steering wheel restoration

[TRAMO]

anyone know of any posts or reading material on how and what to use on restoring a mopar steering wheel

 

[PlumcrazyRR]

If you find anything good, post it up here. I plan on doing my steering wheel later this year and would be interested. Which steering wheel do you have?

 

[Baller]

I've looked before and haven't found a good step by step guide. I have the wood grain wheel and it seems that a lot of guys use PC-7 to repair the cracks.

 

[PlumcrazyRR]

I have the padded with the ring in my RR. It has some cracks in the black part of the steering wheel. Other than that it looks great. Seems like me and Tramo are doing a lot of the same stuff right now, but I am just a little behind, so keep on posting away Tramo.

 

[okiemopar]

Eastwoods sells a kit to redo them. You can buy a repop whell that looks pretty good, it just depends on how you want to do it.

 

[TRAMO]

yea plum looks like we like the the same cars.my wheel is a stock rr wheel thats blue,im changing to black and has some cracks.

I have the padded with the ring in my RR. It has some cracks in the black part of the steering wheel. Other than that it looks great. Seems like me and Tramo are doing a lot of the same stuff right now, but I am just a little behind, so keep on posting away Tramo.

 

[eagleone1983]

Tramo, I bought that Eastwood kit to do mine but then ended up buying a new steering wheel from BA&E. I didn't use any of the PC-7 and I have a book. If you're interested I'll sell it to you. If you don't want to spend the time restoring it the repro wheels are really nice.

 

[Dad's69RR]

Eagle One do you have the wood grain wheel?

 

[TRAMO]

thanx eagle. im late as usual. I just ordered the kit about an hour ago.thanx anyway.Randy

Tramo, I bought that Eastwood kit to do mine but then ended up buying a new steering wheel from BA&E. I didn't use any of the PC-7 and I have a book. If you're interested I'll sell it to you. If you don't want to spend the time restoring it the repro wheels are really nice.

 

[eric383]

I renewed my 63 Polara steering wheel this winter. I should have taken pictures but I couldn't find our camera. The wheel is 2 tone (white on top and red on the bottom). The white was cracked so after a good cleaning I filled the cracks with epoxy and after a few applications and then some sanding I filled the small imperfections with Evercoat Metal Glaze(a 2 part finishing filler) and next some more sanding to finish it smooth. Next some epoxy primer to seal it off and then some wet sanding to assure a smooth base. Now for the base coat and after proper flash time then the clear. I should mention that the red on the bottom wasn't cracked so I was able to get by with scuffing and clear coat on that.

 

[eagleone1983]

No not the wood grain kit. I'm not sure that there is a wood grain kit available

 

[TRAMO]

hey plumcrazyrr. you know anybody in ok that owns a 70RR Y2 YELLOW.WHEN I WAS 17 I BOUGHT A Y2 70RR.i sold it in 1977 and I understand it went to OK. in the early 80s.

 

[64BEL]

I used PC-7 (bought a tub at ACE Hardware). It was my first try (well, not counting a short lived barely started attempt on a different wheel), and I was very happy with the results. My daughter helped me with it. We found success using water with the PC-7 to make it a lot more malleable. It was sort of like working with clay and slurry. It helped us smooth it out and kept the sanding to a minimum. Here are some pics of the various stages.

 

[PlumcrazyRR]

hey plumcrazyrr. you know anybody in ok that owns a 70RR Y2 YELLOW.WHEN I WAS 17 I BOUGHT A Y2 70RR.i sold it in 1977 and I understand it went to OK. in the early 80s.

I actually haven't seen any 70 RR's around since I have been here. I have only lived in OK for a year now though. I am hoping when I get my girl running and start taking her out they start coming out of hiding. Or on the other hand it would be nice going to shows around here with the only 70 RR also

 

[hawkeye]

http://www.secondchancegarage.com/public/475.cfm

 

[g413]

I am totally impressed. I and every other S.F. owner has a wheel that looks like your first picture. However, the rubbing of the hands will cause wear on your paint job. Is your finished paint job holding up?

 

[64BEL]

Thanks. I put several coats of clear on it, so paint wear shouldn't be a problem. We finished it in late June last year. Soon after, I noticed a couple of hairline cracks in it - possibly just in the clear. I was probably the only one who could even see them. As time went on, there were a few more tiny cracks - again, very imperceptible to most people. When I put it in storage for the winter, I figured the spring would reveal any other problems. It sits in an unheated building for the winter (an extremely long, and cold winter, this past year). It did develop a few more small cracks over the winter - two are deeper than the others. Those go through the paint, but I don't think they go into the epoxy.

I think these cracks are due to using spray bombs to paint and clear it rather than using a paint gun. Some flex additive probably would have helped avoid the cracks. I can live with the small cracks that most don't notice for now. The wheel still looks really good - especially compared to the original wheel that was on the car. I included some pics of that wheel below. That is not the wheel I restored - it was too far gone for me to want to mess with. It was even worse than these pics show. There was almost as much of the metal core showing as plastic on that wheel.

If the cracks get worse, I'll probably take it off and re-do it. I'm disappointed in the cracks but still very pleased with how it turned out - especially with it being our first attempt.

 

[tallhair]

You did an excellent job on that wheel 64BEL

 

[64BEL]

Thanks, tallhair. It was fun to do - especially working on it together. We learned a lot along the way. We have a lot left to do on the car, so it's nice to have at least one thing in "restored" status. Bodywork and a repaint are much more involved and farther down the road projects. Restoring a steering wheel is something just about anyone can try for themselves with really no specialized tools needed. There is a guy who does them by actually remolding them in colored plastic - which is the original way they were made. But painting is a more affordable diy option. I had the paint mixed up to match our turquoise interior using the ash tray. That's not the correct color for the wheel - which was molded plastic in turquoise. But we really like how the color turned out - even with the incorrect metallic in it.

 

[g413]

Just FYI, I contacted the guy I think you are talking about. He completely strips the old resin and recasts the wheel. However, he wants $1500. Yikes!