Steering wheel composition?

[Jazn]

Anyone know what our steering wheels are made of?
Is it just a hard plastic?

[ja17]

Hello Jazn,
Yes, they are hard plastic with a metal rod inside. Some people have restored these by filling cracks with epoxy and refinishing with a tough two stage industrial grade paint. I don't know how well these hold up.

Joe Alexander
Blacklick, Ohio

[A Dalton]

I have done two w/epoxy and they have held up great.
 One thing I did do before the epoxy was to use CA glue on any crack that had exposed the metal skeleton ring ..don't know if that helped, but so far , so good..

[ted280sl]

Jazn,
  I filled the cracks on my steering wheel and refinished it. It took a while but, it cam out looking great. I put it back on the car and the cracks cam back. I wet out and bought a new steering wheel. I beleiev the cost was $165. It looks great and no new cracks.
Ted 1969 280SL

[Lilly]

Hard plastic ?  I was under the impression that the white MB steering wheels in the W113 were made of ivory.  Will the all-knowing Master Pagoda please clear up this confusion ?

[vincesy]

Can someone help provide the specifics of the epoxy or the industrial grade paint that they used or can be used to fill cracks on the steering wheel?

[TheEngineer]

The very original ones were made of genuine Ivory obtained from the Ivory Coast. The black ones were obtained from the Black Coast and made from black corral. Recent changes in the law have resulted in restrictions on the import of Ivory and black corral.

[JamesL]

quote:Originally posted by theengineer

The very original ones were made of genuine Ivory obtained from the Ivory Coast. The black ones were obtained from the Black Coast and made from black corral. Recent changes in the law have resulted in restrictions on the import of Ivory and black corral.

Did the green ones come from Greenland?

[enochbell]

Engineer,

You are usually spot-on, but on this subject you missed: the very early black ones were actually black rhino tusk.  The changeover was mid-65 230sl, I think?

g



'64 230sl, fully sorted out...ooops, spoke too soon

[Naj ✝︎]

So, how many rhinos or elephants needed per steering wheel? :?: [:0]

naj

68 280SL

[George Des]

I did mine with PC-7 epoxy. You need to first undercut the cracks with a Moto-Tool and fine tip to give the epoxy something to bite onto. The whole wheel needs to be sanded with a medium grade of sandpaper--about 380-400--primed with epoxy primer--I used PPG DP 90--and then finish painted with a base/clear (blk base) PPG acrylic urethane--I used DCC Concept. Wheel looks like new and the paint holds up very well. I believe you would have problems if you use anything other than a urethane paint.

George Des

[KevinC]

Hate to ask how they get zebra wood.

Kevin Caputo
Boca Raton, FL
1967 230 SL Automatic
670 Light Ivory
113 Bronze/Brown MB Tex

[vincesy]

George, thanks for the tip.   I also found some tips from other people restoring steering wheels for their older cars.  

http://www.thebugshop.org/bsfqstrg.htm
http://fedora.net/falconaut/tech/steering_wheel.html

It also seems like restoring steering wheels is a more common project than I thought, requiring more patience than money.  
I even found a kit out there for such a project.

http://www.eastwoodco.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemType=PRODUCT&RS=1&itemID=2569&keyword=52194Z

I misjudged how much more visible the cracking will be on an ivory steering wheel.

[George Des]

When I did my wheel several years ago, I believe I tapped into the two primary web sources you cited. The advice on them is a very good guide to follow. Good luck

George Des

[joelj]

Black Rhino tusks? real ivory?? Wow!! I better start looking for the old steering wheels this will be a collectors item

Joel

quote:Originally posted by enochbell

Engineer,

You are usually spot-on, but on this subject you missed: the very early black ones were actually black rhino tusk.  The changeover was mid-65 230sl, I think?

g



'64 230sl, fully sorted out...ooops, spoke too soon

1969 280sl auto
White exterior
Blue interior

[rwmastel]

Don't forget about the moon rock shifter handles that came into vougue after the Apollo missions!

Rodd
Powell, Ohio, USA
1966 230SL, Euro, Auto, Leather, both  tops
1994 E420

[Cees Klumper]

quote:Originally posted by KevinC

Hate to ask how they get zebra wood.

Kevin Caputo

The Zebra wood is created by glueing alternating plaques of white and black wood together using Gorilla glue (don't ask). The white wood is usually sourced from Ivory coast, and the black from the Black Coast.

Cees ("Case") Klumper in Amsterdam
'69 white 280 SL automatic

[joelj]

Cees,
that was a funny post. I've never heard of the black coast. would the red interior come from the red sea by any chance? hehe

cheers,

Joel

quote:Originally posted by cees klumper

quote:Originally posted by KevinC

Hate to ask how they get zebra wood.

Kevin Caputo

The Zebra wood is created by glueing alternating plaques of white and black wood together using Gorilla glue (don't ask). The white wood is usually sourced from Ivory coast, and the black from the Black Coast.

Cees ("Case") Klumper in Amsterdam
'69 white 280 SL automatic

1969 280sl auto
White exterior
Blue interior