TOPIC: My wheel has a crack

Good day

I am looking for some How Too info on restoring my steering wheel.
As you can see there are several cracks not to mention the faded color and ruff surface it has.





Any and all info/directions would be appreciated.

heck,thunder hawk thats not too bad,heres mine if i can get it off the boat im going to restore it too.
but as far as for yours ,take it apart ,all the chrome off,then lightly grind the cracks into a V or valley ,not too deep,then use high stregnth epoxy to fill that up,sand it to match the wheel,if you need more filler use resin jelly,it works just like bondo,after you get it all sanded ,if you like,before you start hit the rough spots gntly with a sand blaster to get into the cracks on the hand grips.then grind and epoxy and clean the whole wheel with a tack cloth and a light wipe with paint thinner.
then prime and paint.
or you can get duplicolor metal paint,and for primer use duplicolor adhesion promotor(clear primer),then duplicolor ground base ,it gives it a silver metalic look.
then use duplicolor top coat in these colors..
i did my spare sterring wheel and hardware ,air horns too with it in blue ,i think they look good

the cracks in my wheel were in the same place. i v-grooved them out and used jb weld to repair. they re-appeared after just 2 times out. i'll have to find a pro to do it. ron

check this site out,they pearlize streering wheels,i asked for a quote on mine and too much for me $680 bucks,but they are beautiful in most any color,john www.pearlcraft.com.au/overview.htm

WOW $680 is more than I have budgeted for beer to restore my whole boat.

John you did a nice job, any idea on which epoxy?
One other question or maybe to clairify; is your wheel a soft plastic kinda like one that would be on an old Dodge Dart? Mine appears to be made of a harded plastic. Mind you 25 years of sun makes anything hard.

vuyosevich Thanks I will cross JB off the list.

thawk,im sorry i dont mean to hijack your thread,but ron ,im not a pro,but if you like send it to me and ill see what i can do with your wheel.

thawk,the same goes for you too send it to me,ill try to fix it for you no charge ,just the return shipping,john

john-gibson wrote:

thawk,the same goes for you too send it to me,ill try to fix it for you no charge ,just the return shipping,john

John I thank you for your gracious offer but up where I live we are just getting ready for the 30 below temperatures and I am sure you can appreciate having small project like this a life saver not to mention a great excuse to go out to the garage and not get to dirty.

thats outrageous in my book.
john, if i remember how to get it off i'll send it to you. i remmember when i took it off the first time it was a real job and my cables got all tangled up.

I have used Eastwood's steering wheel repair kits in the past on many automotive wheels. They sell the 2 part epoxy for under $10.00.Very easy to do.


www.eastwood.com/catalog/product/view/id/3993

Are these wheels aluminum? If so I might offer some some in sight into TIG welding or gas welding them.

67,i can only ell you that mine are plastic with a steel ring inside,the white one may even be bakelite.john

very interesting hey John I relized the other day that you don't live very far from me. We should get together on one of your projects some day.

T Hawk - I'd strongly advise you to just live with them. That has to be one of the "better" used wheels I've yet to see. I personally wouldn't touch it. My experience in trying to repair cracks in hard rubber wheels is that it almost always fails. If you "V" out the crack and fill it with something, it may crack on both sides of the V, leaving the filler looking like a ring with cracks on either side. The filler can't adequately bond to the old rubber compound of the wheel, and heat & cold will make the rubber expand & contract at a different rate than the filler. Also, when you "torque" on the whel while boating the wheel frame flexes slightly, making the cracks re appear, or new ones forming. The only way to completely avoid steering wheel cracks is to have a Nylon wheel, or metal one. All hard rubber wheels will eventually crack, if they are in use on a boat.

67sears wrote:

Are these wheels aluminum? If so I might offer some some in sight into TIG welding or gas welding them.

So for the misleading subject post but it's a steering wheel.

I will check out a couple of parts stores for that restore kit.

Thanks all
Cheers

it's ok. I knew they were steering wheels just didn't know what they were made out of

67 where in pa are you,heck i have a 59 cutter jet de ville im working on now,come on over and i will let you sand and sand and sand some more,lol,the guy that had it before me brush painted it with what looks like rustoleum.
by the way im just kidding about the sanding part ,im not going to do that until i have all of the interior fabricated,i dont want any red paint on it,lol.but come spring ill be going at it,lol,your welcome to stop by someday,john

anyone know what my steering wheel is made of? 1960 customcraft.

I am north of butler you can't be to far on 422 past that. I can understand about the brush painting my sears was done in latex, stripper wouldn't lift it and paper plugged dry sanding, so i wet sanded the hole thing. Not that brush painting does not have it's place just not in my hands.

www.thebugshop.org/bsfqstrg.htm

check out this website for wheel resto

scott

On old cars, we always just used Bondo to fill in cracks, v the crack out a bit, fill it in, sand, prime, and paint.
I've also seen guys use windshield urethane to fill and fix cracks on some molded rubber wheels like those found on many old tractors.

Most boat wheels I've seen have been plastic over steel. As the oils leave the plastic, it shrinks and cracks.

On the car steering wheels I've done, I don't get too carried away grinding out a V in the crack, just enough to let me feather out the filler a bit. Don't make yourself more work than is needed.
When filling the crack, over fill it a bit and sand off the excess when it's dry, don't load it up all at once if you have a big gap to fill, a little at a time works best.