[Healeys] Steering wheel restoration

[Curtis Arndt]

Ira,

I completely stripped and repainted my hub.  I used a spray can Appliance
Epoxy enamel.

C

On Mon, Feb 15, 2016 at 6:54 PM, i erbs <eyera3000 at gmail.com> wrote:

> What about chips in the hub paint. Any ideas on matching the black
> thickness?
>
> Ira Erbs
> Portland,OR
>       _______                                  _______
>      (______ \____1959 BN4____/ _______)
>          (_________________________)
>           BT7 engine and disk brakes
>
> On Mon, Feb 15, 2016 at 6:32 PM, Curtis Arndt <cnaarndt at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Hi All
>>
>> I have to agree with John Spaur and Michael Salter that restoring an
>> original wheel is hit and miss at best.  It is so difficult that both Roger
>> Moment and Don Fisher recast their wheels on the original frames versus
>> trying to repair/restore them.  Don is not only a dentist but has taught at
>> the UCLA dental school for over 50 years, so casting the wheel was not
>> difficult for him.  The same with Roger whose fabrication skills are second
>> to none and his recast wheel was nothing short of brilliant.  BTW Roger
>> initially repaired his wheel and it cracked again in short order which is
>> why he re-cast it.
>>
>> Also as the trafficator/Bakelite expert I can state the the steering
>> wheels were NOT Bakelite but plastic.  See attached photos of my restored
>> '55 BN1 wheel that never had any cracks whatsoever.  I just lightly sanded
>> and polished the rim and painted the hub with a high quality epoxy enamel.
>>
>> Better yet, buy a correct period wooden wheel from Michael Lempert as I
>> also have one of his wheels for my car.
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>> Curt Arndt
>> Carlsbad, CA
>> '55 BN1, '60 AN5 :{)
>>
>> On Mon, Feb 15, 2016 at 3:27 PM, Michael Salter <michaelsalter at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> "I would not recommend restoring the original plastic steering wheels
>>> when
>>> excellent reproductions are available."
>>> I would have to concur with John on that. However, if you are looking to
>>> restore a very early 100 wheel, either adjustable or non adjustable  17"
>>> diameter or a 16 1/2" non adjustable wheel they are unavailable in
>>> reproductions so extreme measures are called for!!!
>>> The last wheel that I restored using the acetone method, suggested to me
>>> by Bob Yule BTW, was on #174 andthe result was good enough to score
>>> concours gold at Gettysburg and shows no signs of cracking  3 years after I
>>> finished restoring it.
>>> I believe that the real problem is that the plastic used to make these
>>> wheels originally tends to shrink over time and eventually cracks appear to
>>> relieve the resulting tensile stress.
>>> In my experience any filler material, other than the original, fails to
>>> bond strongly and as a result cracks appear at the material boundaries very
>>> quickly.
>>>
>>> Just sayin'
>>>
>>> Michael S
>>>
>>> On Mon, Feb 15, 2016 at 5:03 PM, John Spaur <jmsdarch at sbcglobal.net>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I would not recommend restoring the original plastic steering wheels
>>>> when
>>>> excellent reproductions are available.
>>>>
>>>> The reason the plastic has cracked is because water has penetrated the
>>>> wheel
>>>> and it has started to oxidize the metal reinforcement which has
>>>> expanded and
>>>> cracked the wheel. That process may of slowed down, but it will never
>>>> stop.
>>>>
>>>> I stored an original wheel in my garage for several years intending to
>>>> restore it. It appeared to be in the same reasonable shape when I went
>>>> to
>>>> inspect it in preparation for restoration. When I pull at parts of it
>>>> that
>>>> looked to be in good shape, it  just crumbled in my hands.
>>>>
>>>> John Spaur
>>>> '62 BT7
>>>>
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>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> *If you can't fix it with a hammer, you've got an electrical problem.*
>>>
>>>
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>>
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