Blue steering wheel question

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Joined
Mar 15, 2024
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Location
Austin
My Car
72 Mach 1 H code

72 Sportsroof 351W
What did you all do to restore your steering wheels ?

Finding a blue one might be hard and pricy. Is this salvageable using epoxy rebuild , or should I just switch to a black one ? I would like to keep the interior blue

My horn pad looks ok.




Screenshot 2024-10-02 at 7.57.12 AM.png
 
The steering wheels are definitely repairable using epoxy, just make sure to remove all loose material and clean and etch/sand scratch all edges and mating surfaces very well. It is a time consuming process shaping and cutting new lines in and sanding, but it is worth it in the end. I like to use a loose hack saw blade to cut the diagonal lines that connect the pair of parallel lines that run the circumference of the wheel. I apply masking tape to a good area and use a sharpie to mark lines on the tape and then move the tape to the repaired area. The tape now serves as the template, I drag a loose hack saw blade across the sharpie marks on the tape to cut the lines. If you take your time you can cut the lines fairly straight and evenly spaced to look original.

For paint you can go to a paint supply house and have them mix up an interior paint to match. They will need the vehicle info and interior trim code and I also like to show them a sample of another interior piece that you want to match. A lot of paint supplies can even put it into an aerosol spray can for you. Make sure to use an adhesion promoter like Bulldog, (not cheap but worth it) to make sure the paint adheres well to the wheel. Bulldog or another adhesion promoter is very important on interior trim and plastic parts. You always want to use a respirator and be in a well ventilated area for any paints but definitely with Bulldog, it really stinks.

I prefer to clear coat the wheel with an epoxy clear after painting, this makes the steering wheel more durable and resistant to oils from your hands over time. That is the disadvantage of a painted wheel and why Ford molded them in color originally. You can buy these two part epoxy paints in aerosol cans, Eastwood sells them but I am sure other vendors do as well. I almost exclusively use Eastwood products myself, because I like their stuff and have good experiences with them but also I am fortunate enough to live 20 minutes from one of their only two retail stores in the country. You just pop the activator and shake the can well and once it is mixed, spray it on. The paint will harden in the aerosol can once it is activated within 24 hours. I have had luck getting a couple days out it before it hardens by putting it in the fridge, if I have a second project to do.

I attached a couple pics of my steering wheel before and after I repaired and painted it for my car. I think it turned out really well. I had it installed for a couple weeks at the body shop, while I finished restoring the rim-blow. I had the opportunity to buy a tilt column with the rim-blow steering wheel from a member here. Even though I had just fully restored my standard column and deluxe two spoke wheel, I always wanted a tilt and rim-blow combo. I jumped on the chance to upgrade to the tilt column and rim-blow wheel, even though it meant I needed to start all over and restore the tilt column and rim-blow wheel, haha.
 

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It is repairable using epoxy, just make sure to remove all loose material and clean and etch/sand scratch all edges and mating surfaces very well. It is a time consuming process shaping and cutting new lines (hack saw blade) in and sanding, but it is worth it in the end. I use masking tape in a good area and marked lines and then moved the tape to a repaired area. This now serves as the template, I drag a loose hack saw blade across the mark on the tape to cut the lines in the smooth repaired areas. If you take your time you can cut the lines straight and evenly spaced to look original. For paint you can go to a paint supply house and have them mix up an interior paint to match. They will need the vehicle info and interior trim code and I also like to show them a sample of another interior piece that you want to match. A lot of paint supplies can even put it into an aerosol spray can for you. Make sure to use an adhesion promoter like Bulldog, to make sure the color sticks well. I like to clear them with an epoxy clear, these are also sold in aerosol, Eastwood sells it. You just pop the activator and shake the can well and once it is mixed, spray. The paint will harden in the aerosol can once it is activated within 24 hours. I have had luck getting a couple days out it before it hardens by putting it in the fridge. I attached a couple pics of my steering wheel I repaired and painted for my car. I upgraded to a rim-blow that I also needed to restore since then.
Looks great!
 
That's in pretty rough shape. I'd try to find a good used one, they're out there. The basic wheel was used from 1970 through the mid-70s on millions of Ford cars. The pad, woodgrain and horn switch pad look okay. The horn switch underneath appears broken, but might be fixable.
 
