Painting steering wheel...

[62lwbc10]

Hello all i just got a brand new repro wheel for my 58. Beautiful thing. I want to paint it red and wondering what the process is to paint the wheel? what prep is needed and do you need to use a special primer or additive to paint the plastic wheel? definitely dont want to mess up this nice wheel.
Also got new door panels. They seem to be painted with a black primer. Would you remove this primer and spray on new primer or can I just scuff up whats there? THanks, Mark

[LordDevlin]

Theres something that Ive been looking into lately for painting certain parts, one of them being my steering wheel. Its called plast dip. If you google search it comes up with all kinds of you tube videos for car applications. I figure it would be a good fit for the steering wheel in terms of the feel.

[NEWFISHER]

I have always used automotive sealer, primer, base and cleared them like you would a truck. I just scored a 57 Belair wheel at the swap meet this past weekend and plan to fix a couple blemishes and paint it. Stay tuned and i will post some in progress pics if you want.

[1project2many]

When I painted mine in '97 I used flex additive. I had repaired the wheel in a few places and I wanted to be sure the paint stayed with the repair. I sanded the wheel and used a plastic primer first. Now there are some cracks where the repair was made but they're not visible unless you are turning the wheel so I'd say it worked well in that regard. The paint hasn't faded or worn off although I managed to scratch it off in a few spots so I'd do it again that way.

[OrrieG]

Here are my results, I think I have more detail earlier in the thread. There is a good thread over on the HAMB board. Lots of debate over the type of paint to use. Some guys use rattle can and say it is ok, other say it reacts with the old wheel material. I used an automotive epoxy sealer/primer to seal the repairs and original material. Over that I used regular auto primer, than BC/CC sealer, top coat and clear. I use JB weld for making the repairs. I belled out the bottom of the cracks with a dremel to give it more bite.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...&postcount=731

[S10Fan]

I used single stage on one and BC/CC on another, good results on both. Like anything else with painting, preparation is the key.

[62lwbc10]

Seems like regular BC/CC will work. THanks. Hey were the steering wheels painted from the factory to match interior color or were they left black? Tell the truth, its so beautiful as is (black) im tempted to leave it alone

[OrrieG]

My stock 59 wheel is black. The 48 I am using in the photo was originally grey to match the interior (the before photo), I wanted it black.

[SCHRUMGMC]

If I want to Re-paint my White what would have to do ?

[OrrieG]

Originally Posted by SCHRUMGMC

If I want to Re-paint my White what would have to do ?

Re-read my first post, it gives you the outline. Go the the HAMB board, as I suggest, and search for steering wheel repair and you will find a number of threads with more detail.

[SCHRUMGMC]

Alright Thanks Orrie

Epoxy is the Stuff you use to fix the Cracks and what not , don't you ?

[1956chevtruck]

I used a the same 2 part epoxy primer that I used on the body and then the same paint that I used on the body. The steering wheel is original and I fixed some cracks where the spokes met the wheel and at the hub. The paint is 4000 miles old and I haven't had any issues.

[1956chevtruck]

Originally Posted by SCHRUMGMC

Alright Thanks Orrie

Epoxy is the Stuff you use to fix the Cracks and what not , don't you ?

POR 15 makes an excellent steering wheel repair kit.