Steering wheel restore service, powder coating, sheen questions

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

71 C-10

Was pondering an NOS steering wheel or equivalent, but locating one that's mint is near impossible. Even if you could locate one it's a lot of $. Mine is real good, but there are two cracks. Being I want perfect, I figure a restoration is the best option. Anyone have one done recently, service recommendations?

A friend of mine powder coats, but the only black is gloss. Recommend a method to carefully remove the sheen to semi-gloss?

Also, can you confirm the original sheen for the inner fenders, core/radiator support? I believe the fenders are gloss and the support semi gloss. Anyone have their inner fenders powder coated, or is two part paint a better option?

Thank you

[Gromit]

I can chime in regarding the steering wheel; because about six months ago I sent photos to two different steering wheel restoration specialists - here is their response:

Company 1: "Your steering wheel is beyond my repair, better to buy a repro.

Thanks for asking"

Company 2: "Sorry, I dont do that wheel. I can't compete with the repros.

All thermoplastic steering wheels off-gas their plasticizers over time causing the plastic to become brittle and shrink. The different coefficients of expansion and contraction accelerate the deterioration of the plastic.

Broken plastic cannot be "fixed". People try to hide the cracks by filling and painting over them, it doesn't work. Expansion and contraction due temperature variations and continuing shrinkage of the original plastic brings them back. Exposure to heat and UV accellerates the deterioration of thermoplastics."

(end of quotes)

So after lots more looking into restoration I ended up getting the repro made by OER from LMC & am happy with it.

I posted a photo of the condition of my original wheel here last week you can find with the search function.. just the typical cracks.

People say the new repro ones are flimsier and I don't doubt it but after watching some of the crash testing videos on youtube lately it occurs to me that maybe they are purposefully designing the wheel to give more easily than the original stock one...

Just a thought

[davepl]

I'm happy with the OER repro - enough that I never considered my original, and it's in decent shape (with the obligatory crack or two).

I didn't know that the repairs failed - I've seen it on the TV shows where they fill the cracks, I just assumed shrinking was one directional and stabilized over time.

I bet the hardest ones are the translucent ones from the Buicks? and Cadillacs and so on from the 50s...

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

Thanks. I've wondered about repairs. There's a reason they pull apart, so no matter what the condition is today, a crack may appear tomorrow.

Maybe a repro. is the answer, and store mine away away just to say I have it.

Of course, I can always reinstall mine, and looking at it that's what I'll likely do. Other than two hairline cracks, some separation and a few pin size dimples, it's real nice......I literally haven't so much as wiped this down in decades. The rest is just smudges and dirt. Looking forward to taking her off and cleaning.

[Gromit]

I didn't think of this until after buying the repro wheel; but I could have sewn a leather cover over my existing wheel using a stitch like demonstrated in this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ja-BWvLlKh4

I've never done it but have seen folks sewing leather that has been soaked in water (that is, sewing it while the leather is still wet); and as the leather dries it tightens up, taking all the slack and wrinkles out.

There are probably better videos than that one for how to sew a leather steering wheel cover but I thought the guy in the video link above did a great job showing exactly how the stitch works.. Like he says, a baseball stitch is slightly different.

Once you see how the two needles and the knots work - well it was enlightening for me anyway..

[franken]

I put a wheelskins.com leather cover on the Camaro 4 spoke wheel and I think it looks good. The trouble with that idea and the truck wheel is the width of the 2 spokes, making the stitching look right and the skin tight. It may be fine.
The key is getting the right size cover.

The $10 wheel and $30 cover combine to make that about the nicest thing on the car. Sadly.

Regarding the low gloss on various parts, it varied, but I seem to recall 60% gloss. Some parts were just dipped in paint and hung, some were sprayed. I've read PPG DP90 is close, and that SPI has an epoxy sealer/primer that looks about right. When the trucks were new, nobody cared or looked at the sheen on underhood parts. Sure gloss and flat are wrong, but semigloss once on the truck will look fine.

[Metaldoc]

I used epoxy putty to fill the cracks, 2K putty to blend, and used a flex additive to the paint to allow stretching or shrinking. I like the original look and if it cracks again then it added character till I fix it again.

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

Originally Posted by franken

I put a wheelskins.com leather cover on the Camaro 4 spoke wheel and I think it looks good. The trouble with that idea and the truck wheel is the width of the 2 spokes, making the stitching look right and the skin tight. It may be fine.
The key is getting the right size cover.

The $10 wheel and $30 cover combine to make that about the nicest thing on the car. Sadly.

Regarding the low gloss on various parts, it varied, but I seem to recall 60% gloss. Some parts were just dipped in paint and hung, some were sprayed. I've read PPG DP90 is close, and that SPI has an epoxy sealer/primer that looks about right. When the trucks were new, nobody cared or looked at the sheen on underhood parts. Sure gloss and flat are wrong, but semigloss once on the truck will look fine.

Local shop recommended PPG ALK-200. That PPG DP90 is noted. They also recommended Shop-Line JP377 for epoxy. Thanks.

Beautiful wheel Metaldoc