Looking for advice on how to restore the metal part of a 308 steering wheel. It has a large scratch. Sanding it lightly may remove the scratch, but the metal finish would turn from dull or flat to shiny. I want to retain the correct finish. Suggestions appreciated.
Thanks, but would much prefer not to paint. Want to keep original dull metal finish. Maybe there's a finishing compound that'll give it the right look...
It's anodized. If you want to refinish it, you need to remove the leather and padding, refinish the graining and then re-anodize.
Yep. So if the scratch is just the anodized finish then you should have it either chemically stripped or media blasted to remove the finish with a very delicate abrasive. Then evaluate the damage - if there's more then you would sand more - but be careful not to thin out the metal too much at the damage and make it look uneven or evenly sand the whole thing - also you want to retain any original engravings. Then you would have to nearly get it to the same smooth finish on a very high count sand paper. Then get a scotch brite pad and redo the grain finish. then get it anodized to match the old finish. As a precaution, I would try to take it to a local plater and match the finish before you strip it - also note the grain directions - take lots of pictures. Though it seems simple, its quite a bit of work. I restored my BBS wheels last year and went with a grained finish on the lips. This isn't impossible to do but it takes patience.
Some good advice here already. The reality is that to correct the scratch perfectly is well north of $2000 and requires the full disassembly of the steering wheel, re-anodizing of the spokes and then re-covering of the wheel. You really have to decide how big a deal this is to you and consider a nice used steering wheel as a fix because if you insist on perfect and 'as original' it is a very big process. Been there done that.
I have no reliable sources to do full steering wheel restoration regardless of cost. Assuming the steering wheel is apart and you have repaired the scratch then just about any commercial anodizing place can re-finish the aluminum. The correct process is to FIRST get the wheel stripped of the old anodizing (the anodizing shop can do this) and then do the repair. Once repaired back to the anodizer to re-finish the aluminum. Note that any repair needs to be a removal of material down to the level of the scratch. Welding on aluminum with even the perfect filler rod will show up when re-anodizing.
Newman has done it. I use a company in Texas to redo the leather wrap. A NOS wheel (if found) will be $800 to $1K. I would think working on the old one will be more than that!! It does have a date stamp on the back, the only justification to spending more.
My solution was to sand or rub very lightly with a compound similar to what's used to bring back paint on a car. Didn't fix the scratch, but it resulted in a beautiful uniform dull finish. The next compound would give it shine. Skip that process. I can live with the scratch; it was the evidence of a poor attempt to fix it that bothered me. Thanks everyone,
