Foam Steering Wheel Repair
The infamous foam steering repair….Already you can see I’m not a big fan of this kind of repair, but I have done a lot of them and have had pretty good luck with them.
The biggest problem I have with the foam steering wheel is when the dye has worn off and the foam underneath is exposed, there are what I call small pits. Basically a bunch of little holes in the foam, that if not sealed will soak up your dye and show, which in turn gets you no where, it just looks like crap. So you have to seal up those little holes with something that is flexible and something that will stick to the foam. I’ve tried all kinds of methods, not sure if all of them worked out, as a lot of the vehicles I work on are shipped off pretty quick. But usually you can tell pretty quickly if somethings not going to work.
One method I’ve tried and really got no where with was vinyl repair compound, it just doesn’t stick. I’ve tried super glue, but when dry it seems to want to crack. But with small areas if you use the super glue that is flexible, some suppliers call it Flex Gel, works pretty good. Just use a small amount and spread it over the area then sand with a 240 grit and wa-la it’s smooth enough to dye. But for those larger areas it can really be a pain in the butt. Super glue just won’t work, so what do you do, well one thing I’ve found that worked really well was Sems Flexible Primer Surfacer and another is made by Urethane Supply Co, it’s also a primer surfacer. Another word that the guys I used to work with and this may be an actual product just not sure but was “Fill and Sand”. What this stuff does is fill in the small pits and imperfections so when sanded it leaves you with a smooth area to paint. The Sems is flexible enough I think to work pretty well. I’ve also been known to use a little leather compounds too. The Leather Crack Fill (the gray stuff) does pretty much the same thing as the others, it’s a solvent based filler and is flexible enough for the foam steering wheel. I use it for smaller areas and even with some vinyl repairs, it seems to help your repairs blend better.
This is one foam steering wheel I wanted to show you that a customer and I kinda fixed together. The foam steering wheel had a chunk missing all the way around it where a steering wheel roller handle was attached (not really sure if that is what you call it), one of those things that you use to assist you in turning the steering wheel, you see them on farm tractors mostly. Anyways this thing pulled a chunk out of the wheel all the way around, kind like a ring.
The customer called me and wondered if there was anything that I could do, and really at first I said nothing, because I really didn’t know of anything that would adhere to the foam for one and wouldn’t feel like a rock when cured out. After a couple of phone calls later he informed me that he used a spray foam and it stuck and is holding up. Of course, FOAM, Duh…I felt weird having a customer tell me how to fix something, but when I got over there I was amazed at what it looked like and felt like, it was just a little squishier then the other foam but it stuck and looked like it might work.
He said all he did was spray the foam all around the steering wheel and let it set overnight. He then trimmed off the excess with a knife and that was as far as he got. He said he thought I could paint it or something to make it look better, but hey I’m not here to make things better, I like things to look great.
So I went to work to see if I could finish it off and make it look like a real foam steering wheel and not a botched up mess.
I first sanded the foam, so to get it level with the rest of the steering wheel. This is when I realized there was going to be a little more work then just filling in a few small pits, there were some larger then usual pits that needed something a little more filling then just “fill n sand”. I thought to myself for a minute to see if I had something in my arsenal that would do the trick, I came up with the only thing I could think of that I had at the time and that was flexible enough to work. I used Padded Dash Filler, it’s flexible and sticks to stuff like this, so I mixed up a small batch and put thin coats all the way around the area until it was level. Now working with this stuff is pretty cool, as it’s setting up you can start sanding it with a 180 grit to knock off the big stuff, just don’t get too aggressive at first. Then switch to a 240 grit to level and smooth it out as it’s curing. I use the blue activator, which cures it a little quicker then the red stuff.
I then used my “fill n sand” to fill in the not so perfect areas. Let cure a little bit then sanded it smooth with a 240 grit and then a 400 grit.
Once level and smooth I textured the steering wheel with a little Sems Textured Coat, first applying Bulldog Adhesion Promoter, so to make sure it would stay put.
Lightly sanded it with 400 grit to get off the fuzzy’s left behind from the texture spray, cleaned and prepped it really good, then applied my grip base and water based urethane dye.
I was happy…. what do you think? Turned out really good, the customer was really happy too. I think it will hold up and last a long time.
One thing I could have used also to fill in the spray foam area is a flexible bumper epoxy. I’ve used it before for smaller areas on foam steering wheels, and on split armrests. Seems to work really well, but I’m out right now and need to get to the supply shop and get more.
Foam steering wheel repair can be troublesome at times but using the right stuff will get the job done. If you all have any suggestions on products to use that have worked for you in the past on a foam steering wheel, please throw me a comment, I’m always looking for something bigger and better to bring my customers.
Talk to ya Soon – Mike “TIG”
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