a way of repairing damaged steering wheel?

[Doris]

Hi all,
my sterring wheel has a chunk missing from around the horn push where it looks like someone has used a screw driver to lever up the button and has broken away the steering wheel moulding.
has anyone ever tried to re-fabricate the area around the horn push with, say, body filler?
Its in relatively good condition otherwise, so it seems a great expense and shame to change the whole steeing wheel just for a little chunk missing.
any suggestions on how to repair it ?

 

[robins]

would this be any good http://www.frost.co.uk/item_Detail.asp?productID=8749&frostProductName=Steering+Wheel+Repair+Kit&catID=21&subCatID=&FrostCat=InteriorTrim&FrostSubcat=" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[T2-Nate]

would this be any good http://www.frost.co.uk/item_Detail.asp?productID=8749&frostProductName=Steering+Wheel+Repair+Kit&catID=21&subCatID=&FrostCat=InteriorTrim&FrostSubcat=" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This seems like a pretty good kit, but there's special plastic repair paste/filler available through specialised auto/body shops.
You can use normal polyester filler too if you like, has been done before with success.
Would be the cheapest option..
I used some 2-pack epoxy for plastic repair that I bought from a home depot.
It holds and is very tough, but I didn't paint it yet so can't tell if the endresult is gonna be up to scratch..
If you wanna be sure, buy the kit.

 

[Doris]

Thanks guys - I was thinking of using Araldite,then, rubbing it back to a matching contour, re spray and ta dah!

 

[Guest]

for all the time and hassle, a new wheel is £99 from JK, most people report good quality. It depends if your as lazy as i am :wink:

 

[the councillor]

it might help if you posted up a picture of the damaged area ?

if it's a cosmetic repair, rather than anything structural (and i don't mean structural like an outrigger, i just mean somewhere where there might be occasional stress put upon it really) then filler'd be fine, and easier to work with than araldite, which is a stringy nightmare to work with, and doesn't take kindly to being re-profiled afterwards :evil:

or just leave it and call it patina :wink:

 

[Vdubjim]

some people use JB WELD. you can actually drill and tap it when done it gets so hard.

 

[clyde]

Ive heard the JK wheels are abit on the cheap side and are prone to warping and bending.

 

[Doris]

OK - here's a picture of said steering wheel - what do ya'll think?

 

[Bookwus]

Hiya Doris,

My wheel was almost identical to yours. In addition I had some cracking on the spokes also.

I used Restomotive's Epoxy Putty and I really cannot recommend this stuff highly enough. It was very easy with which to work. That allowed me to do quite a bit of shaping while the putty was still workable. That minimized the sanding I had to do later and that is important when doing that ridge around the horn button. Once I had the putty hardened and very close to the proper shape, I laid a thin coat of Nitro-Stan (a body filler formulated for finish coat) and then sanded that. After a couple coats of color and a couple of coats of clear, the wheel looks perfect.

 

[Doris]

Thanks Mike - I'm hitting google now!

Is 'Restomotive' the brand that they sell under or is it POR-15 etc because I've searched and found loads of expoy putty & resin....?
any pics of before / after to motivate me?

 

[Bookwus]

Hiya Doris,

Here's the item.................

http://www.por15.com/prodinfo.asp?grp=PU&dept=10" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I don't have a before picture of the steering wheel. But it looked quite similar to yours. There was actually more material missing on my wheel and I had cracks in the hub and spokes. To be honest, the wheel was in such bad shape that I was just going to practice on it and master the techniques so that I could restore another wheel. This one turned out so good I just went ahead and used it.

Here are a couple of shots of the wheel now..........................

and a close up of the hub, rim and horn button...............

 

[Simon Hall]

Hi
Check this video out it, it is very good may help you, if you want any of the product afterwards check us out http://www.therustshop.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Simon
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=wIEM7r_BRw0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;