Steering wheel repair vs recast

[Jim Dickinson]

I have a 39 Buick Century, the steering wheel is in excellent shape except it appears to shrinking & cracking. It has 3 or 4 cracks with gaps up to 1/8th inch I've been quoted upto $250 to repair vs 550 to recast. Do the repairs hold up? Anybody have any experience or recommendations

[brad54]

I'd be very interested to know where you can have them recast! That opens up a lot of possibilities in terms of customizing, too.

My thoughts are that a recast steering wheel is going to be better, because it isn't a repair. The wheels crack when the plastic shrinks due to outgassing and evaporation of the oils in the plastic. Prolonged exposure to the sun makes this more rapid. As the plastic shrinks, it "retreats" along the steel wire frame of the wheel, toward the center of the segment, causing cracks at the ends in the joints. If you fill and repair these cracks, the old plastic is still shrinking, and your gaps can re-appear, only now just past your repair. If you get it recast, the whole thing is new, and should take another 50 years of normal use (ie: left outside for long periods) before it needs to be redone.

That's just my semi-educated theory. But I would like the name of that recasting place, because I'll use it on my '54.

Thanks,

-Brad

[palbuick]

I had my 1940 Buick Stering wheel recast by Richard Gumm,

of Reno, Ohio. Did an excellent job, and price was somewhere between $ 150 an $ 195. He has has been at several BCA national shows with his wheels, all were excelent. Give him a try.

Richard Gumm, P.O. Box 555, Reno, Ohio, 45773, 740-374-8169.

Jim Schilf

palbuick@aol.com

[jerryacheson]

Here's another option for those of you that are handy.

I had a cracked steering wheel for my 62. I took a 3-sided file and cut a wedge out of each crack all around the wheel. I then went to NAPA where I bought some epoxy. The epoxy that I bought came in a can with small packets inside that mixed perfectly when I opened and mixed them. It produced a small amount that was easy to work with (this stuff sets up fast). I filled the cracks with the epoxy; let dry; and sanded smooth. All that was left was to prime and paint the wheel. Turned out perfect and cost $10-$15.

[dennis passan]

someone's repair process may be as good as a recast, but.....

you won't know until you try it.

if you can get your wheel recast,by one

of the suggested people in the other replies, for that

price, by all means do it. "ask" how they color

the wheels, is the color sprayed on, or, is the color in

the resin? i prefer the latter! one thing you dont want is to

dance with a steering wheel that shows a sprayed on color over a

mismatch repair, or, pieces of the repaired spot falling off from constant use.

pay for it once, and go with the proven method, heck, look how long the first one lasted!