repair cracked steering wheel

[kbee00]

The wheel from my '72 has two splits/cracks. One at 12 o'clock and one at 6 o'clock. The crack is about 1/16" wide - is there a fix for this? I was going to use some plastic filler and color it black. It would give me two little black stripes in the wheel - fortunately the cracks are directly across from each other so the black stripes would possibly look factory?

Any suggestions? It is a very thin wheel - I'd prefer something thicker but I want to keep it original.

Thanks for your help.

kbee00

[azruss]

bondo works great, can be shaped to blend and very paintable.

[kbee00]

Seems bondo is not very flexible. It dries hard and cracks apart under any kind of stress. I may be using the wrong kind? I've seen bumper / flexible filler which seems more likely to hold up over time. Is this what you are suggesting?

thanks

kbee00

[azruss]

I didn't worry about cracking due to flex because i put a leather cover on the wheel. Been using the wheel for decades and havent noticed any issue. The problem with something softer is you have a material that is difficult to match the contour of the wheel. You will notice that far before you would notice a crack. Bondo does have flex. think how much metal panels shrink and expand in the heat and the bondo moves with it.

[aj81spider]

I used epoxy - it sanded to the contour nicely and seems like it would hold up well.

I haven't figured out how to make it look like the rest of the wheel yet (but am exploring some options).

[Ramzi]

I recently repaired a steering wheel for my '66 124. Used a 2 part bumper repair epoxy by Wurth. Seems to sand easily and holds up well. Color matching to the rest of the wheel was a bit of an issue. Vinyl paints don't seem to hold up. Epoxy paints are next... I think they will work.

Ramzi

[baltobernie]

At a hobby store, you can buy a tiny bottle of paint they sell for plastic models. One of the "wood" colors available is a very close match to the early Spider steering wheel.

[BERGFIAT]

I would use one of those cheap gelcoat repair kits available at most any boat/marine supply. Match and fill to the lighter color in the woodgrain, sand as needed, then scratch some grain lines into the gel and rub on/off with stain, gel...just something darker than the original fill. I don't know if those splits grow or shrink with the temp, but I would try to do it when it was at it widest.

[VermontMatt]

I had the same problem (only one crack in mine, at 12 o'clock). I used plumbers' epoxy putty, which you can shape with your hands like modeling clay but then it cures hard in an hour and can be sanded/painted. I'm also planning to paint the stripe with a little Testor's model paint, hoping it looks intentional when I'm done!