The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Interiors Steering wheel residue

The steering wheel on my 56 gets sticky and black residue gets on your hands when the weather is damp... but after driving it a bit the wheel polishes up again and the stickiness and residue goes away. Anyone else have a problem like this?? Any ideas on how to fix it??
Thanks!

I got the same problem. And I need the solution. Leather cover??

The short answer is to prep and paint the steering wheel fellas.

A longer answer is here:

Spifin\' up the Steering Wheel

Always enjoy your detailed notes about your progress with BillyBob!

But I'm not sure I want to got he painting the steering wheel route. I'm not convinced that paint will stand up to the use. Especially with no power steering! Hell, I already broke a 'suicide knob' I had on the wheel!

I think I'll try some heavy duty cleaning on the wheeel today....

Thanx Larry. I think conventional wisdom is that the stickyness comes from the plastic that the wheel is made from and that certain climatic conditions causes it to break down. There's nothin' scientific about conventional wisdom, however, and your mileage may vary. Cleaning may do the trick. After decades of frustrating computer work, I've learned to avoid stating absolutes . . . Nebber say nebber.

You're right Larry, nebber say nebber! But then again I try to stay far, far away from computers... as a creative type, my brain just can't work in that linear a fashion!

I used brake cleaner on the wheel today and took off lots of gunk. But the jury's still out... will report back after the next wet weather day, which here in New England may be any moment now.

thanks for your advice meanwhile!

I had the same problem with the wheel on my 52. I bought a steering wheel puller and popped the wheel off. Then scrubbed it really well with a strong cleaner (I used about 1/4 cup of TSP in a gallon of hot water. Spic and Span is the same thing). After about twenty minutes the water was turning light gray instead of black. After letting it dry really well, I spray painted it with a couple coats of clear lacquer. That was last spring, and 3000 miles ago. It's still doing the job - No more dirty hands on humid mornings.

I was under the impression that the wheel was factory painted.

Was I mistaken?

I'd presume so Train... on my wheel I can still see traces of black paint where there is less hand contact. But on the overused surfaces the paint is long gone. So far over the past two days I'm not getting any residue. My 56 is my daily driver so it's annoying to have it happen.

I'm still leary about painting the wheel tho. But I do think I'll get out some black two-part epxoy and fill the cracks...

The paint idea will take care of the problem. The secret is in what KIND of paint you use. I'd use polyurethane paint the color you want,and follow with a few coats of clear polyurethane.Itll be gas and oil resistant and it'll outlast the rest of the truck,uh,well,ALMOST,anyway.

You can get appliance epoxy in rattle cans at Ace in various colors. I tried some on a headlight knob, it seems to be hard as a rock.

Yes, paint will wear through again - probably in about 20 years, just like the original.

BTW, those steering wheels aren't plastic. They're a very hard rubber material. Trust me, you can tell a plastic steering wheel - they crack into a zillion pieces.

i have mine covered in the leather wrap stuff but i had to splice two of them together since the steering wheels are so much bigger than the modern day wheels. doesn't solve the problem but does keep the hands clean!