I have a steering wheel I'd like to use in my Falcon . It has a black foam grip that shows slight wear . Does anyone know of a coating of some sort to touch that up ? If I could also use that to change the color , even better .
I also had that thought and decided to try Plasti dip. It can be brushed on, or dipped. I haven't tried it yet but will try it first on another old wheel to see how it works. http://www.plastidip.com/home_solutions/Plasti_Dip
You probably can't touch up the foam without it looking cobbled up. I did a wheel for my 54 Chevy where I very carefully glued vinyl top foam (relatively thin, so it shapes easily, and isn't too thick to look odd) to the rim. I then covered it with a piece of vinyl left over from my interior. The vinyl I cut a long thin piece. long enough to go around the rim. Wide enough to cover the rim, plus an extra 3/4 in. I folded 3/8 in on each side and glued it down. Then I punched holes on each doubled over side about 1/8" in from the edge. Holes about 1/4 in apart. You can buy a cheap hole punch with different sizes at a craft store, for leather working. Use a very small hole, say 1/16". Then I used a baseball s***ch to sew the vinyl cover over the foam on the rim. You can figure out how to do this s***ch just by looking at a baseball, I did! It looked fantastic, and had a bit of give to it while holding it, much more comfortable than the original hard wheel.
I had an artist friend in college who covered ordinary objects, like wine bottles and small wooden boxes, with leather for sale at art fairs. So I asked him to recover my steering wheel. He did it in a nice hide and we dyed it black. The s***ch work was fantastic (far better than I'd ever be able to do) and we bartered the cost for some photography work he needed for his portfolio. It was cool and I had another part on the car that was "worked" by a friend. Gary
Blue One , my experience with products like Plasti-Dip has been that it wears off after a moderate amount of use on tools . I'll wait to see your results . chaddilac , Wow ! My wheel is nowhere near that condition and I need the foam because of a carpal tunnel problem . chopolds and gnichols , I've had poor results from my attempts at vinyl/leather work and no acquaintances who can help . I guess I either ignore it or look for a cover for a big [16 1/2" diameter and thick] steering wheel . Covers that size are hard to find at a reasonable price .
Well that doesn't sound too good. Maybe I'll just use my wheel in it's well worn state. It isn't really that bad as it is all even in it's appearance and not patchy looking or missing any foam. It has a lot of sentimental value to me, I have had it on different vehicles since I was 18. Its an old grant wheel. 14" with the finger bumps on it.
I just thought of a possibility - truck bed coating . I don't think the stuff with Kevlar in it would be good for your hands but the regular stuff should be tough enough anyway .
Had the same problem with my '72 Opal GT. Bought a leather wrap (maybe even from PEP Boys) for the wheel and it looked great. Charlie Stephens
I have decided to use my wheel as is, no coating or re-wrapping, no way I am going to compromise the wheels history (all mine) memories or character.
The Jalopy Journal
