steering wheel restoration

[aforests]

Any suggestions on products to safely clean off old grime and paint from sheller steering wheel?

[Kendall]

Progressively finer and finer wet/dry emery paper is what I used on mine.
Kendall

[4x4M38]

Aaron,
I'd use a degreaser like mineral spirits for the grease, or
something not petroleum based like dish soap and a tough
nylon brush.

Then use a water based paint stripper to soften the paint.
Use one of those green pads for cleaning pots and pans to
scrub off the paint.

Or, once you have the grease off use foam sanding pads to cut
the paint. They usually come in two grits, one on each side.
As mentioned, start heavy and go lighter to keep the scratches
down.

If your wheel is green look for the base color as you sand.
Stop when you hit it.

I used JB Weld to fill the cracks and sanded to blend, but any
epoxy product would work as long as it it clean.

[oilleaker1]

You have to be careful what chemical you put on it. I had good luck on my WW2 steering wheel using laquer thinner and a rag which dulled it, and then fine steel wool which polished it like new. Too coarse and you will leave permanent sand scratches. Experiment on the bottom of the wheel in a small spot. I also had to chip off the real thick stuff. You can easily gouge the original plastic. Laquer will really go after old enamels, but the new base clear paints are almost impossible. Hopefully yours is the old stuff. John