Fist off, moderators please feel free to move this to wherever it belongs if need be. The thread in FAQ truck tech by ESLL (RIP) is great and thanks to him I had the motivation to try this. I also used my crappy old wheel as practice for a '63 Nova SS wheel that I'm restoring for my dear ole Dad.
I have always been conflicted about re-pop steering wheels, they are very nice but there is something about taking old parts and making them look new that gets me going. Especially something like a steering wheel that has so served such an important function!
Well my original wheel had seen waaay better days, it was cracked all over. The first step was a good cleaning. I used a dremel tool and small triangle file to open up all of the cracks down to the metal. I definitely would not make them so big next time but this was easier and I wanted to be sure that the new material would not crack. This is what it looked like when I was done filing/grinding:
I decided that PC7 epoxy was going to be the best and cheapest material to rebuild the cracks. The downside is that I couldn't locate it at any hardware stores and had to order from Home Depot online. It was less than $20 after shipping. Turned out to be great stuff, easy to apply and the perfect density/workability for a steering wheel. I really gobbed it on as you can see because I wanted to be sure there were no low spots:
[IMG]http://67-72chevytrucks.com/gallery/data/1093/3463635637_8de5ac4e3b.jpg[/IMG
After curing for a few days, I took a half-round file to it and was able to do 95% of the shaping. The Dremel came in handy in a couple of tight spots too. I followed this up with some 80 grit sanding, then 120 on the whole wheel. I had to do another light application of the PC7 to fill in pinholes and a couple of low spots. After more sanding this is how it looked:
Continued...