blange400

The urethane finish on my steering wheel has developed three hairline cracks that you dont notice but can feel. I'd like to fix them but don't know how.

If there's a way short of sending it to American Stitches or such let me know.

Anyone have this issue and fixed it successfully?
Thanks
Bob

Guitarman

Anytime you have cracks in a material, replacement or refinishing is pretty much academic.

I know of no way to hide cracking in clear urethane via the application of some product (save a steering wheel cover!).

You could try to mitigate them by (wet)sanding, but if you go through the finish, you're back to refinishing the whole piece. Sorry the news isn't any better.

Best wishes.

blange400

Thanks , Yeah I was hoping that a toothpick dipped in Urethane and fill & polish was the answer, but I suppose that would make a raised area. I wonder how hard it would be to polish it down?

Hoping not to have to pull and refinish,

Bob

LXMN

I too, have a few cracks in the finish on my wood steering wheel. I figured that it would not be possible to do a quick fix short of a refinish.

Do you think that the heat from the sun had anything to do with this happening? Expanding the finish causing it to swell up?

blange400

I believe mine is from being in Las Vegas for it's previous life. It has the black interior too so I'm sure it got baked. I sent a e-mail question about it to American Stitches but never got a reply. They make wood wheels.

Guitarman

Thermal stress is possible, but the clear finish is likely ( typically) urethane, which is what is on the car's paint itself, and you don't see that kind of effect there typically (unless severely and very suddenly thermal stressed to extremes) so heat alone should'nt be a factor IMO.

One possibility is flexing in the steering wheel from hand/arm pressure, or bumping it during entry/ exit. A high end urethane clear is pretty elastomeric, but there could be an issue with how it's bonded to the wood etc. Also, if the film build is too thick, it's more prone to crack, which is one reason applying many more coats of clear to a car isn't always a great idea.

Really impossible to say without guessing, which is all I'm really doing.

tuan92129

Never heard of wood steering wheels cracking?!?!?!
you can fill the cracks with clear and then polish it.

Lexiss_sc430

iTrader: (2)

I've noticed that also, my LS has a few of these cracks on the wheel and yet my SC's wheel is flawless. No scratches or nicks any where on the surface..

blange400

Yeah, moisture content of the wood, heat, layers of urethane, closed car.
Then, driving in New Mexico puts unbelievable stresses on a steering wheel...think Italy-in-town on a moped. Only with photo radar.
The cracks could be teeth marks!
Anyway , thanks for the discourse. Fill and polish but with what, well more urethane huh, but how?

Anybody else crackin'?

LXMN

I do not think that the cracks come from stress gripping of the steering wheel. It has to be something else. Auto manufacturers farm out parts to be finished by businesses other than their own. That quality is not always up to OEM standards.

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

My 99 LS has about 4 or so of these cracks in the wood wheel. My 2004 RX when I had it though had no such issues. I know the years are different, but my RX actually had 64K miles of use on it while the LS only has 47K miles on it.

Guitarman

As LXMN mentioned, Lexus farms out these items to vendors, and it's quite possible that different year vehicles went to different vendors, and that each used a different quality clearcoat paint.

Varying quality may be the issue, just as cheap auto body paint has different characteristics and longevity as opposed to higher end stuff.


I have see the ramifications of that ( quality issue) because I paint cars on occasion, and talk with people who have had issues with different types and grades of paint.

It's fun to conjecture, but we really need someone in corporate that signs off on the different vendors who subcontract these type of items, and the details of each. And chances are slim we'll see one post about this.

tuan92129

Because the clear coating is the same as the body clear coat. You could try some clear coat touch up paint??

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

its the same idea but a whole different KIND of clear coat.

idk what all the fuss is about, mine has quite a few cracks (which as previously described can barely be seen but easily felt) and i love it, gives some traction/texture/feel to an otherwise plain feeling top section.

cyclehead

Dredging up an old thread - my steering wheel has cracks in the varnish along the upper (sun baked) surface. Has anyone refinished theirs? Has anyone tried the POR-15 epoxy finish kit ($125)? Is there any way to successfully refinish the surface without removing the wheel from the car?