Steering wheel Resto

Shampipple

Shampipple

Senior Member
I acquired a beautiful banjo wheel with very cracked and missing plastic.

Do any of you have a recommendation on a steering wheel restoration shop?

I see several online but prefer knowing someone got a decent job done.


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Do it yourself. It is not all that big a job. Time consuming, but I really enjoyed doing the one on my Avatar. I used PC7, not JB Weld.

Do not use a primer as you don't want primer showing through with a little wear. several coats of "top coat" sanded between coats.
 
steeringwheelkris.com does beautiful work! Restoration or custom, he can do whatever you want and can handle re-chroming, if needed.
 
There’s too much missing for me to repair cracks. I’ve got enough busy work on other vehicles.

After 35 years of building cars I’ve learned to farm a few things out. I’ve even employed a young welder to do things I can do myself. He’s fast, great, and priced right!


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rockfla said:
Do you mind sharing what the charge for his work was??
Click to expand...

What I paid won't mean much because the cost is based on how much work/repair that a steering wheel requires. I sent Bob photos of the wheel and we subsequently talked via the phone about the work that would need to be done. In the end, the invoice was about 25% less than his estimate and I received it 2 weeks sooner than scheduled.
To further this point, I have a second wheel and his estimate for the second wheel is significantly less than the first wheel. Again, it all depends on condition. I suggest that you send Bob photos and have a conversation with him.
-Mike
 
I used PC-7. Seemed OK at the time, but a lot of cracks appeared about 6 months after finish. Not sure if maybe I did something wrong, or if the wheel was past saving.
 
I restored my 34 wheel which had cracks on all three spokes on the hub and at the rim, several pieces missing. I ground out all the cracks down to the steel and filled up with JB. After hardening and blending in the JB I used a small bit of filler to get a perfect surface. To paint that wheel evenly without any chance of runners, I built a contraption with a little electric motor driving a big bicycle wheel through a 1/8" pin - so the speed was reduced a lot. The bicyle wheel was coupled to the steering wheels hub and thus it slowly rotated. I just needed one thick coat to have it in like new condition again - no runners and high gloss everywhere.
Until now no cracks or blisters after 4500 km this year.
 
In my opinion I would second a shout-out to Bob Monetti @ steeringwheelbob.com. He is second to none. Did three wheels for me and everyone is museum quality. None of mine had chroming involved and were in the $700 to $800 range. I have no regrets and would go back to him in a heartbeat.
 
vincent said:
I restored my 34 wheel which had cracks on all three spokes on the hub and at the rim, several pieces missing. I ground out all the cracks down to the steel and filled up with JB. After hardening and blending in the JB I used a small bit of filler to get a perfect surface. To paint that wheel evenly without any chance of runners, I built a contraption with a little electric motor driving a big bicycle wheel through a 1/8" pin - so the speed was reduced a lot. The bicyle wheel was coupled to the steering wheels hub and thus it slowly rotated. I just needed one thick coat to have it in like new condition again - no runners and high gloss everywhere.
Until now no cracks or blisters after 4500 km this year.
Click to expand...

This is a great idea at the painting stage! It got me thinking about the PC7 or JB weld stage. I have done a lot of machining on my vehicle's rear axle (4 speeds forward plus reverse) and also on belt driven aparatus. So now you have this steering wheel set up for painting, but first set up a sanding apparatus on a fixed point. I have even surfaced a flywheel on my run stand with a 4" angle grinder that is fixed. I am currently working on a 46 tonner and the steering wheel is bad. You are inspiring me!
 
here's my contraption I made for painting wire wheels.
lots of angles to cover with wires, and while 3 coats on any given part are fine, wire wheels should have 5 to cover it all....before I made this. It turns a 5 rpm, no skill required, practically pour the paint on, no runs, no orange peel, no dry spots. I have since made many adapters for this to spin small parts, or even clean gas tanks.
 

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GB - nice to hear you are inspired! The fine machinery of cas3 is the luxury variant of my cobbled together apparatus. As long as you have a slow and steady turning motion you can´t do wrong when painting steering wheels or other rotating objects.
 
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