Steering wheel restoration

[defender1619]

I'm trying to restore my 59 seriesII and I was wondering if anyone knows how or where to restore the steering wheel.

[Les Parker]

Repair kit

The guys that POR15 make this :-

http://www.por15.com/STEERING-WHEEL-REPAIR-KIT/productinfo/SWRK/

[jac04]

How bad is it? If the rim is cracked, you can repair it with PC-7 or JB weld epoxy, sand smooth, then repaint it. Another option would be to install a leather steering wheel cover (check the Pangolin 4x4 site for the cover).

Edit: Saw Les' post, and that looks like a very complete kit, but you could certainly do it for less $$.

[Sputnicker]

A timely question - I am currently in the process of restoring the wheel of my 60 Series II. Eastwood also sells a kit (for about $50) that uses PC 7 epoxy as the filler. PC 7 is readily available in hardware stores, so I picked some up for $12.00. I had also read that good old JB Weld works well. I did a web search and found that there were more recommendations for PC 7 than JB Weld and I didn't see a need for the metal in the JB Weld (for this application), so I went with the PC 7. So far, I have ground out all the cracks with a fairly course hand file (and a Dremel in some places) and applied the PC 7 in all the cracks. It seems to adhere well and the wheel is already much stiffer than it was with all the cracks. I have filed and sanded out the first application of epoxy and now must fill in a few low spots with a second application. My plan is to feather out the second application, sand to 320 grit and then paint with gloss black epoxy spray paint. I also removed the paint from the cast aluminum hub and polished it.

[4flattires]

Ahem....

... I have filed and sanded out the first application of epoxy and now must fill in a few low spots with a second application. My plan is to feather out the second application, sand to 320 grit and then paint with gloss black epoxy spray paint. I also removed the paint from the cast aluminum hub and polished it.

Pics please......

Paaaalleeezze?

[Sputnicker]

If my first attempt at attaching photos succeeded, here are some pics of my steering wheel. The first shows the cracks ground out. The second shows the PC 7 epoxy filling the cracks, after a lot of filing and sanding. The third shows the finished wheel with 4 coats of gloss black epoxy paint (VHT from Pep Boys). It looks pretty good - now we'll see how long it holds up.

[4flattires]

OOOOooooHHH!

Nice job!

[kels]

Hey all,

I tried something similar a few years ago - it looked great for about 3 months. I found that the flex in the wheel (not helped by heavy steering) meant that the paint started flaking off after a while. It still looks better than when I started, but its at the point where I've ordered a Pangolian wheel cover for it (excellent bloke to deal with by the way).

If anyone can recommend a paint that keeps some flex, without being sticky, I'd appreciate it.

BTW - I like the polished centre. I painted mine black and it still looks good, but having seen the polished effect I may strip it back...

Cheers,

Adam

[bkreutz]

flexible paint

You might try "bumper and trim" paint, I used it on some stainless oil and fuel lines because I didn't like the flashy silver color and regular paint flaked off like crazy, the trim paint has been on for a year and looks as good as the day I put it on.