Scratched my steering wheel - update - messed it up even more

[PMD24]

Grrrr. Screwdriver slipped and I scratched my steering wheel. It feels like the scratch is just in the clear finish but can't tell for sure. Looking for expert (Hi Jeff) advice on fixing this.

226759

Thanks,

Pat

PS - when are philips head screws going to be outlawed?

[Jimmy B]

I have one I am not using if push comes to shove.

[Dave M]

Pat , where is the scratch? And a pic might help.

[gbranham]

New steering wheels are cheap from FFR...

[rich grsc]

Buy a new one, send me the old one. Mine was bent in a crash, so a small scratch won't bather me in the least. I have ZERO OCD ;)

[PMD24]

Sorry, I edited the original post and added a pic yesterday. Not sure why it didn't stick. did again and added here as well.

226758

[PMD24]

Buy a new one, send me the old one. Mine was bent in a crash, so a small scratch won't bather me in the least. I have ZERO OCD ;)

I'm definitely OCD so looking at that every time I drive the car will make me crazy. Will be in touch.

Pat

[Mike.Bray]

PS - when are philips head screws going to be outlawed?

Doesn't matter to me, I automatically change out to socket head screws.

[PMD24]

Yeah. I tossed all Philips that were in my interior and exterior wood screw supplies. Time to toss all.

[Flip Smiley]

I scratched mine removing the center cap. I polished it out. I think you can polish this out. Start with some sandpaper and work from 80 grit to fine all the way to polishing compound. I used a Dermel tool polishing tools.
You can feather it in as you go. Check out tutorials on line for aluminum polishing. You can also check out metal finishers or polishers in your area if you don’t feel comfortable trying it yourself. Mine came out fine and you cannot see where it was scratched.
If you lived closer I would take care of it for you.
Good luck.

[Flip Smiley]

If shipping wasn’t so expensive I’d recommend sending it to me for rework. I think it can be made to look new!

[PMD24]

I scratched mine removing the center cap. I polished it out. I think you can polish this out. Start with some sandpaper and work from 80 grit to fine all the way to polishing compound. I used a Dermel tool polishing tools.
You can feather it in as you go. Check out tutorials on line for aluminum polishing. You can also check out metal finishers or polishers in your area if you don’t feel comfortable trying it yourself. Mine came out fine and you cannot see where it was scratched.
If you lived closer I would take care of it for you.
Good luck.

Thank you Flip. Curious, did you respray it with anything? I think I'll give it a try. Nothing to lose.

[Flip Smiley]

I don’t think mine had any coating to begin with. I think it was just polished aluminum. I did not coat it with anything after removing the scratches. Keep in mind this was provided with a MKII kit from 20 years ago. At the time the stock wheel included with the kit was a wood rim and was stamped with Moto Lita on the back. F5R may have made a supplier change? If your wheel is different with a coating my solution may not be a good fit for you? If it’s just polished aluminum you should be good to go. Start close to the scratch and work your way out. Feather it out without removing the material adjacent to the scratch all at once.
Check out some YouTube on the subject.
Trust this helps.
Flip

[PMD24]

I was able to sand out the scratch. Started with 220, then 400. The finish was actually harder to sand through than the aluminum under it. So, at this point it seems like a ton of work to sand the whole thing and recoat and not impact the wood portion.

226926

I think this one is a total loss. Rich, if you want this to try and salvage it, LMK.

[rich grsc]

Replied to your pm

[i.e.427]

I've got one here that came with the King's Cobra, a car we finished this past year. I pulled it out of the box during final assembly and it was already scratched. Kit was 3 years old when we got it so I wasn't going to try and fuss with F5R about it. Grabbed another new one from upstairs that we had here at the shop and moved on. I'm going to the powder-coater in a few days and I'm hoping he can powder-coat it. If I remember, I'll post pictures on our page when it comes back.

Frank

[egchewy79]

you're going to need to get a lot finer than 400 grit. Get some 600, 800, 1000, 2000 and start wet sanding. Then get a buffer attachment for drill w/ some polishing compound to get it to a mirror finish. Or just pony up for a new wheel.
I polished my aluminum intake and that was a pain in the arse w/ all the nooks/crannies compared to the steering wheel.