The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop steering wheel refinish

a while ago i saw a thread on refinishing steering wheels and now can't find. i'm keeping the original as it is in very good shape bit the paint is gone in some areas.....suggestions?

If you have cracks, POR15 epoxy putty. Water soluble. Worked very well on the original from my '56. Then just smoothed with a damp cloth, sanded, self-etching primed, and shot.

Mine didn't have any cracks so I just sanded it smooth and used epoxy appliance paint from the local ACE hardware. It comes in black, white, or tan. It sprays real nice and is very durable. Joe

I am interested in this too. It seems that the old plastic takes on a dull chalky appearance on the surface and I was wondering how paint would adhere. I guess the sanding does the trick.

ace hardware has paint just for plastic.

I have the answer to your problems. S.E.M. Paints make paint designed to use on interior vinyl. It has a flex agent already in it so it will give some. The color you need is called Monterey. It is as close to the proper steering wheel color that I could find without actually buying the paint from Chevy Duty or someone. I think that you will agree when you see the color and the results of the steering wheel. It is not a high gloss though. more semi gloss. I have tried several colors and this is the closest. I even posted a topic months ago on another color. I changed to the Monterey soon after that.

por 15 putty system

This is one area on my old 53 that I am really proud of. I'm new to this type thing, and had always been led to believe that repairing a steering wheel is rocket science. It is not. I bought a tube of plastic epoxy putty at the local parts store, filled in the cracks, used really fine sandpaper on the whole wheel, primed it with regular primer, and then sprayed it with Dupont Centari and it looks really great. I used Centari because that is what was used on the rest of the truck, but I'm sure any decent auto paint would work just as well. Try it, I think you will be amazed at how easy it is, and how good it looks.

It might be worth your while to investigate the putty issue a little. I don't remember what brand I had, but it was classified as plastic epoxy. It was a little stiff and hard to work. If you could find something that could be smoothed with water it would make your job a lot easier. Allen

Considering that they are hard rubber, not plastic, using plastic products might not be the best idea. Eastwood sells a nice little booklet on steering wheel repair.

Here's an article I found some time ago on restoring steering wheels........ Steering wheel restoration article

Tim, can't get to your site... is something down?

Say Larry, read your post about your steering wheel project... how's the paint holding up since then? What kind of paint is your finish coat??

Paint is holding up well, Larry. Two or three hairline cracks too small to worry about yet have developed (you don't notice them unless you are looking for them). The paint is Rustoleum "Grass Green" enamel. Whenever I get to the interior phase of my detailing cycle (about once a year), I remove the steering wheel and, after cleaning, give it a light sanding and a refresher coat if it looks like it could use it.