My 73 steering wheel has seen better days. The plastic looking stuff that you can actually touch has either cracked or dried up so much that has cracked. I am missing sections as big as 1/4 inch in places. I could just replace it with an after market but at roughly 200 bucks I dont wanna do that. I could also just get a different kind of wheel but I would like to keep the original. So how do you repair them? Is there a way?

 

There should be some kind of epoxy u can use to fill the big gaps, and might b possible to paint the wheel with a good plastic paint because the epoxy is probably not black.. a good couple coats of rust-o might work. as for the small cracks u might be able to sand it with fine sand paper and finish with a plastic polish (Meguires plastix).. other than that, im not sure, and dont take my word for it.

 

east woods makes a kit just for repairing steering wheels.I personaly have not tried it,but being eastwoods I would guess it is good stuff.

 

They actually showed how to do this on one of the shows on Spike TV. They took an old steering wheel and used a little sanding disc and sanded in the cracks in order to get a good fill using some plastic filler. They then sanded it smooth and one of the ways they put new finger grooves in the filler they used a small wooden dowl wrapped with a piece of sand paper to match the others then sprayed it with some paint. When it was all done it looked brand new...you couldn't even tell any work was done to it.

OJ

 

dont use bondo! it wont flex stretch and bend itl crack and fall out use "pc7" epocy used it before and i intend on useing it again good stuff!

 

OK thanks guys, that is a big help

 

Yes i used PC7 also. sand the cracks a little wider so to accept the PC7 sand it smooth then paint. I actually used appliance epoxy rattle can paint (gloss black) that you can buy in the hardware store. seems pretty hard and nice and shiny. We'll see how it holds up in time.

 

Good used ones are not hard to find. I see them come up on ebay often. I bought one for a 64 falcon futura for $26.00 , all it needs is new paint. They are more rare than dent side steering wheels. A repair kit was going to cost $100.00 plus the new paint,so a used wheel was best for me.

 

Dennis Carpenter also sells the "seconds" of their repro wheels on eBay for around $100 ... they'll have minor scratches, etc. and not be concours restoration quality, but compared to an old one with 1/4" gaps, and at about the cost of the repair kit, another viable option. That's what I have in mine.

 

In addition to Ford trucks, I play with Ford tractors. I've successfully restored a couple wheels that turned out quite well. One of them had sections missing. I forget what the stuff I used is called, some kind of epoxy, maybe pc7. Spray paint for a final finish and you have to look very close to tell it has been repaired.