Steering wheel refurbishment

[zoti]

Did any of you did steering wheel refurbishment?

Fill cracks, fix the paint. That kind of stuff.

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1962 Beetle
1979 Super Beetle Convertible
1988 Vanagon Westfalia

[Bub]

Yours actually doesn’t look terrible. Start by pulling it off and sanding, sanding, sanding. And for the worst cracks use some flexible filler / elastic Bondo type stuff. Sand that smooth’ish.
Then, mask your bare spots appropriately, and I’ve actually found that you can just totally pile some high-build paint on, like 5-7 coats super thick, with a bit of cure time in between coats.
Then more sanding, and you might be close to a surface that you can do some finish/ detail work and plan the final finish.
More sanding, paint, wet sand and polish.

I have one steering wheel that was just trashed, with hairline cracks, peeling paint, etc. about 10 coats of some heavy epoxy paint filled almost every flaw and crack. I haven’t done a final sand and paint yet, but it looks like it could turn out nice.
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[OldSchoolVW's]

Maybe look at this discussion ...

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6938124&highlight=#6938124


and soupcups August 28, 2016 post with photo and description on this page:

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=8192655&highlight=#8192655
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Tom

"Following distance is proportional to IQ."

"It's okay to think."

"If you don't do it this year, you'll be one year older when you do." Warren Miller

'63 Beetle Sedan
'69 Beetle Sunroof
'70 Beetle Sedan
'73 Type 3 Fastback

[zerotofifty]

That Fasten SeatBelt sign is a classic. My Dad had that exact type in his 1963 Microbus. maybe it came from the VW dealer?
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Sorry About That Chief.

Give Peace a Chance.

Words to live by.

[zerotofifty]

I believe you may use epoxy fillers to fill low spots, then spray paint

see video below...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEQ-WBHfuwU
_________________
Sorry About That Chief.

Give Peace a Chance.

Words to live by.

[matthew henricks]

Have done a few of them my advice would be:

- Totally do-able. Takes some time and alot of care but the results are satisfying.

- Any cracks need to be dug out all the way to the core in a very generous "V" or they will come back.

- Bondo is not a good filler to use. It is alot easier to sand but does not bond well enough to the base material and cracks come back. PC7 worked alot better but was far harder to sand.

- If your hub is all cracked out, find another wheel to start with. Far too frustrating to rebuild and get the profile right than it is worth.

- Finger ridges on the ring and rib/slots on the top of a bus wheel are hard to restore. very tedious.

This is from my 64 but. I used bondo and the cracks came back within a year.

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1964 Original Owner build Thread. https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=702135&highlight=

Ambulance Fan's. https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=627707&highlight=

Parts i am looking for:
64 bug nice used front/rear Black LHD floor mat.

[panicman]

Great advice. I did mine following similar instructions, and used 2 part marine epoxy. My cracks never showed back up, even after 13 years. The weak spot is the paint finish, and my ring did mess it up. This was my first try, and I didn't get the wheel perfect. It's a 1960, so one year wheel. I did find an intact horn ring shortly after I finished repairing and painting the wheel.

This year I went ahead and sent it down to Koch's to be recast, and rechromed.