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Post Info TOPIC: a little steering wheel repair and paint....turned out pretty good


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a little steering wheel repair and paint....turned out pretty good


so i had the typical steering wheel on my 65. pitted, cracked, chunks missing, etc........

 

after having a mild stroke while pricing out aftermarket wheels and excellent condition originals i figured i'd take a stab at refinishing mine. I used some 2 part JB plastic weld that i had at the shop along with some 2 part flexible epoxy that i use on motorcycle fairings. Once it all dried, i sanded it down, primed, and painted with black lacquer followed by a couple coats of clear.

Not perfect but not bad for a "test"

Now that i know it works, i'll strip the paint and fill and smooth it all in perfectly.........

 

it was missing the little chrome trim bits so i filled those gaps in as well

 

27332077_10156071330193482_2199159412280



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Very nice.

I think I'll use your tricks and do a 68 wheel I have with a few cracks.

 

Regards, Scott (LandShark ...)

 



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Your center cap looks rough and I think I have a spare you can have, if you want it.  Problem is, I won't be able to get to it until spring or first chance to move the car out......



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65 Custom Sport Convertible

Southern Alberta



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1965CS wrote:

Your center cap looks rough and I think I have a spare you can have, if you want it.  Problem is, I won't be able to get to it until spring or first chance to move the car out......


 that would be awesome! no rush whatsoever



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Johnnee D wrote:

Wow great job! Can you do something if I send you Stevenson? He's got a few cracks, pits and is missing some chunks.. .


 not sure if the epoxy will stick but i'll try LOL



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" missing the little chrome trim bits "

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Official name for them is "Steering Wheel Paint dividers"

http://www.impalas.com/1959-66-impala-steering-wheel-ornament-each-4-per-car.html

There seems to be other companies that have them.....google to find them all.......don't know what the difference is between years.

 

T5963_big.jpg



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a little trick an old pro told me, is with steering wheel paint always use lacquer.
that way anytime you get a blemish or scratch you just sand it out and repaint.
lacquer can be polished to a very high shine as well..and can be re coated anytime.

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hutch400 wrote:

Johnnee D wrote:

Wow great job! Can you do something if I send you Stevenson? He's got a few cracks, pits and is missing some chunks.. .


 not sure if the epoxy will stick but i'll try LOL





Once again Johnnee does his best to derail an excellent technical thread on Canadian Poncho...no

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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles 

1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars



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Good stuff ... that's the way you find things out, by trial.



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Prince Edward Island

'64 Parisienne CS "barn find" - last on the road in '86 ... Owner Protection Plan booklet, original paint, original near-mint aqua interior, original aqua GM floor mats, original 283, factory posi, and original rust.



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Can't you jut buy a new one off Ebay 



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I bought a steering wheel restoration kit from Eastwood but haven't yet given it a go.
Yours looks quite good I would be happy with that. Perhaps I could have improvised like you did and saved some money.
I asked about the paint dividers about 8 or 10 years ago and was told they only made them for full size not A bodies. Don't know what the difference is.



-- Edited by norontcan on Tuesday 23rd of January 2018 08:24:45 PM

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There still must be tons of old steering wheels in wrecking yards with those dividers.

At least I know of a yard where I could likely pull a few hundred!

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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles 

1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars



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Next time you're there can you pull a couple mid 60's A body ones for me?

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You need the whole wheel you mean, or just some of those dividers?

If you mean the wheel, 2 spoke or 3 spoke?

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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles 

1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars



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Nice job! Depending on haw bad it is be prepared to spend a lot of time sanding. Cut out a chunk of cardboard(close to the same thickness) and place where the dividers go so the grooves will somewhat stay there when filling the wheel(cuts down on sanding time). Might be some useful info in my wheel restoration thread.

canadianponcho.activeboard.com/t58813575/66-canso-steering-wheel-restoration/

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I never thought about JB Weld, but that should work (and obviously does).  

