How to Restore a Classic Car Steering Wheel - Auto Restoration & Repair Tutorial | Alumilite

Steering Wheel Restore Tutorial.Watch as we demonstrate how to mold and cast a new steering wheel for a 1935 Cadillac. Sourcing a steering wheel for this classic had proven to be challenging, so we were able to make a mold from a wheel that had the grip area repaired. This allowed us to insert a new frame and over-mold it with new resin from Alumilite. Alumilite products used in this video include:
Plat 55 Silicone Mold Making Silicone
www.alumilite.com/products/pl...
Alumilite Alumi-Res Resin
www.alumilite.com/store/p/665-...
Black Dye
www.alumilite.com/store/p/1012...
Alumilite Synthetic Clay
www.alumilite.com/store/p/965-...
Alumilite Clay Tools
www.alumilite.com/products/to...
Alumilite UMR Release Agent
www.alumilite.com/store/p/955-...
Alumilite Corrugated Plastic Strips
www.alumilite.com/store/p/1007...
Excel Knife
www.alumilite.com/store/p/990-...
Additional videos and product information can be found at www.alumilite.com/Auto-Restora...
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[@christopherbriggs9526]

Well, here I thought we was loosing all the old knowledge of how to do things. Todays generation would have probably used a laser to get the measurements into a computer and then 3d print a master and then do a lost wax casting. Props for the guy for still replying to comments after close to the video being 5 years old.

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

Thanks for watching, and for taking the time to leave a comment!

[@buxvan]

Wow, I was certainly impressed with your work. All the best from England UK

[@davidburkholder7360]

Anyone that narrates and explains process this well and calmly must be pro city. Well done.

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

Thanks for watching! :)

[@edpazikas8777]

Well done job! Old ways of working are definitely the best! There is a spirit of art in all of these steps, one must be skilled.

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

Thanks for the kind words!

[@MrMattDat]

Nicely done! Can't wait to see those headlights cast!!

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

Thanks for watching!

[@tomg6284]

Fascinating. Craftsmanship. Awesome!

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

Thanks for watching!

[@richardpippin6159]

I love the care and attention to details.

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

Thanks for watching!

[@99goat99]

Beautiful job. Bravo!

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

Thanks so much for watching!

[@phoenixblack1220]

Excellent work!! Looks like your customer was very happy too!

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

Thanks for watching!

[@Russell_and_Rosko]

Beautiful work.

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

Thanks Russell!

[@user-ve9dv5tt5z]

Outstanding job.

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

Thanks for watching!

[@robertely686]

Great lesson!

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

Thanks for watching!

[@michaellippmann4474]

Fantastic video...should be called making a perfect replica steering wheel! 👌

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

Thanks for the kind words, Michael!

[@myoneblackfriend3151]

Amazing. Great work.

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

Thanks for watching!

[@auxmike718]

This stuff is fantastic!

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

Thanks for watching!

[@Kickstartyourcar]

Awesome work :) WOW. the Cadillac owner at the end has a great smile :)

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

Thanks for watching!

[@Kickstartyourcar]

@@AlumiliteCorporation Nice video, keep it up. Oh and I Subscribed to your channel 😀

[@mikeprice1816]

That was cool good teaching video

[@AwwalKako]

very helpful

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

Thanks for watching!

[@clintonscott9623]

Excellent tutorial....

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

Thanks for watching!

[@shamendraperera921]

good work very useful site ! thanks !

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

Thanks for the kind words!

[@janveit2226]

That is a some serious skill. I have so much admiration for this.

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

Thanks for watching and for the awesome feedback!

[@brianandrews7099]

Have you ever considered developing a “value” line of universal fit two piece cast outer plastic “skin” kits for the DIYers that have a hollowed center sections so that the home restorer could remove the deteriorated plastic material down to the metal ring, then epoxy the two plastic halves of plastic onto the ring? This would be similar to the replacement wooden rims available for some British cars. Often times the inner area of the wheel (from the horn area to the circle) is still salvageable/repairable and the new and old sections could be filled in and sanded to match. Rings would have to be offered in various sizes but I think only a few outer “finger” shape designs would cover most steering wheels made from the late 1940s-mid 1960s. It would’t be a perfect match, but would help the restorer whose budget does not allow for a full recasting.

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

That's a great idea, thank you for your feedback!

[@anchiecerrada7413]

cool

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

Thanks for watching!

[@debonairecatalina6570]

What would be recommended for making the mold pattern if the steering wheel in question is too far gone to replicate the grooved handle? I have a "luminite" steering wheel for a 65 Catalina that I'd like to properly restore rather than caving and getting some goofy looking aftermarket one that would look like a blight on my dash. The translucent handle is eviscerated and the plastic under the chrome horn bar is cracked real bad. I have numerous questions so it may be best if I just contacted you guys directly

[@rickijimenez2386]

Save that mold !!

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

Absolutely! We can get a ton of uses out of it!

[@lyon406]

Did your shop make the metal frame ? Nice job!

