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I'm in the prosess of reparing the cracks in my stearing wheel. What I need to know is what kind of primer and top coat to use? Do I need to use some kind of flexable additive. The stearing is made of some kind of hard rubber material, will regular primer stick to it or do I need a special primer.

Thanks
George

I have never had to put a flex agent in anything solid like that.The only place i think you need flex agent is if you can push on the panel and it will distort,like a bumper cover on a new car.I use epoxy primer(2-3 part)no laq.

Don't take my word for it, but I thought I read that the steering wheel was made of or covered with "Bakelite" some kind of plastic/ resin that they also made alot of collectable radios out of (not necessarily car radios). I am interested in how you are repairing the cracks, and if anyone has any information about getting the thing recoated with the bakelite stuff as opposed to paint

Some guys use epoxy adhesives to repair the cracks.I have used a 3M 2 tube mix filler originally used for repairing damage to the flexible bumpers.This stuff is easy to sand and blends in fine.The repairs have lasted so far on several wheels.The problem is the wheel material is all dried up and may just crank some where else, maybe.The steering wheel covering seems to be more of a rubber product than the Bakelite used on the knobs and the steering of some other vehicles.

POR 15 makes a steering wheel repair kit. Never tried it though.

Tony's right on the old wheels cracking. You can fix it in one place, it will simply crack in another. POR-15 paint would be good here for its flexability, but it is not UV resistant. If you park your truck in the sun, the POR-15 will fade out. Another place for a good repro part made using current materials.

Eastwood makes a kit, too.(http://www.eastwoodco.com)

Laroke also has a good article on his steering wheel resto (I think he even used the Eastwood kit): http://www.laroke.com/larryk4674/2000/wip4a.htm

(Sorry to steal your thunder Laroke )

I also have a book, Auto Restorer's Handbook, or something like that, that recommends Bondo for filling the cracks, and then says any good paint will do.

Ed

You may not need the whole Eastwood kit to rebuild the wheel. Eastwood had the best price I could find on PC7, a 2-part epoxy paste, which sets up in about half an hour at room temp, but gives more working time at around 55-60 degrees.
I'm repainting the wheel now with ordinary primer and acrylic enamel, and so far so good. Getting a good bond and no new cracks.

You may not need the whole Eastwood kit to rebuild the wheel. Eastwood had the best price I could find on PC7, a 2-part epoxy paste, which sets up in about half an hour at room temp, but gives more working time at around 55-60 degrees.
I'm repainting the wheel now with ordinary primer and acrylic enamel, and so far so good. Getting a good bond and no new cracks.

Thanx Ed,

You didn't steal my thunder. It's always better not to "blow your own horn" too much, thereby maintaining the appearance of humility

I did use the Eastwood Kit 'an I finished it off with plain old Rustoleum enamel. Like Tony and Fred said, new cracks tend to appear in different locations in the substrate and you have to revisit the process as the need arises. The Rustoleum paint is holding up well here in South Florida where there isn't a great temparature swing.

[ 01-10-2002: Message edited by: LAROKE ]

George, To add my suggestions to the others,,

I bought a small cutter wheel for a Dremel tool and chucked it into my air drill. I used that to vee out the cracked areas. I mixed up some PC-7 Epoxy, (it is sold in hardware stores in my area) and filled in the cracks. I hand sanded the epoxy to get the original shape back, that was the most time consuming part. I primed and painted with lacquer. It had been done about a year, so far it still looks great.

Tahnks guys for all the good info. I've got the Eastwoods restoration kit and have cut out and filled in the cracks. I was just torn on what kind of paint to use. I just got a HVLP spray gun for Christmas. I've got some more sanding to do and then paint. I'll keep you posted on how it comes out.

George

On my steering wheel...have noticed hairline cracks where the spoke of the wheel meets the wheel. I was thinking of using JB weld an epoxy...have used it on an antique telephone....would that work? The colour is grayish and could be sanded and painted?

Starrider