early Momo loose foam

[mmccusername]

I have an early Prototipo with leather and stitching in decent shop, but the foam is very loose and/or shrunken in places underneath the leather. Has anyone had any luck injecting... magic goop?... under the leather and firming up the foam? If so, what kind of magic goop?
Thanks, Michael

 

[aguirola]

There is a silicone syringe and the silicone with it that makes it very feasible to achieve.
Just saw it on the web the other day. Try this:

Connector Plug Waterproof Silicone Sealant w/ Applicator Syringe

This is the silicone used to waterproof your BMS, power port plug and all the other electrical connector plugs on the controller. 1 bottle will be more than enough to do 10 boards! Includes Re-usable glass syringe for easily applying and extracting excess silicone. We no longer produce Complete...

1wheelparts.com

Please post results!

Regards, Alberto

 

[mmccusername]

Thanks for link, Alberto. Is silicon the right thing to use? Have you ever done this?

 

[aguirola]

I have no idea, as never done it before, but it appears to be a good solution.
Plus, very inexpensive, and no need to recover a 'precious' wheel, if implants are easier and effective.
Please keep us updated

Regards, A.

 

[Krzysztof]

I can tell that silicon-based glue used for windshields is really hard chemistry to peel of.

Someone use it to glue the plastic trim onto my car's fender and it took me hours to cut and peel it off.

Silicon to silicon can be different.

For sure I would apply it on several places with not a big volume per injection.

 

[deQuincey]

I have an early Prototipo with leather and stitching in decent shop, but the foam is very loose and/or shrunken in places underneath the leather. Has anyone had any luck injecting... magic goop?... under the leather and firming up the foam? If so, what kind of magic goop?
Thanks, Michael

How could you be a well known member with 89 messages ?

and I don’t know you…

 

[mmccusername]

How could you be a well known member with 89 messages ?

and I don’t know you…

I don’t know you either but I can tell we are going to be great friends.

 

[deQuincey]

I don’t know you either but I can tell we are going to be great friends.

sure, not necessarily but…
I thought it was a description related to the number of posts or time spent in the forum
so I am surprised
joined in 2019
with 98 messages
surprised, not your fault
others with 7800 posts are also well-known members, where is the difference?

 

[Ed G]

DeQ- What's your solution?

 

[aguirola]

How could you be a well known member with 89 messages ?

and I don’t know you…

Is this about how much silicone he has?

Michael, I would try to get a medicinal needle, as its tip is cut diagonally, to make insertion easier,
and not leave a horrible hole.

I don't know you either, but I commend you on saving a lovely wheel.

Regards, Alberto

 

[mmccusername]

I have to admit, I'm afraid to be the first person to inject silicon into my Alpina steering wheel. Seems like that would get very hard. I thought I remembered discussions about injecting some kind of foam, but perhaps that was with Petri wheels. Right now I'm using Leatherique products to heavily moisturize the leather and remove the oils and dirt, which is helping to soften it at least.

If anyone has experience dealing with the padding underneath, I'd love to hear about it.
Thanks, Michael

 

[aguirola]

Michael,
Why not get a broomstick, slice a chunk then fill it with silicone than wrap it
with a piece of spare leather, and see how it goes. The problem with foam, it compresses,
and might not be able to control the amount as it expand rather rapidly.
Clear silicone is not very stiff.

Regards, Alberto

 

[Bert Poliakoff]

My Momo Alpina style had very, very bad foam. Sent it to Chris Scow and came back as new. Also my choice of stitch type and thread color. You can google him

 

[mmccusername]

Thanks for all the helpful replies. The wheel is responding well to Leatherique Rejuvenator Oil, which even seems to be expanding the foam a little. Give that the original leather and stitching is in such good condition, I think I'm going to leave it at that for now.

 

[Arde]

Leatherique is magic. I was tempted to drink it during the pandemic.

 

[JohnP_02]

Michael, welcome the forum!

You want to use polyurethane glue, not silicon. The poly glue expands so in theory can fill those low spots in the soft or dried up foam underneath. The needle that Alberto mentioned is the way to go from what I understand. Caveat, I have not tried this myself but was told this is the method of choice by a professional. I would certainly never try it on an Alpina wheel first, but let me know how it goes if you do! Heh