CSL steering wheel spokes colour

[Marc-M]

I need to restore my CSL steering wheel and at the moment the spokes are black – I have looked around and some are black and some are chrome???

Can anyone shine a bit of light on what it should be???

mine is black paint over chrome???

this is a local car an its chrome - bad picture

 

[30csl]

Chrome Marc - some of the German CSLs had an Alpina wheel that was black

 

[OCCoupe]

Hi Marc,

The original finish on the petri wheel is a brushed nickel. A good chrome plating shop should be able to do this for you as nickel plating is part of the chrome plating process. I hope this helps.
Mike

 

[deQuincey]

dear Marc
if the first pic shows your Wheel, yes that is a Petri, and it should be chromed so silver
rohan is also right that some cars had a MOMO alpina Wheel in black (i guess anodized aluminium, but not sure on this point)

a Petri should look like the second of your pics

 

[Markos]

The black one discussed is anodized black aluminum. It is a 380mm Momo prototipo.

OP,

Chrome and nickel is really durable, so you can strip that paint off and see what you are dealing with. without damaging the plating. Since it is brushed like Mike said you can use a scotch brite pad or 0000 steel wool. Just follow the grain of the wheel, which you can see really well on Mikes restored wheel. Keep in mind that to replace the wheel you will need to pull the foam and leather. Factor that into the restoration cost.

 

[Marc-M]

fab - thanks everyone - will get it chromed up - I have all the chrome to do on the car, plus all the anodizing as well - so a bit more should not be a problem - apart from the cost! it will all be in the £1000s - but its worth it
just need to find someone who can put the leather on.. but that should be easy.
Again thanks

Regards

Marc

 

[OCCoupe]

Marc, my 38cm petri had a rubberized foam grip. I carefully cut the tabs at each spoke removing them and saving them. The foam can withstand the plating process. Removing the three tabs allows the plating to reach past the tabs so that you have no seam where the plating ends and the foam starts. The plating shop should have a protective tape that will help prevent the saturation of the chemicals in to the foam. Once finished reattach the foam tabs that you cut off and wrap the wheel in leather. It is very difficult to replicate the foam with the finger indentations. Getting it to stay on the wheel without rotating is even harder which is why saving the original foam is so important.

 

[Chris Scow]

I have found that the foam on these wheels responds very well to polyurethane glue when you need to bond dissimilar materials like foam and the inner ring of the steering wheel. What I have found to work best is to first get both surfaces as clean as possible. Then wet the inside of the foam using water in a spray bottle. Dripping wet. Then wearing disposable gloves apply a generous coat of polyurethane glue (I use gorilla brand poly glue)and coat the ring of the wheel with good smear everywhere. Then bring the foam and wheel structure together and orient/situate the foam where it should be relative to the spokes and finger indentations facing rearward.... and once happy, use blue painters tape to close the seams and wrap it all using an ace bandage (compression bandage used when you hurt your wrist) and allow the glue to cure. What happens is polyurethane glues cure in the presence of moisture and you added plenty. There is a reaction taking place where foam forms and expands and fills all the little crevices and encapsulates the metal ring in the core. After a couple hours cure time unwrap the wheel and clean up the foam that found its way out by knife trimming and sanding by hand.

Then you can have a new leather wrap put on. The new leather wrap will cover the smallest of blemishes but it wont cover up missing chunks or uneven surfaces so its like doing bodywork when preping the wheel. If you can feel a defect with your hands you will likely see it in the finished leather.