steering wheel refurb?

[redstone65]

I swapped in a new steering wheel from a '66 last night:



...so I could keep driving while I refurb my original wheel. It's got lots of cracks in it. I'm thinking to just open up the cracks a bit with a dremel and use POR-15 epoxy putty to fill and sand.

My original wheel is beige on the spokes like the steering column, but the outer ring is black. Was the outer ring originally beige as well, but the paint has just rubbed off?

[redstone65]

Here is a pic of the original wheel:



The warranty plate lists a blank color code, which I understand was standard for military orders. Would I be correct to say the original interior color here was "Navajo Beige"?

[tomsrod]

Just a guess here on my part, the entire wheel was probably beige and that fifty some years of use has worn it away.

I've refurbished several steering wheels. I wound thin wire around the wheel to fill in larger gaps and then two part epoxy to fill in the cracks. I found that using a small fine V shaped hand file all the way around the cracks made for a nice notch to fill with the epoxy. I can't remember the primer I used, and then just shot it with black or white rattle can paint as I've only done 4 spoke steering wheels and that's the only colors they came in. Finally I used a satin clear from Eastwood that on my truck has held up very well.

Pat

[redstone65]

Thanks!!

[slick4x4]

Using the wire to fill the cracks is pretty clever

I could see doing that & maybe even soldering it

Good tip !