Steering Wheel Refurbish

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jhdeval

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Yesterday I found information on refurbishing a steering wheel using epoxy putty. It seems easy enough. Has anyone here done it? Also I have the two spoke steering wheel with a chrome piece that meets in the center with a valiant logo on my 65 Barracuda. From what I see there is supposed to be a pry point to pull the chrome off but I can't find it. Can anyone help me?
 
This is a kit offered by POR-15 Seemed like a bit much to me.
http://www.por15.com/STEERING-WHEEL-REPAIR-KIT/productinfo/SWRK/

This is a guy that uses a product called KBS NuMetal
[ame="www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIEM7r_BRw0"]YouTube - ‪KBS NuMetal - Epoxy Putty - Steering Wheel Repair - Part 1‬‏[/ame]

I realized there is nothing special about epoxy putty so I just went to my local hardware store and bought some 2 part epoxy putty.

What you do is clean up the edges of the crackand form a V shape in the plastic. The video shows a good technique of creating pockets by drilling under the surface. What that does it give fingers for the putty to fill and hold in. What you do next is push the putty into the V shaped crack and then let it dry. Then sand it back to a similiar shape. Finally prime and paint. I got another tip if you use a rattle can to paint finish with a polyurethane to create a lasting finish.
 
Okay so I came home and I tried to pry off my center horn button and I just dont see where that happens. Please oh please I am begging can someone please help me figure out how to remove the horn button?
 
Grasp the round center section of the horn button and turn it counter clockwise. It should unlatch and lift off.
 
Okay so I figured it out. I ended up finding a center cap on eBay that showed me just the center cap came off then there are three screws below it.

I have started the process of refurbishing the wheel and it is coming out surprising well. I started by cleaning everything with mineral spirits but I think starting with a light sanding would have been better. I opened up all the cracks with a dremel. I started mixing the two part epoxy putty VERY small pieces by the way and then I simply pushed it into the cracks until it was full. I am pretty sure I am going to have to do a second layer as a finish layer. It is coming out great and I think the sanding will be pretty easy as there is not a lot of overflow.
 
Thanks for the video link. Funny thing, I just figured the whole process out a couple of months ago and tried it on a back-up wheel I got on e-bay. I used a more flowing epoxy ; Devcon 2 ton in a double dispensing syringe as a top filler coat to the large putty repairs. It filled minor damage and sanded easily. Used 3M spot putty and high solid (building/sanding) primer finished untill 'Done.'
As far as top paint, I tried Krylon Fusion because it was indicated for plastics. It went on ok for a spray can but the gloss is a little low. any other thoughts on paint?
 
In your case the gloss was probably not what you expecting because of the plastics paint. They are designed to be sprayed directly on plastic. the best way to paint it would be to apply a primer then automotive paint through a sprayer. The reason for this is the hardener will give a lasting finish where the spray on its own will likely chip away. As an alternative I am going to lay down a good primer to fill the minor imperfections then a good top coat of spray paint and finally several coats of polyurethane/clear coat. The clear coat has the hardener in it and will help bring the shine through. I am also hoping it will give the wheel a deeper look. Kind of the under glass look.
 
I filled the cracks around the base of my wheel with hot glue. Sanded and then painted with vinyl paint.

It looks great and it is flexible. Which is why is cracked in the first place.
 
The reason I didn't or can't use anything that flows is because I have tons of cracks and I needed something I could mold into shape. I like the idea of the hot glue but I think it may be to hard for me to manipulate.
 
Clean and sand around the crack.
Put tape around the crack, leaving a small opening to force the glue in.
I would use metal duct tape.


After it hardens remove the tape and sand. It never hardens enough that you couldn't dig it out with a small screw driver if it doesn't come out right.
 
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