so safe that it was once advertised as being able to wash dishes and use as a toothpaste. We did not use it as a toothpaste, but a thoroughly useful product for cleaning off oil blobs off of feet when we went to Santa Barbara beaches.

The old Moon Steering Wheel was now shiny and clean. Good for the fort usage and miles of driving fun for our little toddler in his dreams. Something to remember, each old rubber steering wheel has seen plenty of action, with plenty of different hand compounds and different oils. So, once may not be enough. We used it at full strength. Others have used it diluted and it still cleans just about anything. YRMV.