Steering Wheel Restoration

[bc.gold 3,403]

Very good tutorial,

 

 

[rjg854 11,620]

  I was wondering what was the best way to go about refinishing the steering wheel on my 877.

[bc.gold 3,403]

1 hour ago, rjg854 said:

  I was wondering what was the best way to go about refinishing the steering wheel on my 877.

 

In the tutorial the mold shell was a soft RTV while the steering wheel rim used a much harder setting RTV, as you noted in the video you can add any color you want.

 

I do not restore steering wheels, but in the past have made molds to cast wax objects used in lost wax casting where the wax model is encased in plaster then burned out leaving a replica of the wax copy.

 

The dimples you see are registration marks, there will be a male and female paired up. I use the head of a large acorn nut to make the impressions. You only need to do one side of the mold, liquid RTV will fill these in with the corresponding male.

 

Molten metal is then poured into the cavity.

 

Before purchasing any RTV compounds you might want to add to your knowledge base on Shore Hardness.

 

I've used Smooth On products, here's a link explaining Shore Hardness.

https://www.smooth-on.com/support/faq/138/

 

What does 'Shore Hardness' mean?

Shore Hardness is a measure of the resistance a material has to indentation. There are different Shore Hardness scales for measuring the hardness of different materials (soft rubbers, rigid plastics, and supersoft gels, for example). These scales were invented so that people can discuss these materials and have a common point of reference.

Edited July 15, 2019 by bcgold

[bc.gold 3,403]

There have been times that I've used an original like the Old Abe fence finial as a pattern to cast copies, often the original will be flawed or have other damage.

 

I use automotive body filler ( Bondo ) to fill in imperfections or add a missing section then form it as you would a putty before the filler has a chance to set up permanently.

 

Then a few hours of hand sanding, a repaired original used as a pattern requires a bit of care when tamping the foundry sand around the pattern

 

What I'm implying is a band aid is not a permanent fix whereas a complete RTV overhaul is going to last years.