Gooey steering wheel on F-1

[1948F-1Pickup]

It gets wet, it gets sticky. Someone on here said they were manufactured originally of a soy-based material ?
Anyway, this one has cracks I need to fill and then I'll paint and clear it.

Is the Eastwood kit the hot ticket? Or is something else better?

[RalphG]

I used the abrasive hand cleaner in the pump bottles to clean my steering wheels. Seemed to work well.

[1948F-1Pickup]

Wheel isn't "dirty" ....... outer coating isn't present. I need to
fix cracks, paint and clear it.

[philipswanson]

Probably shouldn't clear it. Clear will yellow and flake off. A good paint will do.

[JSeery]

I did a search and read several articles on redoing steering wheels a couple of years ago. Don't remember where at the moment, but would guess it was on the HAMB.

Here is something to get you started, but not really what I was looking for. There are some really good threads on the subject, but will take some effort to locate them.
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/...estore.291720/

[Kube]

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There are no real tricks but rather, some basic preparation rules you must follow.
As always, get that wheel clean, clean, clean before applying anything to it.
The modern filler used for plastic bumpers is easy to work with and will hold up a long time. "V" the cracks out until you are in solid territory. You will most likely be dismayed by the fact there are going to be a lot more cracks than currently meet your eye. Once you've filled the cracks and sanded the filler back, apply a high quality etching primer / surfacer.
Then wet sand it to your liking and paint it. I tend to use single stage enamel on my wheels.

[1948F-1Pickup]

Originally Posted by Kube

There are no real tricks but rather, some basic preparation rules you must follow.
As always, get that wheel clean, clean, clean before applying anything to it.
The modern filler used for plastic bumpers is easy to work with and will hold up a long time. "V" the cracks out until you are in solid territory. You will most likely be dismayed by the fact there are going to be a lot more cracks than currently meet your eye. Once you've filled the cracks and sanded the filler back, apply a high quality etching primer / surfacer.
Then wet sand it to your liking and paint it. I tend to use single stage enamel on my wheels.

Thanks for that.

[RalphG]

Some good video here of my favourite youtuber (Coldwarmotors) repairing a steering wheel from an old Frazier. It came out looking great and he makes it look so easy. https://youtu.be/6M3dRpCfLNw

[32Bee]

PC-7 is the product to use. Don't try using any type of bondo as it will just crack
again. One of the plus factors with PC-7 is it doesn't harden almost immediately
like bondo so a person has a much longer period pf time to work with it. You can
buy it in any hardware store. I've done 3 wheels over the years. After thoroughly
cleaning (I even sandblast the wheel) I grind out all the cracks, fill and sand,
shoot a coat or two of PPG epoxy primer and finish paint with PPG Concept
single stage urethane. I buy a special product to add to the finish paint to produce a low gloss finish. I did my original 32 wheel over 25 plus years ago and
it still looks like day one.

Good luck,

Peter

[chap52]

Redid the one in my 52 F-1 years ago using PC-7, wiped it down with paint prep grease and wax remover first. Sanded it and painted it with VHT Gloss Black Engine Enamel. Looked good and was very durable. No more stickyness or dirty hands. Chap

[Kube]

Originally Posted by Peter in NH

PC-7 is the product to use. Don't try using any type of bondo as it will just crack
again. One of the plus factors with PC-7 is it doesn't harden almost immediately
like bondo so a person has a much longer period pf time to work with it. You can
buy it in any hardware store. I've done 3 wheels over the years. After thoroughly
cleaning (I even sandblast the wheel) I grind out all the cracks, fill and sand,
shoot a coat or two of PPG epoxy primer and finish paint with PPG Concept
single stage urethane. I buy a special product to add to the finish paint to produce a low gloss finish. I did my original 32 wheel over 25 plus years ago and
it still looks like day one.

Good luck,

Peter

PC7 is a good product for this application. Like you, I'd used it long ago.
Many of us recall playing with Mercury on our desk tops. Knowledge develops and times change.
Modern fillers, specifically the one I had mentioned does not crack. They were developed for items such as bumper covers on modern cars which are subjected to rather brutal conditions including wide temperature variations, twisting, shrinking, expanding...