'65 steering wheel restoration

[RIVNIK]

Greetings, Riv owners!  Looking for steering wheel restoration tips.    Just got an original wheel for my '65 from fellow forum user rivmaniac.(Thanks again,Paul). It is in nice shape with a few small expected cracks where the spokes meet the rim. And as usual the aluminum foil strip is beat & had to be removed. That of course left a deep groove around the wheel. There appears no be no great options to reproducing the original appearance of the embedded metal strip, but that doesn't bother me too much, it was a design flaw from the start.   I'm pondering over the possibility of filling in the groove & painting over it. Anyone have any better ideas?  Shmiddy? Anybody?  And what product should I use to fill the groove & the cracks? Also any suggestions on paint (black) will be appreciated. My attempt to paint my current Grant wheel w Krylon gloss did not turn out well. I could not get an original looking gloss finish & it is now perpetually sticky! Think I might take this one to a paint shop.   I like the look of my Grant Corvette-style three spoke wheel but want to try to capture the original skinny wheel feel for a while.    Thanks, Drew

[petelempert]

I redid the wheel in my 63 and IMHO JB weld is the best option for filling cracks in a steering wheel. Get a Dremel tool and grind out the crack, make sure it's really clean (alcohol) fill with several applications depending upon depth of crack. JB sands and takes paint well. Also, several years ago I saw a video on Youtube about guy who restored the foil strip on a Ford wheel. Suggest you troll Youtube and se if it's still there. PRL
 

[RivNut]

Check the internet for epoxies that are designed to repair steering wheels then check YouTube for videos on how to repair the wheel.  It's been done countless times so there are no real secrets. Eastwood would be a good place to start.

[RIVNIK]

Thanks guys.    At your suggestion, I looked at Eastwood & Alvin Lab-Metal products, Ed. They look like the ticket, but they are also very pricey. I've got the JB so it's in the lead at this time. However when mixed properly it might be a little runny for this type of job. Ive even let it harden a bit before use & come back to find gravity has caused it to run or sag. I found JBweld premixed paste which may be thicker, so that might be worth a try. Thanks again, Pete & Ed. Any more suggestions will be welcomed. Thanks ,       Drew

[Seafoam65]

I wouldn't use JB weld on a steering wheel........use the stuff designed for that purpose and you will have much better results.

[petelempert]

Seafoam...why such a JB Weld hater? I love that stuff. I'm sure there are specific "steering wheel products" but their base elements are...two part epoxy. I've seen the steering wheel repair kits for $100 bucks at Eastwood and elsewhere. Basically, you get a little paper mixing cup, a popsicle stick, some instructions and two tubes of... two part epoxy.  I'm a big JB fan. Five years later, my wheel is still holding up really well. Ironically, the only flaw in the wheel is wheel is where I used a two stick (putty sticks-not in a tube) epoxy product made by Loctite. Back when I repaired my wheel, I used JB on all of it except a deeper flaw that I figured the Loctite putty formula might work better. Mistake. If I could do it all again, I'd go JB all the way. Also as I age personally, I am considering applying JB Weld to some of my own aching joints and bones. PRL
 

[Seafoam65]

I've used JB Weld for 40 years, but to me it is very hard to work with as it takes too long for it to harden, causing

 the stuff to sag and move around from where it started out. I've seen some steering wheel repair videos where it appeared

that the stuff they were using set up quickly and stayed put. I know it wasn't JB Weld because it wasn't grey in color. I'm not

sure what all is out there, but I believe there is something out there better than JB Weld for steering wheel repair. Body filler sets up in

10 minutes.......I bet there is some material for steering wheels that does the same.

[RivNut]

I've watched a few videos on steering wheel repair and I personally think this one is the best.  This tech is the only one who drills holes in the existing parts of the wheel to provide some fingers for holding the epoxy into place.  In the video, you'll see what kind of two-part epoxy he uses.  You could use this same technique with the putty of your choice.  But his choice looks like it stands up to shaping pretty well and seems to make a solid repair.

 

 

[RIVNIK]

Boy when you guys get going it is a wonder to behold!   Don't let me interrupt the debate, but I found Quick drying JBWeld which sets up in 6min. (the premixed JB paste was too thick)I will try it on one of the 4 cracks after cleaning it up w my Dremmel & drilling a few "rivet" holes as per the video Ed submitted. BTW, the only vid I found pertaining to the silver strip was one of restoring the rim-blow horn ring on a '68 Mustang. That may be the one you remembered, Ed.   Thanks, and now, back to the epoxy kerfuffle!  Keep talking because I will soon need advice on paint. 

