What to do with steering wheels?

[1971 cheburban]

Is there anything you can do with a cracked steering wheel, do you guys fill the cracks with anything or do you just try to find a better one. Any help is appreciated, as I bought a four speed column with a cracked wheel, just a few though

[Boog]

I've seen some guys use an epoxy kit to repair them. You'd want to bevel the cracks and clean down in there real good to remove any rust, etc. Smooth it up and paint it with regular exterior car paint.

[hugger6933]

Clean the cracks good. A clean crack is a happy crack.There are kits you can buy from companies like Eastwood and others and even at the local auto part stores to fix the steering wheels but I have used regular epoxy and body filler both with success. Once you determine how your gonna fill them either body filler or epoxy and you have them clean take some pretty course sandpaper like 80 grit and get in to the groove and work the paper a little in there to scratch it up to give it some tooth.Now then prep the filler media and put it in the crack and wait for the drying time. Take more paper and sand down the excess filler from the crack until you get close then move to a finer paper so as not to take off material from the wheel itself. Of course this is very basic idea and it is a little more involved than that but it is enough to give you an idea of what it needs to work. and there are also companies that will do this for you for like $300 a wheel I think, but once you do one you will laugh at that. Jim

[davepl]

Not to be a wanker, but I'd google this one. There are numerous products available. Generally they will be a two-part epoxy that will harden enough that you can rely on it. You'll wind up sanding it out, and you'll have to repaint the wheel. I think they showed it once on Horsepower TV or one of those; if you search the powerblock site you might be able to find the clip.

Painting plastics isn't child's play either; I use adhesion promoter and then commercial PPG primer and paints, but that's on consoles and so on. Never tried to keep it alive on something as heavily used as a steering wheel.

Have you considered a reproduction wheel? I picked up one for my '70, and it's pretty close. The textured area is deeper (more textured) than I think the original was even when it was new, but I'm otherwise quite happy with it.

[Boog]

Originally Posted by Boog

I've seen some guys use an epoxy kit to repair them. You'd want to bevel the cracks and clean down in there real good to remove any rust, etc. Smooth it up and paint it with regular exterior car paint.

Well I completely left out the part about using the epoxy after cleaning it good, THEN smooth it up and paint it.

[sboris]

Just did mine with pc7 epoxy. Worked great.

[farmerbret]

I was going to repair mine, but decided that I'd buy a new one. I'll keep it and maybe repair it someday. I'd use PC-7 clean and file it. Iv'e heard some have had success with painting then clear coating and it lasting. Watch a quick video of Stacey David from Gearz doing it. It's the episode that features a Superbird.

[1971 cheburban]

Thanks guys for the responses, now I've got something new to try other than getting reamed by LMC

[special-K]

Depending on how deteriorated the material is,I'd be concerned the wheel would continue to crack elsewhere.