Early fj steering wheel restoration (1 Viewer)

[Birdhead]

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[Birdhead]

Would anyone be interested in a how to steering wheel thread? I have this wheel that someone tried to repair before and thought it would be a good one to show the steps.

 

[Birdhead]

It has most of the common crack areas, so I thought I would make a little how to, you guys have kept this crippled old (feeling) retired firefighter busy and even let me practice on some of your wheels.

 

[Birdhead]

1st step open all cracks in a “ V” shape, it sounds counterintuitive but will make the epoxy lay better.

 

[Birdhead]

After sanding the “Vs” with heavy grit sandpaper and begin filling cracks w/ PC-7 in equal amounts mixed.

 

[Birdhead]

Force the epoxy into the cracks and smooth, the epoxy will rise higher out of the cracks. I know it looks messy now, but wait for the finish.

 

[Birdhead]

PS: a lot of heavy grit sanding will be required. I’ll show more tomorrow after the epoxy sets up.

 

[SmartyJones]

Amazing! My wheel has a lot of cracks, but you seem to be able to bring any wheel back! Great job

 

[Birdhead]

Amazing! My wheel has a lot of cracks, but you seem to be able to bring any wheel back! Great job

Thanks, if you need yours done, let me know.

 

[Birdhead]

After the epoxy dries and a rough sanding.

 

[Birdhead]

Next I will do a softer sanding, then put the body lines on with glaze and sand to a perfect finish, then start painting.

 

[Birdhead]

Before the light sanding, I use cheap black primer which makes the problems stand out more, so I can sand in the necessary places/ways.

 

[Birdhead]

Prime

 

[Birdhead]

The black prime shoes all bad spots, tomorrow I’ll go repair those spots and put a new ring around the hub.

 

[Birdhead]

The black primer showed me the bad spots,
But you can see how the the wheel will come out perfect.

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[Birdhead]

Tomorrow I will ha e it perfect, anyone’s needs a restoration 36 spline wheel, it will be ready in about 4 days.

 

[Birdhead]

Prime

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In the third pic you can see where the gap is, I’ll do a light 2nd coat of epoxy and glaze the whole section and restore the ring that goes around the hub. It won’t be noticeable when finished.

 

[Birdhead]

Just finished three more, first time for a 65 wheel.

 

[Birdhead]

This where I restored the ring around the hub.

 

[Rainman]

Do you do these by order only or do you have extras with a core replacement? I plan to do mine but I may want to save time.

Give me the shot in the arm... How much?