Finally got a chance to take apart the sport steering wheel that I purchased last Fall. I wanted to re-paint the center hub silver, so I gently pulled the rubber horn part away from the body. As you can see in the photos, the plastic is brittle and in two places it cracked. I figure I can glue those back, however, to paint the silver I really "should" remove the black inner part with the fake bolts (can't imagine taping those off). On the underside the plastic posts have been melted to hold the pieces together, if I heat those up so I can pull it apart, will I end up having enough material to "re-melt" the posts again to fasten the parts together? Has anyone done this? Any tips or suggestions as to how to proceed? I'm so afraid of breaking the darn thing.... Also, on the center "Stallion" logo part, does the clear top separate from the black base? If so, how do I go about doing it? There are a couple small cracks I'd like to try and glue before they get worse. Thanks for any help you can provide!
That looks good. I have a nice wheel but I need the silver ring for mine. It's missing a pretty big piece. Anybody got one sitting around let me know!!!
Darren, Wow, yours looks really nice! Do you remember what paint you used on the center part? I was thinking about looking at the paints that are made for plastic, but I've noticed they don't offer a lot of color choices....
Hi, When I did my center horn cap I used an xacto knife and cut off the nubs and then used a hot glue gun to put it back together. Also I went to the hobby store to get the silver paint for plastic.
The paint is plsti-kote super laquer/ Dull Aluminum T-41. Its leaves a nice metal type look to it. Used it on numerous parts on the car including the wiper blades. HAd a few guys ask where I got the steel blades from. [ame="http://www.amazon.com/PlastiKote-T-41-Aluminum-Lacquer-Paint/dp/B000CPAA4E"]Amazon.com: PlastiKote T-41 Dull Aluminum Lacquer Paint - 12 Oz.: Automotive[/ame]
Darren, Hey, thanks for the paint tip, I noticed in the pic that yours matched the steering wheel very well. Another question, what did you use to polish the metal spoke parts of the steering wheel. And, after you got it looking nice, did you coat it with any kind of clear to preserve it?
A super-handy tool for working with plastic items can be bought at Harbor Freight. It is #38593 ... "5 in 1 Hobby Tool Kit" . It is basically a wood-burning pencil with a bunch of attachments, including an X-Acto knife tip. This is almost identical to one of my favorite tools that I used to build model kits as a kid. When that broke, I was on the lookout for at least 20 years until I found this one. Going through plastic with a hot X-Acto knife ... doesn't get any better than that. I also has blunt tips that would be handy to remelt the tabs. Pretty sure I paid $5 for it on sale. It is less that $10 at their regular price.
The wheel was in good shape to start with just a bit of corrosion on the spokes and a good cleaning needed. I used a very fine steel wool with the grain and a paint seal we use at work. Basically an automotive wax that doesnt leave white residue. I didnt clear the spokes. They came up real nice and its easy enough to clean them in the future. Didnt want them shiny with clear coat.
Thanks everyone for the help and tips, I really appreciate it. Hope I can do the steering wheel justice. I'll keep you posted....
I used a paper punch to pop out little disks made from computer address label paper. Peel and stick onto the "bolt" heads to mask them off. The fit was perfect to cover the heads. Then I sprayed the silver with that fake chrome silver paint. Came out very nice.
Just bought one of these - hope I don't break it when I take it apart. Now I just need to find those Maverick Logo Stickers.
