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rbsurfguy
Samba Member
Joined: August 10, 2008
Posts: 1780
Location: Fairfax, Northern Virginia Formerly Huntington Beach, SoCal
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 Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2019 10:32 am Post subject: Restoring 71 Steering Wheel-Pic Heavy |
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Like many here, I want to keep as many of my original parts as possible when rebuilding my 71 Convertible, so instead of buying a repop steering wheel, or sending it off to have the original restored, I decided to take on the task myself and try my luck. See the below steps and process I went through, and hopefully it will work out for others facing the same decision. With the level of experience and knowledge all seem to have on this Forum, it shouldn't be that difficult for anyone to restore their own Steering wheel.
First off, what my steering wheel looked like before:
As you can see in the various pics, stress cracks in the usual places where the arms connect to the base, as well as damage I had around the ring or hub connecting areas. Before filling with epoxy, at the advice of C21Darrel, I took my Dremel tool and opened up the cracks wider, in order to push in more epoxy, as well as trying to terminate the cracks from spreading further.
After doing some research on types of epoxy to use, I opted for this brand. Imagine my surprise when I was watching one of the car shows on Motor Trend channel, and the guys used this same product for a steering wheel they were restoring! Nice.
I did a search on Amazon for "Steering Wheel Restoration" and this product showed up. Like all epoxy's this is a two part system, comes as a package. I purchased the 16oz (454g) containers, they come in sizes as low as 2oz up to 8lbs if you need larger or smaller amounts. This product was easy to work with, not too runny, but not too stiff so as to be malleable enough to work with. The other benefit is that it doesn't start to harden the second you mix it, giving you plenty of time to work through all your bad spots. General full hardening time is 24-48 hours, depending on temperature conditions.
I started by working the epoxy into the various cracks and grooves, pushing it in using a small scraper/spatula, a small Popsicle stick would work as well:
For the areas where the wheel joins against the hub and the chrome horn ring, where I was missing one side of the lip, I fashioned a plastic form using a piece of flexible plastic I cut from the lid of a Bondo can. Because I had to repair both sides, this went over a couple of days, doing each side at a time, allowing one side to dry before flipping it over:
Hub side:
Top or chrome horn ring side:
I wasn't sure if the epoxy would stick to my form ring, so I waited a few hours to let the epoxy harden a bit, without deforming the edge I made when removing the form. I checked the hardness by lightly touching the outside while curing, and moving the form slightly to ensure it wouldn't collapse the edge I was setting up.
After the various repaired areas were dry, this took me up to a week to complete because of other priorities, I began to sand off the excess epoxy and started to shape the repaired areas. I used a combination of 60-80 grit sandpaper, small file, and the Dremel with sanding disk. The dried epoxy was not that difficult to take down, and the result underneath was very strong and hard set, especially on the edge I had to make for the horn ring:
After getting it close to the levels I wanted, I then downgraded to 100 and 220 grit respectively, going over the entire wheel to cut the shiny parts in preparation for primer:
Then a couple of coats of primer:
And a few coats of black semi gloss paint, allowing a good dry time between coats. And Vuola! Finished product:
May not be the perfect professional job, but again, I know I did it and can only blame myself for any screw ups, knowing I can fix any further damage.
Give it a try, you may enjoy!
Jeff
_________________
1971 Ghia convertible (Body off rebuild)
2019 VW Atlas 4Motion
2012 Passat-Sold
See my build on The Samba at:
Jeff's 71 Vert Restoration/Reassembly http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6...highlight= |
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car barn
Samba Member
Joined: October 02, 2008
Posts: 137
Location: Michigan
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| Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2019 10:37 am Post subject: Re: Restoring 71 Steering Wheel-Pic Heavy |
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well done!!  |
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TRS63
Samba Member
Joined: December 17, 2017
Posts: 1130
Location: Stuttgart - Germany
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Vladiiiii
Samba Member
Joined: February 24, 2019
Posts: 518
Location: Munich, Germany
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| Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2019 10:42 pm Post subject: Re: Restoring 71 Steering Wheel-Pic Heavy |
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Nice job, looking good!
Maybe I missed this, but did you add a clearcoat as a top coat, or only stopped at the semi-gloss paint?
Best regards  |
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rbsurfguy
Samba Member
Joined: August 10, 2008
Posts: 1780
Location: Fairfax, Northern Virginia Formerly Huntington Beach, SoCal
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| Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2019 3:35 am Post subject: Re: Restoring 71 Steering Wheel-Pic Heavy |
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Thanks Antoine, hope it helps, does not compare to the work you have done, so I am happy I can contribute.
Vladiiii, no at this point I have not clear-coated, though something I can still do. My plan was to cover it with a leather wheel cover. However it is a good idea to clear coat the uncovered areas for additional protection, thanks for the reminder.
Jeff
_________________
1971 Ghia convertible (Body off rebuild)
2019 VW Atlas 4Motion
2012 Passat-Sold
See my build on The Samba at:
Jeff's 71 Vert Restoration/Reassembly http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6...highlight= |
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NOVA Airhead
Samba Member
Joined: July 20, 2005
Posts: 5225
Location: Richmond, VA
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| Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2019 7:23 am Post subject: Re: Restoring 71 Steering Wheel-Pic Heavy |
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I have been using PC-7 for years. Along with JB Weld epoxy its the best you can get.
I have had a couple of different steering wheels restored and the restorers seem to use PC-7.
Nice job!
_________________
Ghia Owner Emeritus |
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rbsurfguy
Samba Member
Joined: August 10, 2008
Posts: 1780
Location: Fairfax, Northern Virginia Formerly Huntington Beach, SoCal
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| Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2019 7:34 am Post subject: Re: Restoring 71 Steering Wheel-Pic Heavy |
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Thank you Sir. Yes I have used JB Weld as well, but thought I would try the PC7 for the larger cracks on the steering wheel, buying it in a larger container, and it doesn't seem to go hard so fast that I could work with it. I am sure I will find other things I can use it for.
_________________
1971 Ghia convertible (Body off rebuild)
2019 VW Atlas 4Motion
2012 Passat-Sold
See my build on The Samba at:
Jeff's 71 Vert Restoration/Reassembly http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6...highlight= |
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bnam
Samba Member
Joined: July 02, 2006
Posts: 3457
Location: El Dorado Hills CA/ Bangalore, India
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| Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2019 6:53 pm Post subject: Re: Restoring 71 Steering Wheel-Pic Heavy |
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Great post!
One of the screw holes on mine (for the horn) is stripped. Any tips on how to repair it?
_________________
1971 1302LS Convertible (RHD) owned since '74
Click to view image
1965 Karmann Ghia Coupe - under restoration
1966 Fiat 1500 Cabrio (with 1600 Twin cam)
1952 Citroen TA 11BL |
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sputnick60
Samba Moderator
Joined: July 22, 2007
Posts: 4113
Location: In Molinya Orbit
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rbsurfguy
Samba Member
Joined: August 10, 2008
Posts: 1780
Location: Fairfax, Northern Virginia Formerly Huntington Beach, SoCal
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| Posted: Sat Aug 24, 2019 5:06 am Post subject: Re: Restoring 71 Steering Wheel-Pic Heavy |
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Awesome! Thank you Sir for making my entry a Sticky! Very Honored that I can help.
Jeff
_________________
1971 Ghia convertible (Body off rebuild)
2019 VW Atlas 4Motion
2012 Passat-Sold
See my build on The Samba at:
Jeff's 71 Vert Restoration/Reassembly http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6...highlight= |
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