home Steering wheel restoration

["Vath, Michael J." <mjvath@xxxx>]

I just did my first wheel repair. Short of funds, I used JB Weld 2-part
epoxy. It worked very well for a driver, though it must be painted.
The '57 wheel had chunks missing up to 3/4"-wide...so I used masking tape to
form a mold around the face of the rim. Then - with wheel face-down on the
kitchen table - I dropped-in the mixed glue batter; filling the tape mold to
the level of the finger grips. When freshly mixed, the stuff flows well at
room temperature.
Once dry (next-day) the tape peels off cleanly. Any ridges can be easily
(patience + light touch) sanded with 220-grit paper. A flat file works well
at showing high spots.
Once the face is good, the finger bumps can be built-up various ways: a blob
of clay (or silly putty) to form a mold/barrier, masking tape -- or --
allowing the epoxy to get pretty stiff then applying it and forming it by
hand (flour keeps it from sticking to fingers) into the little bumps. Once
formed, turn wheel face-side-up to dry. Gravity will still cause a bit of
glue movement, so flip the wheel every 15 minutes or so 'til dry. (its a fun
drinking game).
Rounded files and several grits of sandpaper (and that patience thing) can
then be used to form/smooth presentable repairs. A bit more
patience/creativity is necessary where the cracks are odd-shaped or really
narrow. Dentist-like removal/drilling of healthy plastic might be necessary
to get enough sticking-area for the schmutz.
When considering how damn cold it is outside -- this isn't as bad as it
sounds. Just don't let your cat step on the epoxy palette.

So far my $5.95 repair ($10 including paint) is weathering the 29-degree
nights and 60-degree days. No noticeable temperature cracking -- even where
I used bondo to fill the little cracks. The wheel face looks great. The
finger-bumps will take a bit more practice (next wheel will be ready soon!)
but aren't as visible to the cruise-in crowd. Plus the epoxy & paint should
now help stop/slow further cracking.


-----Original Message-----
From: SADuggan@xxxx [mailto:SADuggan@xxxx]
Sent: Tuesday, January 07, 2003 9:42 AM
To: jblken@xxxx; CHRYSLER300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [Chrysler300] Steering wheel restoration


All,
I was watching the string on steering wheel repair in hopes that there 
would be an inexpensive option for repair of the clear plasic on the 62 
deluxe steering wheels. $950 is alot of money for a steering wheel, but 
judging on the amount of work to do on the highest quality restoration, a 
fair price.
A few months ago I did some casting in clear polyester resin for a job 
that turned out great. Of course there wasn't a chrome ring centered in my 
casting. I've been thinking of trying my hand at doing the casting. I have a

good steering wheel for the mold. Hopefully this works out for me and I can 
offer a cheap alternitive for the driver. Any tips from those who have tried

is appriciated.

Sean Duggan

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