The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Turnkey Steering Wheel Repair?

Is there anywhere I can send my steering wheel off to have it repaired. It has some cracks in it. No major pieces missing, etc. I would love to be able to send it somewhere and have someone with more patience that knows what they are doing to repair that for me and get it ready for painting.

Google “steering wheel repair service”.

Of course, you most likely would like to know if anyone has had a good result from a steering wheel repair service. Let's hope you get some helpful responses.

Wilsjay,
I did mine myself. Here’s what I did:
Sand it down lightly with a fine grit sponge pad.
Ever so slightly file the cracks open just a bit. I used a very small file for this.
I next used a two part 3m epoxy and filled all the cracks.
I let it cure for 2 days to make sure it was solid.
Get out your files and start shaving the epoxy down.
I shot the wheel with an industrial primer (leftovers form painting) and then top coated it.

My wheel isn’t “brand new perfect” but it looks VERY for a very cheap fix.
The pictures show a cracked wheel, the one I repaired after sanding and epoxy repair, primer and then painted.
Worth a shot...a lot cheaper than a $300-400 replacement.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/wuFyKtm7Y6m3qSQc7

Original request: "I would love to be able to send it somewhere and have someone with more patience that knows what they are doing to repair that for me and get it ready for painting."

"I did mine myself. . . . a lot cheaper than a $300-400 replacement."

$240 for painted replacement, including shipping.

I did mine. Took a hacksaw blade and cut the cracks down to the steel. epoxy sand and paint. Also filled a few dents. Looks better than new. They sell kits for this with epoxy and paint. Not as time consuming as I thought.

I saw this guy set up at pomona swap meet

...link...


But I have no first hand knowledge of his work
What I saw in his booth looked great


I like the option of buying a repo as mentioned above, if your not opposed to that

DADS50,

Are prices posted at that link?

Sorry, Tim. I should have been more aware of what I was posting.

However, we unlucky, northern folk have to pay exchange rate and shipping. It gets up there in price quickly.

Not much to the web site, but there is a phone number

Thanks for all the replies. I shot that company an email to see what they charge as I could not find anything on there about prices either.

Does anyone have a link to step by step DIY repair? I have read a few posts like @Fox's and watched a youtube video was wondering if someone had some more?

Did mine myself. I know body shop materials and didn't hesitate.
Read my build thread... page 7 for steering wheel repairs.

https://www.stovebolt.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/1128589/7.html

Thanks for that reply. I just commented on your thread with a couple of questions.

I bet a local Jr Collage Auto Body shop could help you out! They have the 3M products for that fix.

Fox, you did a great job on your wheel repair. Looks awesome! You’ve inspired me to do the same to mine. A couple of months ago I posted that when it’s rainy and humid my hands turn black when I drive the truck. I think your post showed me exactly how to fix my problem. Thanks!

P.S..... I really like the frame you built to hold it while you painted it. Smart!

I have two extra steering wheels hanging in my garage which could use some attention. Maybe a good winter project.

Dangit! You guys keep showing me more stuff that I can do on my truck. I'm going to have to stop reading this forum...

I have worked on 3 steering wheels with varying success. I would like to share two thoughts with those that want to try your own restoration.

First, epoxy and hard rubber are so different in terms of hardness and how they respond to sanding. Instead of leaving the epoxy "proud" and relying on sanding to level, I now level the epoxy before curing using a knife blade. Scrape at right angle to the crack. This minimizes that amount of sanding necessary.

Second, expect some/most of the cracks to reappear at some time. Just for something to do, I restored an Advance Design steering wheel and hung it on the wall in my garage. Five years later, with summer temps 120+ F and winter temps 40 F, it still looked beautiful. When I restored my COE I used this steering wheel and very fine cracks reappeared in a few months. I think this is because people entering and exiting the COE use the steering wheel to pull themselves up and down, putting a fair amount of stress on the wheel. It still looks very good but it sort of surprised me. I then installed repo door arm rests so people could grab that instead and the cracks have remained the same.

Kent

I've never done one, but recently saw an example of a fella using JB weld to fill all the cracks. Did it in stages to gradually get up slightly proud of original wheel, then carefully sanded to shape. It looked brand new after couple coats of paint. No idea on durability.

I used JB weld a few years ago on the steering wheel currently on my truck. Worked pretty good. 15+ years later, it need attention again.

I used Bondo 35 years ago on my 1935 Chevy Coupe steering wheel and it still looks good. I think Bondo is softer and is more forgiving that the harder epoxy's. The Marine-Tex and JB Weld type epoxy's are hard enough to drill and tap which doesn't allow them to flex with the rubber based material on the steering wheel, this allowing the cracks to return first time someone grabs the wheel.

My .02 cents,

Mike B

Mike B,
I like that suggestion! If I have a 4th try at steering wheel restoration I will do that.
Kent

3M panel adhesive seems to have the same density and hardness (or lack thereof) as the original steering wheel material. It is a 2 part product and will stick to the material after you gouge out and clean the cracks. It sands exactly like the original material which is a true pleasure compared to epoxy or J-B Weld.