This forum is for all years of the Ford Galaxie and all other Full-size Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury cars. This is a place to share information, skills, pictures, and stories for the purpose of building friendships and furthering the enjoyment and restoration of these cars |
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OK, I'll start by making several excuses. I'm not as proud of this repair as I am of the 1965 Chevy truck SW I repaired recently.
This 66 Galaxie wheel was in terrible shape to start with. I also have no use for it, so it was more or less an experiment to see what could be done with the tools and epoxy that I already have. I spent plenty of time working on it, but I lacked the enthusiasm to make it perfect because I have no real use for it.
The end result looks pretty good considering how bad it looked to start with. ALL the cracks are gone, however I admit that a close inspection will still reveal several flaws that could use some attention. One problem I knew I'd have right from the beginning was trying to recreate the textured area that is on part of the wheel. It has a textured section from 2 o'clock to 4 and then again from 8 to 10. I could fill the cracks but I knew they would come out smooth instead of textured, so I tried to just sand the texture off and make the whole thing smooth. I can still see the texture so I guess I should have sanded it more.
I did sand it with 150 grit, then 400, then 800, then finished with 1500 grit. Then 2 coats of VHT epoxy rattle can paint. Some of the repairs are absolutely invisible. Others I can see, but I think they can be made to look invisible too. I just don't have the time.
So I guess what matters here is that if you are tired of the cracks in your steering wheel, they can be repaired for a very small cost. The results you get will depend on your effort. I guess it's kinda like doing bodywork.
Some BEFORE pics
Some AFTER pics
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what kind of paint did you use??? obviously a steering-wheel sees a lot of contact and rubbing so I am wondering what the paint was and how durable it will be in the long run.
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That looks a LOT better. Nice work.
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