Restoring early IIa banjo wheel

[Skeeball]

Whats the best way to go about restoring a banjo steering wheel? mine has cracks where the spokes join the wheel, and the usual old worn paint and gunk.
My Plan is to use POR-15 por patch and rub that into the cracks when dry paint with por-15 black then cover with a leather wheel cover..
I was also thinking about using JB weld for the cracks then painting it with POR-15

The wire spokes are in good condition but have some surface corrosion. How is that handled
I'd be interested in hearing what you guys have done and the results you have achieved.
Thanks
Steve '64 IIa 88

[SafeAirOne]

Same answer as I gave on G&R: http://www.eastwood.com/steering-whe...-from-eastwood

[CMorris]

Steve,
Use a fine steel wool on the spokes of the wheel, they'll cleam up nicely. I've restored eight of these wheels in the last six months, the PC7 works well (don't use JB Weld, you'll run into shrinking issues a year from now) and is available at your local Ace Hardware for about $7. Use the PC7 sparingly, it sets up very hard and if you pile it on it's just a ton of sanding time. The one thing I would suggest that's not in the Eastwood article is to work your way up to at least 600 grit paper, I actually work up to 1200, the old bakelite material will still have pretty heavy scratches around the repair areas that will still be visible through the final finish if you stop at 320. On the hub of the wheel, if you're painting that also, go easy with any mechanical stripping, it's a relativley soft aluminum that will scratch pretty deeply. For final finish check around at local body shops, see if they'll put your wheel in the booth the next time they paint a black car......I've been using BMW Jet Black (at a local body shop) and the wheels come out looking like a newly minted Steinway.
Have fun!

[Skeeball]

excellent advice all the way 'round
Thanks !