Rim blow switch install too easy....

[miketyler 15]

I finished up my rim blow wheel restoration and am pretty pleased with it. Now that the last coat of clear has dried, I installed the new switch tonight. Well, I was all ready for a fight with my popsicle sticks and soapy water and was pleasantly surprised at how easy it slipped in to place....almost too easy in spots.

 

Its a pretty odd predicament as I see all these how-to videos on how to carefully work and massage it in and mine practically slipped into the groove with no effort at all. :confused:

 

There is an area between the 7:00-9:00 position that springs up and doesn't stay nested into the recess in the wheel like it should. Have any of you seen this before? The rest of the switch sits inside the wheel ok and I was thinking about pulling the loose portion and maybe squirting a very thin bead of clear silicon in the bottom of the channel to hold it in place. Have any of you had to resort to something like this?

[indianfiremach 170]

Wheel looks great, how did you do it? I'm working on mine and it has taken forever.

[Print Dad 58]

Hello Mike,

Great looking interior -very nice.

 

Sorry I don't have any real good answers BUt I think the silicone wold work

 

I have been thinking of replacing my switch for years. Mine works now

but only in a few spots .

 

I too have watched a lot of videos on this and even saw a video from a restoration shop the suggested trimming a little of the channel to make it easier. This scares me- - I would mess it up I am sure

 

I was wondering - where did you buy the switch from? Is it a Drake product?

I would love to try this BUT don't want to mess up what I have

 

so laslty - did you tim any before the install - -

Did the switch fit into the groove? I think you will know what I am talking about there

 

I would sure appreciate your thoughts on this - - did you have any cracks in the wheel before the great reso?

 

Thanks - -Print Dad

[miketyler 15]

@indianfilemach

There was a lot to this so here goes. I started fixing the cracks using PC-7, the same epoxy that Eastwood includes in their steering wheel repair kit. It's a two part epoxy that dries slow. I figured if Eastwood incudes it in their kit its got to be decent. The epoxy by itself can be bought cheaply and will come in handy for other uses.

 

I did lots of reading on this part and finally came up with this plan. Any cracks I had I used a hack saw blade on and left a clear 1/16"+ gap and exposed the metal core. This would ensure the epoxy would have maximum surface area to adhere to. You need to be sure to clear out the crevice on the inside so the rim blow switch will seat properly. I also used hacksaw on the outer groove for the metal trim to clean it out as well.

 

With the repairs done, I set out to "regrain" the surface. I did this with hacksaw blades of various pitch teeth and holding each at an angle while I scratched in deep grooves to provide the faux wood "veining". Some of this looked too symmetric so I free handed areas with a 90* hook scribe.

 

I took my wood grain instrument bezel to my paint shop and had them use their camera-match system to get me a pint of the darkest and lightest colors on the panel. The paint was actually their cheapo Omni basecoat product. I then painted the freshly scratched wheel with the lighter tone color and airbrushed in some of the darker paint in areas. After that had set, I then took some black basecoat on a rag and wiped it on like a glaze and quickly wiped it off. The black settled into the scratches as I intended but darkened the entire surface and didn't give me the look I was after. I started experimenting with wiping on the wood grain colors and this gave me the look I needed. It did hide some of the black graining from the previous step but I took a fine tip black pen and selectively penned in the scratches that I wanted to be prominent and added some different penning of my own trying to imitate what I had originally.

 

At this point I masked off the wood area, sanded and base coated the black on the spokes and underside, then pulled tape, applied the metal trim tape, then cleared the whole thing. I put on 3-4 coats of clear and wet sanded in between coats with 600 grit. I finally decided it was good to go and left some surface character in it. I could have easily kept going to get the finish that other restoration shops are known for and had a surface with no flaws and a perfect glass-like finish.

 

 

@printdad

I didn't do any trimming and I am really glad I didn't. The repo switch was a Daniel Carpenter unit and the rubber is a dark brown and is very soft and pliable. There was no damage on the wheel that would indicate the switch channel had opened up. No clue why it slipped in so easily.

Edited February 5, 2014 by miketyler

[miketyler 15]

A few more pics

[Wycked69 20]

Mike, What did you use for the metal trim tape ? Was it the "Great Planes" model airplane tape ?

[miketyler 15]

No, I used this chrome mylar tape. Very shiny, and was already the right width.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/rimblow-steering-wheel-30-ft-mylar-chrome-tape-/321030066183?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item4abee21007&vxp=mtr

[Wycked69 20]

Thanks, I have to say, your wheel looks beautiful. No doubt a lot of time and effort went in to making a 44 year old wheel beautiful again !

[miketyler 15]

It really wasnt too bad. I hope it holds up. The car has power steering and with the new pump, it steers with one finger on the wheel. I cant see it cracking from stress but that old plastic is strill shrinking and contorting and that may have an affect on longevity of the repairs. The Rimblow Buddy reportedly uses plastic welding for his repairs. I bought a plastic welder kit from Harbor Freight. Maybe I will use it on the next one.

[Print Dad 58]

Hello Mike,

I was wondering if you changed the "inserts" on the wheel pad

 

The reason I am asking is a guy on another forum posted a

pix and probelm he is having with the insert pieces not fitting.

 

He is thinking perhaps the pad shrunk? I kinda doubt that myself

I know he got his inserts from MU and they look like they won't fit

I was wondering if you changed the inserts and where you got them?

 

Thanks and by the way - -the wheel is looking GREAT

 

Print Dad

[miketyler 15]

Sorry for not responding on this as I just saw it. I had a problem with one of my inserts as well. It appears the pad had shrunk up and it wouldnt nest inside the pad correctly much like the one in your pic. Not noticeable by most but I may change it out at some point

[jag 10]

Just to add my 2 cents....back in he 70's the replacement switches did slide in easily. You did not need to lube them up. I replaced mine then and it was easy. Maybe Daniel Carpenter has made the insert correctly.

JAG