Steering wheel refurb

After seeing the price of original wheels, we decided what do we have to lose trying to fix up the original one on the GMC.  The years of Texas sun had taken their toll, leaving cracks in the plastic about every half inch all of the way around the wheel.  In the picture you can only really see the big cracks, once we started looking closer they were everywhere.

 Several places sell kits, but since the original idea was to do this cheap, we tried using things we had around the house.  First, all the cracks were opened up using a rotary tool to give the filler something to hold on to.  I didn't take any pictures at this stage, but there wasn't much left after every crack was ground open.  Then everything was filled with JB Weld.  At least it looks like what is sold for steering wheel repair, and it hardens like steel and is reasonably sandable.  Next step, lots of sanding and grinding to get the form back to close.  Then many layers of spot putty; probably not as good as regular body filler but easier to to work with in small quantities.  Follow up with sand, more sanding, and more sanding.

We used a flexible plastic primer, thinking it would hold up better to keep things from cracking again.  Unfortunately, this primer was clear, and you need a colored base coat. The gray is another automotive primer I had around.  Then you guessed it, more sanding, followed by more coats up paint, sanding up to 600 grit to get everything reasonably smooth.  I never did get happy with the two indents on the arms from the center to the rim of the wheel, but this will mostly bug me and anyone that goes looking for faults. 

We finished the wheel with a champagne automotive paint left from models.  Plus it's a reasonable match to what was stock in the truck and what we will try to repaint the interior later.  This was a little glossy for our taste, so another coat of the clear primer dulled it out to a nice satin.  Lots of work, but the only cost was time and one can of plastic primer. Time will tell if all the work was worth it and the cracks don't come back.