Faux Wood Steering Wheel.

JimKueneman

Mopar Nut
Thought I’d post this here too for those who don’t follow my thread. There’s SPI epoxy and Universal Clear over SEM Palomino and artist acrylic washes.

Here’s a quick step-by-step. I used a Dremel tool to open up all cracks and tried to undercut them so that when I packed them with epoxy it would go underneath the lip to grab so that it would lock it in. Then wiped it down with generous amounts of acetone to clean it and soften the original material. Then mix up PC 7 epoxy and work it in to all the cracks and grooves. Let it dry then shape it with 80 grit sandpaper. I put it in the oven and baked it at 180. That’s because here in Arizona it can get that hot in the car. That opened up a few more cracks which I repeated the above process once I got it shaped I sprayed it was three or four coats of epoxy primer.. Once that was sanded down and I had the shape know this could easily take two or three steps repeating spraying the epoxy primer and sanding. Once I got it shaped the way I wanted I took a hobby razor saw with coarse teeth and just dragged it around the wheel putting deep grooves in it to simulate wood grain. After that I used artists acrylic paints raw umber and burnt ombre mixed with a little water to make a wash. Before that I overcoated the epoxy primer with SEM palomino rattle can paint to give it a light tan base coat.. I then washed on the acrylics and wipe them off carefully to get the shading that I wanted. once happy with that I had some India ink that I probably mix 10% ink with 90% rubbing alcohol to make a black wash which I then spread around the wheel to highlight the grooves carefully wiping off the excess so that it didn’t pool and leave a black ring. Then two coats of universal clear let it dry sand it was 500 grit sandpaper and two more coats of universal clear.

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You should post the write up on how you did this for those who may want to try restore a steering wheel.
 
Jim K. What is a hobby razor saw? Small hacksaw blade? I just redid the gauges, bezel and painted the dash and a/c plenum on my ’68 Pontiac. Orig sport wheel shows no signs of cracking but years of surface wear has it looking like it needs a refresh like you did.
I’ll follow your formula. Thanks for posting it.
 
Jim K. What is a hobby razor saw? Small hacksaw blade? I just redid the gauges, bezel and painted the dash and a/c plenum on my ’68 Pontiac. Orig sport wheel shows no signs of cracking but years of surface wear has it looking like it needs a refresh like you did.
I’ll follow your formula. Thanks for posting it.
I says it’s 16 teeth per inch. The photo does not look it but may be a stock photo.


 
Ok Jim about to attempt this on my 68 Pontiac wood wheel.
Am I correct if I assume you used the raw and burnt umber in separate steps? Apply with brush and wipe off? How long to dry before use the India ink for the grain? Small sections at a time and wipe off? Thanks
 
Ok Jim about to attempt this on my 68 Pontiac wood wheel.
Am I correct if I assume you used the raw and burnt umber in separate steps? Apply with brush and wipe off? How long to dry before use the India ink for the grain? Small sections at a time and wipe off? Thanks

Whatever works for you. Don’t like it wipe it off and try again. I do it all one color at a time. The wiping is light unless I’m trying to start over. And I only wipe if it is too intense or looks unnatural
 
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