I have tried twice with only so-so success.
First I tried to restore the steering wheel on my '42. I used the Eastwood kit which uses a slow curing epoxy. I opened up the cracks down to the metal core. This widens the areas you must sand and match the contour of the wheel. I found that the sanding process was very frustrating because you are sanding dissimilar materials (epoxy and old hard rubber). The edges were very obvious and with the wide areas of epoxy, I couldn't recreate the contours of the original wheel. Many years later, the wheel is usable but sort of ugly. Small cracks have reappeared.
My second attempt was the wheel on my COE. I abandoned the idea of widening the cracks and filled with JB weld, which cures rapidly. Using a box cutter blade I worked the epoxy into the cracks and then skimmed the blade over the cracks, leaving little or no material left to sand. This came out much nicer and the wheel hung in my garage in Mesa for 5 years (very hot in the summer)without change. After repainting the wheel to the proper color and installing, it was really pretty. Unfortunately, small cracks appeared soon thereafter, probably because to enter the cab requires grabbing a hold of the wheel to hoist yourself in. The cracks have stabilized and it doesn't look too bad 5 years later.
So, my conclusion is that I don't have the skill or knowledge to do a first class permanent restoration of a wheel.
Kent
