Steering Wheel Restoration - Stage Two

In the previous blog entry I showed the condition of the steering wheel before the restoration process. I also showed how I filed the cracks to enlarge them to make it easier to work the filler into the cracks.

The photo below shows that same section of the steering wheel after it was sandblasted to remove the paint and clean out the filed cracks. That will make the filler adhere better.

Click on photos for larger versions. Click "Back" on your browser to return to this page.

I use PC-7 Epoxy Paste for many tasks. It has a 60 working time which is good for jobs that require a lot of tedious work like filling the cracks on steering wheels! When it cures it can be machined, drilled, tapped, sawed, filed and painted. It adheres to most everything and can be used to seal gas and water tanks, pressure tanks and even cracks in basement walls.

You can buy it in hardware stores, Home Depot, Eastwood and others. It comes in cans ranging from 8 ounces to 8 pounds.

I mix epoxy pastes, epoxy adhesives, wood fillers and Bondo body fillers on plastic laminate samples that I pick up at Home Depot. The small samples are very handy for small jobs. The large samples are great for tasks requiring more material such as this task of filling cracks in a steering wheel.

Unfortunately, the only large samples I have on hand have this black and white speckle pattern. It makes it a bit harder to see the PC-7 against the pattern. C'est la vie!

PC-7 is a very stiff product to work with. It is mixed using equal amounts from each can. A variation of up to 20% of either component will not affect the bond strength.

In the next blog entry I will have photos and descriptions of the filling and shaping processes. So, stay tuned!

As usual you can see larger versions of these photos at flickr.

If you have any questions or would like to comment you can email me.

ENJOY THE RIDE !!!!