CSI Sport Steering Wheel Restoration

Markos

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What satin black paint are you using for the spokes?

I use Duplicolor Satin wheel paint. You need to get it from an auto parts store. I used it on a set of Alpinas, my Weds, and I use it on the AC face plates (after texture). I’ll also be using it on my coolant tank.
 

Stan

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Im restoring 3 wood bus wheels now and find it difficult work. Or im too precise. Or I suck at it.
Indeed the veneer is thin. In some places I think it's less then 1mm thick. Like a kids fingernail thickness.

The veneer is cast over a textile and below that is a black solid material, likely a glue

Also one of the wheels actually has play between the steel ring and the wood. The wood is in one piece but it rotates (clockwise and back) over the ring, and also in forward (car) direction.
Poking inside the wood at the openings near the spokes with a steel wire reveals soft sticky glue. It should be strong, not sticky. Something went wrong there.

I'm getting a third wheel over the coming week that's even worse, split all over.
I never thought of Bela22, but it's a good idea.
I restored one wood bus wheel. After carefully removing all of the dried flaky varnish, I sprayed the wood with the product shown below. Also, filled hairline cracks and repainted the spokes.
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Markos

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I’m going to take a stab at my wood wheel this winter. I think that high gloss is appropriate for the bakelite finish on the wood wheel. What did you use to fill the cracks? I’m leaning towards job weld.
 

Bmachine

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The wheel is en route to eastern europe for a high quality recover.

Markos, you mentioned that the leather was redone "in eastern Europe". Can you share some details? Who? Cost? Any reason you sent it there rather than to the guy in Texas whom many have used?
 
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eriknetherlands

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I’m going to take a stab at my wood wheel this winter. I think that high gloss is appropriate for the bakelite finish on the wood wheel. What did you use to fill the cracks? I’m leaning towards job weld.

I choose to fill the cracks by first opening them up a bit, making a groove from the crack, and then filling the groove with a 2K epoxy. It sands flat quite evenly, as it has a hardness roughly the same as the (bakelite?) base material.
 

Markos

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Markos, you mentioned that the leather was redone "in eastern Europe". Can you share some details? Who? Cost? Any reason you sent it there rather than to the guy in Texas whom many have used?

Sorry I missed this. I’ve mentioned my preference in a few different threads. There are a few reasons. The overall cost is the same after worldwide shipping, so technically he is a bit less. Just like sending wood to Bela and getting an amazing product, you are risking lost or damaged items due to the journey. Also, I’ve had customs return wheels twice. My 380mm Alpina is sitting in customs now.

The guy in TX seems to do a professional job, just not my personal first choice. My main reason for the hoop jumping is the quality of the job, as well as the leather. Steering wheels from the 60’s and 70’s didn’t have “pebble” leather. They had tough smooth european leather. The CSI wheel leather is a bit thinner than what I saw on the momo I restored. I’ve heard that skinnny wheels are very difficult to recover. The guy that I use is the only person that I have seen do an amazing job on a momo wheel. There are a few others, but then there is the leather...

Take this recovered Le Mans of mine from the mid 60’s (pre stacked momo). This wheel heads to eastern europe after the Alpina returns. Looks good from 3’ away right? Well, this is a great example of a poor recover with crappy leather. In addition to the poor leather choice, I can rotate the recovering with my hands.

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Markos

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A little side by side. The print will need a revision but it is directionally correct. I bought another CSI wheel today...

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Markos

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Time to do it all over again. Not before working on the cars. :D

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Update: The original dragon skin leather (seen above) was saved. Lots of cleaning, sanding, painting, and polishing. Happy to keep another CSI wheel on the road.

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Markos

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Partially restoring a beat up horn pad.

You can use paintable acrylic caulk to fill any cracks. Caulk shrinks when it dries, so apply multiple coats if you want the completely fill the problem areas. I only applied two coats in a few hours, and it could clearly use one more coat.

Apply liberally, spread around. Work into the cracks, then wipe the excess. Do not use silicone caulk. It isn’t paintable or stainable, and doesn’t really stick to rubber.

I use kiwi shoe dye to darken leather, be it seats, shoes, or steering wheels. I wouldn’t apply the dye to a wheel with nice original patina, but it works great for your e28 wheels, or even factory CS wheels that are beat up, but have no saveable patina. Don’t use it on white stitching. That is a steering wheel collector’s pet peeve. :D

The dye shouldn’t really work on rubber but it can help. You need to let it air dry on the surface. It doesn’t soak in like you see on leather. Vinyl paint is another good, if not better option.

It could be better. I wasn’t trying to fully restore the button. I just wanted to document the process before the wheel changed hands.
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