How To Restore A Classic Mustang Steering Wheel

8 We used 100-grit sandpaper provided in the kit to scuff down the high spots on the wheel. The kit also comes with a roll to wrap the paper around so you can get into the finger groves.

We also wrapped the paper around the stir stick in the kit to give us a narrow but flat sanding block.

9 Follow the instructions on the POR-15 putty and make sure parts A and B are well kneaded together.

10 First, we tackled the split in the wheel. We applied more putty than necessary to make sure we could sand the wheel into its correct form. We also used a bit of lacquer thinner so the putty could spread easier. The putty tended to ball up if it wasn't used. The lacquer thinner made it easier to move around. We also filled all the other gaps and nicks while the putty was pliant. Working time was about 15 minutes. Remember that it is fairly easy to bring the hardened putty down, so make it a bit taller than needed.

11 After sanding, we roughed in the problem areas with 100-grit sandpaper,

...followed by progressively lighter grits to achieve the final finish on our nicks and cracks.

12 Though the instructions don't specify, this calls for the hacksaw. We used it to rough out our overloaded wheel and cut down our sanding time. Be careful, though, because you only want it to be close. Use the sandpaper to bring down the putty level.

13 So far, the hacksaw is the Swiss Army knife of the tools we used on the wheel. We brought back the groove that holds the chrome strip in the wheel by carefully dragging the blade down the groove.

14 We whipped out our Sears Craftsman high-speed rotary tool and Dremel No. 429 fiberglass cut-off wheels to make the grooves that retain our Rim-Blow switch. We also roughed the flat area in using the tool.

15 The sanding begins. Move slowly, run your hands across the surface, and feel for high spots. Once you're close, spray a guide coat of primer and sand some more. We finally got what we wanted when the putty was close to the edge of the crack. We used the foam roll and sandpaper to give us the finger groove that was all but gone.

16 We told you it was the Swiss Army knife. We finally used our hacksaw as a graining tool. Because we were going to spray a guide coat of primer over the wheel, we went fairly deep with our graining. Make sure you vary your marks as well as the depth of your marks. The graining runs around the wheel rather than in a single direction, so be creative.

17 After the guide coat was applied, we used some spray can primer rather than the kit-supplied primer for our first coat. Sand the entire wheel with 220, check for any problem areas, fix them, and guide again. Then apply the final coat of primer.