Steering wheel repair, cheap.

I did the cracked original wheel in my Diamond T today, using my el-cheapo, but tedious and dirty "bond-o smearing" method. I've done several this way, it works well, and they seem to last. I didn't take an pics of doing it, but it's not very photo-genic anyway.

The trick is to grind out all the cracks down to the steel rim, and completely sand the remaining plastic (or in this case, Bakelite) so the filler has some "tooth". Then, I just fill the cracks and ground out areas with plastic filler. This wheel was pretty bad, I ended up removing about 1/4 of the original plastic rim and hub, so there is LOTS of filler.

Then, some Krylon primer, sand, re-prime, and color. I can tell you that using a cut off tool and die grinder on black bakelite is a very, very messy job!

Here's the finished wheel...

 

Your steering wheel looks nice. I just finished filling and sanding a wheel for my F100, and I can vouch for the dust that Bakelite creates when ground and sanded. On this one, I used a grinder and die grinder and used fiberglass filler. Going to prime tomorrow with a nice primer. I once used a special epoxy supposedly for steering wheels and like I figured, after a few years, some of the repairs ghosted back, but you have to really be looking to see them.
.

 

Nice job, besides being messy and some time, the price is right!

 

Next time try using a bare hack saw blade to clean out the crack with out using a power tool to throw the dust all over. Yours looks killer.

 

ive found that filler works well on steering wheels ,especially if you dont manhandle the wheel getting in and out.I usually mix a little fiberglass resin to the mix ,which helps.nice job Brian.

 

I've thought about using body filler or duraglass or all metal but didn't think it would hold up.
I'm going to try it on the deep 62 olds wheel I have.
Thanks for posting this

 

Nice job on the steering wheel . Did any of you try two part epoxy ? That stuff will sticks to anything . Just a thought.

 

Best stuff and probably cheaper than bondo and available at most home stores.

 

a little ospho on rim before ya mud it up slow rust a little

 

Brian,,the wheel turned out great.

I did a 40 Ford wheel a few years ago using a die grinder and know exactly what your talking about with the mess.

The steering wheel for the Ranch Wagon I used a hacksaw blade,,a lot less mess but a little more labor intensive. HRP

 

I use metal prep and POR15 on any rusty part of the wheel followed with JB Weld to fill cracks.

 

I started out with a hacksaw and a triangle shaped file, and quickly decided I don't have enough patience for that! I looked like a coal miner when I was done, but (most) of it blew off with the air hose. I've used JB weld to, but it's too hard to sand smooth. I've tried Mar-Glas (glass fibre reinforced filler), but it doesn't last any longer than just filler. The wheel in my boat is a '48 Pontiac banjo wheel done 14 or 15 years ago, the rim is almost all filler, and it's got a few cracks, but still looks good. It's patina, right?

 

I agree with tommy, well at least this time, using PC-7 is hard to beat for wheel restoration.

 

PC7 and LOTS of time sanding....

 

I JUST did my wheel last week too.

it had all the typical cracks plus 2 gouges from a suicide knob. My furnace still smells like burnt rubber everytime it kicks on, it must have sucked up all that ground rubber dust out of the air

I used the PC-7 epoxy (under $5) and it seemed to work good and had the best reviews here. Only time will tell.
The only tip i got is after you smear it in there (its super thick and sticky), wet your finger and then smooth it out. After 1 day of cure, I took a 1/2 round wood rasp to it then waited another day before starting w/ 120 grit paper.


epoxy primer, white rattle can, a light dusting of rustoleom pearl mist rattle can, then a real clear.


jeff

 

I prefer JB Weld Quick for repairing steering wheel cracks. It flows into the cracks so much better than anything else, and frankly it sands smooth fairly easy. For the finish I use Epoxy Appliance paint from Ace Hardware. That is the toughest paint I have ever seen. The color selection is somewhat limited but the Almond is beautiful, and who can argue with the black.

 

whew!
When I checked out your truck last week, I noticed the steering wheel looked out of place with the nice new interior. I am glad it got fixed up and painted. Looks really nice.

When I did the wheel in my '47, I used some 2 party epoxy from por-15, and I was very happy with the results.

 

I used PC 7 on my '54 Ford steering wheel,,HRP

 

^^thats a DAMN pretty wheel! One of those could really look good in my T.

 

I had great success with PC7 too alot of guys from way back called it "golf ball" glue because of that demo piece they put on hardware store counters...

 

has anybody ever have a steering wheel powdercoated.any pros/cons

 

some bakelite has Asbestos in it so best use a mask and maybe don't sand it in the kitchen. nice looking wheel tho

 

I doubt it can be done.

The bakelite would not survive the heat.

Rich

 

I can't think of any cons unless the heat might cause the filler or the steering wheel itself to shrink. HRP

 

ahh ok.makes sense

got it.probably best just to have it painted.just need to get it close to bone color.thanks guys