Keith A Posted May 25, 2018 Report Share Posted May 25, 2018 I recently become the proud owner of a genuine factory fitted TR 6 steering wheel (it was a free and gratis gift). I have successfully renovated the boss, centre pad and horn assembly however the leather and the three spokes are very tired. I think the leather can be saved with a little bit of TLC, leather feed and colouring but the spokes are rusty and slightly pitted and above any renovation I can achieve in my garage. Does anyone know of a good steering wheel renovation company where I can maybe send it off for a full resto or even some handy tips on how I could bring the spokes back to life? Its one of the final jobs to do to bring the TR 6 back to its original factory condition Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nigel Triumph Posted May 25, 2018 Report Share Posted May 25, 2018 Have you considered a service like this: www.steeringwheelrestoration.co.uk Never tried them but could be what you're wheel needs. Nigel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
richard61 Posted May 26, 2018 Report Share Posted May 26, 2018 In the process of doing mine from a 71 Tr 6, the rim is a dense rubber like material not leather and full of tiny surface pits Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ed_h Posted May 26, 2018 Report Share Posted May 26, 2018 (edited) On my 74, the steering wheel was also dense foam rubber with molded in fake stitching. You can cut off the rubber in one piece, and if you do it carefully, I think you could glue it back on invisibly. This would allow replating of the spokes. Ed Edited May 26, 2018 by ed_h Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Keith66 Posted May 27, 2018 Report Share Posted May 27, 2018 Hi All Yep both Richard 61 and Ed h are correct as far as i am aware. The TR6 wheel was quite a thin dense foam rubber rim moulded to look like a stitched leather product. I have to do a similar resto of mine at some point. So my idea was to rub down the spokes then paint and lacquer them the appropriate colour, mine being a 72 would be silver, but early ones were black. I will them have the rim wrapped in leather, professionally either by a steering wheel renovator, as per Nigel and I have some prices or get a local saddle maker to have a go. Wrapping over the existing wheel rim would give a slightly thicker rim which is more in line with modern cars and would still look pretty original. Cheers Keith Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mark69 Posted May 28, 2018 Report Share Posted May 28, 2018 (edited) My wheel also as the dense rubber outer covering ,this and the central doughnut ring i treated with autoglym rubber and vinyl trim restorer, results were good. I still have a section of the outer rubber sleeve to secure, going to try and inject glue into the core. Hopefully this will work. The central boss was treated to a new coat of black paint, good results again. The three spokes were in a rusty flaky state. I removed rust and old paint finish. I decided to use zinc weld through primer , having used this several times while repairing bodywork. I was impressed with the colour and texture of the coating(slight rough texture). Contemplating a lacquer top coat, but unsure at the moment. Mark Edited January 14, 2019 by Mark69 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
peejay4A Posted May 28, 2018 Report Share Posted May 28, 2018 I’ve restored two steering wheels with a leather kit from these people. Take your time and the results are excellent, even for a klutz like me. http://www.mrsteering.co.uk Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Keith A Posted May 31, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2018 Sorry for late reply and thanks for the tips guys. On closer inspection it is indeed a dense rubber surround and not leather as first thought. It's the spokes that give me the most concern they are badly pitted. I've removed the rust and flaky material. I've restored the central boss and it came up a treat. I think I just need to persevere with rubbing down the spokes until in a decent state. Keith A Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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