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

We didn’t but the gentlemen in the video had that on hand to our knowledge. It’s a great project!

[@1967davethewave]

Awesome job. I'm assuming since the resin started out as clear it could be used to restore a 1960's Pontiac steering wheel that originally had a clear rim?

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

We do have a variety of clear urethane resins that you could use in place of the resin used in this video - it would get you very similar results with a clear end-product!

[@1967davethewave]

@@AlumiliteCorporation Excellent, thank you!

[@alexlopez2359]

how long does that take to set? i want something that sets right away

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

Great question, Alex! Alumi-Res cures in 2 minutes and is ready to be demolded in 30 minutes.

[@SDMTAPIZADOS]

Hello, what kind of material did you mold to make the steering wheel? Thank you very much

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

Hi there - not sure what you're asking. The blue mold making material is our Plat 55 silicone!

[@SDMTAPIZADOS]

@@AlumiliteCorporation i mean the black material that made to the mold

[@Peter_Riis_DK]

These guys work like happy amateurs. 😊

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

We may not be perfect but we love to share our knowledge with other makers!!

[@Peter_Riis_DK]

@@AlumiliteCorporation Always nice to have room for improvement. 😉

[@fredvv44]

I have the same situation except I need to cast the hub around the spokes of my steering wheel. Originally the hub was poured in zinc and I want to duplicate that. What mold material would I use to cast zinc?

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

High Strength 3 silicone would work great for this application! You can find it here: www.alumilite.com/silicones/high-strength-3/

[@fredvv44]

@@AlumiliteCorporation Great, thank you for the reply.

[@Dizzykitty817]

Is there a reason the clay and silicon are the same color? If the clay were red or orange, it would be a lot easier to quickly determine if you have removed all the clay.

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

There was no reason for the two products being the same color, they just are - if this is something that you are extremely worried about you can always use our Sculpy clay that comes in a few different colors (none of which are blue 😉)!

[@TheRelaxedguy001]

I need a resin that has characteristics of Polycarbonate. electrical isolation and impact resistance. Also needs to be thin enough to fill smaller voids.

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

Hey there Mark, we recommend reaching out to our technical services team at [e-mail]! They should be able to help you find the best product for your project!

[@MrOmarjones1]

Can you guys post the location of the supplies you guys used.

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

Hello - our products are available at Alumilite.com. Thanks for watching!

[@user-id6gs5xj9b]

how can I resin cast dual color resin tail lamp?

[@rodneyspringer5352]

how much do you charge to restore steering wheels?

[@Traderjoe]

If he didn’t have the steering wheel, how did you mold a non existent part?

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

Great question! You'd have to make a master out of something like wood, plaster, etc.

[@keithmctaggart7663]

@@AlumiliteCorporation so he borrowed a steering wheel to use?

[@clayz1]

@@keithmctaggart7663 Yes. Somebody else had one he could use.

[@pedroalmodovar6709]

What's the blue stuff???

[@koekoek575]

why is the clay the exact same color as the silicone? seems that makes it much harder to get it all of compared to say red clay.

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

Blue just happened to be the color of clay we had on hand but you can use whatever color you want!

[@adubz54]

How many pounds of Platt55 were used?

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

From what we can tell from the video, it looks like it was a 50 lbs kit that is a bulk size not sold on our website. We're not sure exactly how much of the kit was used (since this a fairly old video) but if you reach out to our technical service team at [e-mail] they should be able to help you figure out the amount you would need for a specific project!!

[@marandawalling9094]

How do fi get that blued stuff,

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

It's our silicone Plat 55 and Synthetic Modeling Clay - you can find both of them on our website: www.alumilite.com

[@lifeisastruggle2627]

Hello !!!! What do you lubricate the steering wheel so that it does not stick ??? .....

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

Silicone only sticks to silicone so it doesn't stick to the steering wheel - if this is something you are worried about though, you could use mold release in this situation to be extra sure.

[@hooter7003]

Serious money making process there

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

You should give it a try!

[@stjerneskruetraekker]

Me: I have a brand new Tesla I don't care KZbin algoritm: It's time now Me: Ok

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

Thanks for watching!

[@K7classicrockfan]

But there is something that makes no sense. The guy at the start said they couldn't find an original steering whell, so my question is where did they get the steering wheel to make the mold?

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

We had an original but it needed to be replaced and we couldn't find an original replacement - so we made our own by copying our old one!

[@stoneyswolf]

China be like I can mass produce these things.

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

You got us there, but it's definitely a fun project to do during down time!

[@Sniperssx]

should be named as how to build

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

Thanks for the feedback.

[@user-en1bf2su2p]

Нихуясе

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

Thanks for watching!

[@user-en1bf2su2p]

@@AlumiliteCorporation подписывайся на мой канал.смотри на мотожизнь в русской деревне.ужаснись как мы тут,благодаря санкциям всяким,выживаем

[@timhitt9541]

I guess there's nothing on/in a car that cant be fixed.

[@AlumiliteCorporation]

Not when you have silicone and resin at your fingertips!