How To Repair A Cracked Plastic Steering Wheel

Years of apply and exposure to the elements can damage the blackness plastic and rubber material covering old steering wheels to the point that they are a hazard to your hands permit alone an eyesore.

Many restorers take turned to sources that sell newly manufactured or new-onetime stock wheels. Another option is to apply the services of Minn-Kota Repair, which will accept your onetime steering bike, strip it downward to bare metal, and resurface that cadre with an accurate roofing. Minn-Kota as well sells complete steering wheels if you need one.

Urethane Glue and Epoxy

But if your steering wheel is suffering from superficial impairment and wear, at that place is a do-it-yourself alternative repair utilizing off-the-shelf products like urethane glue and epoxy putty.

A skilful friend of mine, Jim Friedrich, owner of Rust In Slice Tractor Resurrections in Lake Elmo, Minnesota (651/335-4896), allow me borrow an extremely battered wheel to try out my restoration technique.

I began the project past wire brushing the rust from the exposed steel ring. This required a gentle approach in order to avoid further damaging the old, brittle roofing.

I sprayed water into the cracks of the roofing. So I poured h2o-activated urethane glue into the cracks. The purpose of this was to secure the existing covering to its metallic core. The mucilage ran into the cracks and so, activated by the h2o, started to cream and expanded to fill cavities and provide a tight bail.

Afterwards the glue had dried, I removed excess foam to i/eight inch below the surface of the wheel.

Liquid or Putty Epoxy

Next it was fourth dimension to employ a two-part epoxy filler, which is bachelor at hardware stores either as a liquid (in squeeze tubes) or putty-like product (in stick form). Follow the production's instructions when mixing the base fabric with a hardener.

Trowel and brush the filler into the wheel's cracks and surface depressions. The production fills holes and besides bonds the existing black rubber together. Build the material upwardly a piddling college than the existing surface. I found that the putty filler works best to fill large areas of missing coating.

Finishing Out the Task

After the epoxy has hardened, file and sand the filler to fit. Additional filler can exist used to even out the low spots before the concluding sanding is washed.

A couple of coats of urethane varnish or blackness paint will brand the restored steering wheel look nearly as good as new.

Prepare-It Work in Action

Hardware store epoxy fillers provide a ready repair for cracked wheels. However, a replacement may be needed for severely damaged wheels.

Later removing all loosened roofing and all rust, pour h2o into cracks. Next, squeeze water-activated urethane glue (Gorilla Glue is 1 popular such glue) into the cracks. The mucilage will foam and in doing so expand to fill cavities and bail the existing covering with its frame.

Use liquid filler on tight cracks or putty filler to consummate areas where large parts of the wheel's covering are missing.

Afterward the epoxy filler has completely dried, remove any excess with a file or sandpaper. You lot may have to resurface the wheels with the filler several times to match the original coating. Terminate by applying urethane varnish or black pigment.