I did a color change on a black rim blow wheel and pad to avocado to match my convertible interior last year. I ended up replacing the chrome tape around the wheel, patching a few gaps, reworking the wood grain, then color change and clear coat. It can be done with some patience. I am happy with how mine turned out. I would find a good donor steering wheel of any color as I think the one you have would be tough to rebuild. You can then change it to blue after you do your rebuilding process. The pad can be redid fairly easily to blue to match.
 

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Take a look at craigslist in Modesto CA. I saw a blue wheel in pretty nice condition at a very reasonable price when I was there earlier this year. I considered buying it, but reminded myself of the growing collection of "junk" that I already have.
 
The pad, woodgrain and horn switch pad look okay. The horn switch underneath appears broken, but might be fixable.
Yeah, be carful with that woodgrain trim piece. They are hard to find and they attach to the rubber horn switch with some of those 1-way internal star washers that require care in removing...I've seen several of the trim pieces broken around those retainers.
 
Yeah, be carful with that woodgrain trim piece. They are hard to find and they attach to the rubber horn switch with some of those 1-way internal star washers that require care in removing...I've seen several of the trim pieces broken around those
Take a look at craigslist in Modesto CA. I saw a blue wheel in pretty nice condition at a very reasonable price when I was there earlier this year. I considered buying it, but reminded myself of the growing collection of "junk" that I already have.
Someone must have scooped it up, I don't see it in CL modesto anymore
retainers.
 
Yeah, be carful with that woodgrain trim piece. They are hard to find and they attach to the rubber horn switch with some of those 1-way internal star washers that require care in removing...I've seen several of the trim pieces broken around those retainers.

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Thanks for the comments. This steering wheel does appear to thrashed to save. The horn pad is good, but the insert is also broken.

I'll look for a better blue wheel, or maybe a black wheel would like good in this setup since the cluster is black.
 
I looked for it also and couldn't find it. There's a guy selling an air filter in Lodi....it MIGHT have been that same guy. I scan that area, periodically, and if it turns up again, I'll let you know.
 
Steve73QMach1 above has a thread "73 H Code Convertible Project" that inspired me to keep my avocado versus convert to black as you're considering your options. His experience with this spray dye product prompted me to give it a try. I'd never heard of it before reading his post.

So if you do decide to keep your "Blue" interior color and want to try this stuff, below is a PDF file from Mustang America that shows all the available dye colors and part numbers if it helps.

Here's a link to where I bought this stuff for my Avocado. Since buying it, I've since seen that Summit Racing also sells this.

https://www.topflightautomotive.com...ol/?year_range=1973&color_attr=Medium Avocado

I've used it recently and gotten excellent results. I can't speak to how well it'll hold up but it completely converted black reproduction pieces and dressed up my existing avocado interior parts and matched very well.
 

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Steve73QMach1 above has a thread "73 H Code Convertible Project" that inspired me to keep my avocado versus convert to black as you're considering your options. His experience with this spray dye product prompted me to give it a try. I'd never heard of it before reading his post.

So if you do decide to keep your "Blue" interior color and want to try this stuff, below is a PDF file from Mustang America that shows all the available dye colors and part numbers if it helps.

Here's a link to where I bought this stuff for my Avocado. Since buying it, I've since seen that Summit Racing also sells this.

https://www.topflightautomotive.com/products/ca-1964-1973-ford-mustang-interior-dye-aerosol/?year_range=1973&color_attr=Medium Avocado

I've used it recently and gotten excellent results. I can't speak to how well it'll hold up but it completely converted black reproduction pieces and dressed up my existing avocado interior parts and matched very well.
Awesome info. I do want to keep it blue
 
What did you all do to restore your steering wheels ?

Finding a blue one might be hard and pricy. Is this salvageable using epoxy rebuild , or should I just switch to a black one ? I would like to keep the interior blue

My horn pad looks ok.




View attachment 93651
I have a good one 50$ plus shipping
 

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Yeah, be carful with that woodgrain trim piece. They are hard to find and they attach to the rubber horn switch with some of those 1-way internal star washers that require care in removing...I've seen several of the trim pieces broken around those retainers.
Hi @basstrix

I can buy a new horn switch for about $100 from NPD, and reuse my weathered woodgrain and cover , Or I can get this entire used rig from Ebay for $150. the woodgrain is nicer condition.

I'm not seeing any one way internal washers. I just see screws attaching the horn pad to the switch with the woodgrain trim piece sandwiched in between.


https://www.ebay.com/itm/1563116715...og/YXeKWkDM+kodKwhlUEtd+kA==|tkp:BFBM9PGknddk

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