Banjo steering wheel

3

30-9

Well-known member
I know this might sound strange.....My steering wheel almost gets like a sticky feeling to it. I cleaned it with windex but within a week the tacky feeling is back.

anyone have this happen?
what is a good cleaner to prevent this from happening?
 
I had similar. I cleaned up with a good cleaner, then applied a clear coat polyerethane or similar. Now does not get sticky and easy to clean .
Phil NZ
 
Wierd, the restored banjo wheel in our 37 gets a grimey look doesn't feel sticky just looks dirty quite quickly , yes it's a cream colour. Don't real know why , nope I am not a dirty boy all the time. It just need a a regular clean with my wife's cleaning products . So it remains a mystery . It's painted in base coat clear coat .
 
I have a banjo wheel on my 39 Standard. It is a Mahogany wood wheel that I bought on e-pay. It was raw wood, so I bought some semi- gloss , high quality, boat varnish, and put about 8 coats on it, sanding between coats. That was 3 years ago. It still looks great! I believe I have seen stories where varnish is used over paint. The varnish on my wheel, for some reason, stays clean and shiney- It might solve your problem, but with a painted wheel you may want to try satin varnish. But good results, will take several coats.
 
Tell ya it's really annoying - cleaned it several times and it still has a tacky feel - hopin somebody on here has the answer - polyurethane sounds severe especially on the column
 
I generally wear thin gloves when driving my 35 PU with a banjo wheel. Helps with the thin wheel, feels like your fingers are wrapped around something more substantial, no slipping or sticking. Driving gloves were the thing back in the day anyhow.
 
I use a lace on steering wheel cover on mine, no stickiness and increases the dia of rim, enhancing the grip,
 
30-9 said:
Thanks Lawson but I don't like gloves.

Guess polyurethane is only option - thx all
Click to expand...

I don't usually either, but sure gives better feel to skinny. slick banjo steering wheel, and keeps sticky, sweaty fingerprints off of the steering wheel.
 
Thanks the banjo is thin will big rig wrap fit properly?

I tried searching on eBay but could not find
 
Last edited:
30-9 Google "steering wheel covers" There is a site called steering wheel covers that handles "Wheelskins". They can make you any size cover you need out of leather. Here's the link; www.steeringwheelscover.com.
 
Last edited:
There are several types of plastic that will slowly break down and ooze some of the chemicals out. Snap On had this happen on a lot of their screw driver handles back in the late 70s clear up to about 15 years ago. They were replacing the handles or even replacing the whole tool at one point. They finally started using a polymer plastic that won't degrade in this fashion to repair all the old ones and to manufacture their new ones.

FoMoCo used a lot of hard rubber to make steering wheels back in the day but a lot of the reproductions were made with modern plastics. The guys that remold the steering wheels use a tempered urethane now days and the longevity seems to be doing OK to date but it takes about 10 or so years before some plastics start to deteriorate.
 
Ford used soy bean plastic on the steering wheels. It probably breaks down easier than some of the modern plastics. It was an experimental process and these old Fords and their parts were not designed to last this long.
 
We have made our own steering wheel cover on a semi custom wheel. Lucky it was my wife's 34 pickup and she was very patient with a needle and thread. Took time but came out great.
 
My f1 had the same issue, I used a polishing compound on it, no more sticky feel and a nice shine. Ken
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top