I thought about trying to use a ski repair candle - like this:

http://tools4boards.com/ptex-ski-amp-snowboard-base-repair-candle-black-3pcs-.html?category_id=35

 

You light the stick on fire and the plastic drips off like wax from a candle.  Once it cools, it forms a hard plastic.  You can get them in different colours.  I haven't tried it because I'm concerned about melting my wheel, but a drop on the back side should tell me if it's going to make a mess and if it will stick.  I was hoping that the black repair candle would go on with no need for painting...

Anyone tried making a repair with one of these? 



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Carl Stevenson wrote:

You need the whole wheel you mean, or just some of those dividers?

If you mean the wheel, 2 spoke or 3 spoke?


 just the dividers



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A Poncho Legend!

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Ok, I'll try to remember to do that next visit there. Likely in the spring.

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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles 

1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars



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Carl Stevenson wrote:

Ok, I'll try to remember to do that next visit there. Likely in the spring.


Your list must be a mile long by now! You better camp out for a couple days at the boneyard.wink 



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Prince Edward Island

'64 Parisienne CS "barn find" - last on the road in '86 ... Owner Protection Plan booklet, original paint, original near-mint aqua interior, original aqua GM floor mats, original 283, factory posi, and original rust.



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I'm thinking it may be a 2 day trip. There's lots of nice hotels 20 minutes away.

And I've been there from the time the gate opened in the morning until he closed it in the evening and still ran out of time.

It's a ton of fun, great therapy. It ranks right up there on the stress relief meter with pulling full throttle shifts, as discussed in another thread!

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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles 

1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars



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Carl Stevenson wrote:

And I've been there from the time the gate opened in the morning until he closed it in the evening and still ran out of time.

It's a ton of fun, great therapy.


 I'd be the same way.



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Prince Edward Island

'64 Parisienne CS "barn find" - last on the road in '86 ... Owner Protection Plan booklet, original paint, original near-mint aqua interior, original aqua GM floor mats, original 283, factory posi, and original rust.



Canadian Poncho Superstar!

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66 Beau wrote:

I never thought about JB Weld, but that should work (and obviously does).  

I thought about trying to use a ski repair candle - like this:

http://tools4boards.com/ptex-ski-amp-snowboard-base-repair-candle-black-3pcs-.html?category_id=35

 

You light the stick on fire and the plastic drips off like wax from a candle.  Once it cools, it forms a hard plastic.  You can get them in different colours.  I haven't tried it because I'm concerned about melting my wheel, but a drop on the back side should tell me if it's going to make a mess and if it will stick.  I was hoping that the black repair candle would go on with no need for painting...

Anyone tried making a repair with one of these? 


 Thinking it would be a bit soft and would only fill small cracks. Hard to contain if you have a 1/8" or lager crack.. PC-7 worked wonders for me and you can even drill small holes in the orig wheel to get it to bite better.



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Carl Stevenson wrote:

I'm thinking it may be a 2 day trip. There's lots of nice hotels 20 minutes away.

And I've been there from the time the gate opened in the morning until he closed it in the evening and still ran out of time.

It's a ton of fun, great therapy. It ranks right up there on the stress relief meter with pulling full throttle shifts, as discussed in another thread!


 Hi Carl

Sounds like the best place in the world. Wish we had something like that out here in the west.

And Marks repair on the steering wheel looks great!

I found a repair material at Princess Auto when I did my wheel. With a triangular file you groove the cracks and put in the filler then heat it and it flows in to fill and then sand.DSCF0023.JPG

Luppy



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A Poncho Legend!

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Wow that wheel looks great. And I had forgotten how nice your interior looks.

Is that an original carpet, or a replacement? It sure looks great if it's an original.

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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles 

1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars



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I wish that I could say that it is original but it is not. You wouldn't have wanted to see the tread bare so called carpet that was in it. 

Luppy



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