[RivNut]

I've found that on plastics, the use of Bulldog Adhesion Promoter is good between the plastic and the paint.  I've not tried it but Krylon Fusion is made for painting plastics.  

 

I'm not getting the gloss I want for the bicycles that I also restore and I've found that a couple of coats of Duplicolor Clear Ceramic Engine paint on top of the colored enamel gives me the gloss I want and it's also very durable.  DO NOT get in a hurry to check to see if it's dry.  It takes a while put it's worth  it.

 

Ed 

 

PS - make sure when you pick up a can of the clear that the instructions are in English.  The last can I bought was printed in Spanish.  I had to dig an old one from the trash to re-read about 2nd and 3rd coats and drying times.  If you wanted, you can also color sand the clear and then polish it back to a luster after all of the little spray flecks are sanded out.  On a bicycle, that's not necessary, but it can be done with reducing the grit of the wet/dry paper you use.  Start with 800, then work your way up to 1200 and then 1500 or 2000 before final buffing.  Just be careful not to sand through the clear.

[Seafoam65]

The putty in the video Ed posted looks like it is easy to work with and stays put till it hardens......much better than JB weld.

I've never used fast drying JB Weld, (didn't know there was such a thing)....perhaps it would stay put and not run like the slow

drying JB weld.

[Schmiddy]

Hey Drew

The vid Ed sent shows pretty well how to proceed on these cracks... I haven't seen a better way by now.

Here a guy who is restoring the black steering wheel of his 57 Studebaker. 
For the embedded metal strip, I could well imagine to proceed like on this vid (watch from 6:47).
Then after the wheel is lacked in black, I would fill up the furrow with a steel wire. Make sure that no bending occurs when inserting the wire. I would have the two ends of the wire together in the lower middle. Some of the wire should stick out so it can be ground down a bit until it looks flat. Carefully blow out all the dust and then paint everything with an epoxy clearcoat. Evetually apply 2 - 3 coats.
This is the way I would do it and would come the closest to the original look. I also would take an epoxy clearcoat that it UV resistant (some are getting yellow and matt with the time and solar radiation).
Good luck! ???

 

 

[Seafoam65]

               When a steering wheel is as cracked as the one in that video, it would seem to me that the material on the wheel has totally

failed and that the wheel needs to be recast. I can't imagine that it wouldn't crack again very quickly if you repaired it.

 

[petelempert]

For paint on my wheel, I used Rustoleum Auto primer (flat black) then Rustoleum satin black for final coats. IMHO its the perfect interior black (not too shiny and not too flat). Also it's in the rattle can section of any hardware store. One week in-between final coats at room temp for complete cure...any sooner and you are tempting fate with the paint crinkling in places...something about the active curing ingredient. No clear coat at all. Its tough as nails. PRL

 

BTW-Do yourself a favor and build a small rig where you can bolt the wheel to something that allows it to spin. I used one of those stolen square rigid plastic milk cartons holders that you find behind very 7-11. It will allow you to hold the wheel firm while grinding and really helps when painting. Doing the job with the wheel loose on a bench is madness. 

[Schmiddy]

On 8/3/2018 at 3:09 PM, Seafoam65 said:

               When a steering wheel is as cracked as the one in that video, it would seem to me that the material on the wheel has totally

failed and that the wheel needs to be recast. I can't imagine that it wouldn't crack again very quickly if you repaired it.

 

You're absolutely right Winston, as much cracked as this 57 Studebaker, I would try to find an other one. The vid was meant do inspire Rivnik to repair its own... I don't think his steering wheel is that cracked as on the last vid... 
 

18 hours ago, petelempert said:

something about the active curing ingredient. No clear coat at all. Its tough as nails. PRL

I mentioned the clear coat 'cos of the embedded metal strip... The clear coat would seal the inserted metal ring, in case such a ring would ever be inserted. If the furrow will be filled up without this strip, a clear coat makes no sense. Without the strip, I would do it as Pete suggests - with a rig to hold the steering wheel while working on it.

[RivNut]

My dad's 38 Buick had cracks in the steering wheel way back when.  They never got any worse in the 25 years he had it.  I think there's a certain amount of shrinkage that happens but once it has shrunk that amount it ceases to shrink any more.