When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Refinished my cracked steering wheel finish by masking off the leather, sanding the finish till smooth(not all the way through old poly) with 300 grit, wiped with alcohol and put on 8 thin coats of water based “Wipe On” Minwax gloss polyurethane, applied with an old tee shirt. I can still see the cracks if I look close but now it’s smooth with a deep hard finish. I let it dry minimum of 4 hours between coats and last coat 24 hours. So I basically sealed up the old cracked surface and it looks great!
Thanks. My ls430 needs the same but didnt kinow what to use. Its basically very crinkled on the side toward the front where the sun shines. Thanks for the DIY instructions.
Jimisbell, I had to do something as the seam on the outside was feeling kind of loose. Also you could use the oil based poly but I didn’t want to cause lots of fumes. I have enough dead brain cells already: ) the wipe on Minwax is hard to find at Lowe’s and Home Depot . Got mine at Amazon.
I watched this YouTube video and substituted water based poly.
I have found that using a 2" x 2" sterile gauze pad from CVS is the ideal applicator for Poly Wipe-On. You can lay on a much thicker coat without fear of bubbles or dripping. I do about three layers and let each dry 24 hours before applying. I don't use sand paper because of the "rippled" back side of the wheel. Instead I use 00000 steel wool. The end result can leave your wheel so smooth and slick that you may think it might not be safe to drive!
Calipers arrived this week. Not as clean as the LS400 units used in the SC but with remanufactured parts you get what you get. These all have more nicks and scratches than I would have liked but I hope the painter can clean these up before painting.
Here are the decals that will be used. Not sure yet which ones will be used; may even go curved on the fronts and straight on the back.
Wow, those calipers look hammered! Thankfully paint will clean them up. I vote for the straight decals all around.
I've been looking at the Centric calipers on RockAuto... they have ones that come powder coated black. I painted my calipers black a few years back with high temp caliper paint and it isn't holding up well and I'm tired to retouching them.
If you want a clean crisp look, take the calipers apart and have a metal finishing shop tidy them up.
A friend had some Porsche calipers done a few years back and after the finishers were done they looked better than new.
Those look rough, especially the front calipers and no amount of paint is going to hide that surface.
Delivered these to the shop yesterday; they specialize in caliper painting (typically when the calipers are still on the vehicle). The tech thought they were not too bad and will clean them up. Seemed pretty confident.
Appears the best fit is the curved decals on the fronts and straight on the rears. The rear area for the decals is limited. When I get them back I will take pics before they get installed. The brake installer may take pics during the install for me (possibly).
Ordered a rear strut mount for a LS460 in an attempt to use it on my LS430. Its a better design and hopefully eliminates the soft clunking on sharp bumps or washboard type roads. I believe with the original design strut mount with a separate rebound support washer that is the cause of the clunking. Yes I have replaced any possible bad bushing, exhaust hangers, retorqued every bolt, every panel inside the car, including the trunk, is secured and doesn't rattle. 100% the noise is produced during the dampening, more apparent the slower you go on rumble type roads. I'll report back once I compare the strut mounts.
Not today technically, but last weekend. I put in a new timing belt (Aisin kit with the water pump and pulleys), spark plugs, serpentine belt, air filters. Made sure the tires were pumped up and washed the car. Should be good to go for a while, although I should check on the rear brakes since I just bought the car and don't know when they've been done last.
got my carplay stereo installed today, used a TYTO-01 wiring harness. everything works fine, gotta go about reinforcing my connections tomorrow. wasn't entirely sure the setup was even going to work so I kinda half assed the connections. But it works, so perfecting the install is next
06-16-21, 12:49 PM
