One of the problems that I noted with my grader when I inspected it was that the steering wheel, which appears original, is horrible to touch - it literally sheds black crap all over your hands.  I assume that it is bakelite plastic, or something similar and it is simply decaying away with age.

I'm disinclined to just smash off the existing coating and replace it.  Covering it seems a sensible approach.  Does anyone have any experience with this or suggestions on how to deal with it?  I'd rather keep the machine as original as I can, but I can't have the wheel making my hands and clothing filthy black all the time.

Kurt wrote:

Maybe try sanding what you have til smooth, fill the cracks with epoxy and paint the rim black. That would give you an original look and feel.
 

Sanding until it stops shedding sounds worth a try, thank you for the suggestion.  I'm guessing that it's only the surface that's deteriorating due to 60+ years sitting out in the sun!

That poses the question though - if I sand it back to solid material, might that be enough?  I will have to give it a go and see what happens. 

I'm not worries about the cracks really - they are just the product of age and (I don't think) will effect its function, but yes, epoxy would probably be a good filler.

Paint with good primer then sand then use body filler for cracks sand prime then paint multiply coats even clear epoxy paint works!

steeltracs wrote:

Paint with good primer then sand then use body filler for cracks sand prime then paint multiply coats even clear epoxy paint works!
 

If I was going for a "looks like new" finish then yes something like this would be the go.  But at least for now I'd rather keep it all looking original if I can. A glossy new looking steering wheel just wouldn't feel right I think.

Then spray with clear satin finish

steeltracs wrote:

Then spray with clear satin finish
 

I will start with some sanding, see what that reveals. Then yes a satin clear coat might be good.  I'd be interested to know what the original material's finish looked like.

Try a roll of plumber's sandpaper a strip 16" and work all the way around buffing like a pair of shoes.

you mean emery cloth tape.  available in several grades. wrap around once dont overlap and you can "walk" it around just by changing the angle of pull on the tape.

Powder coat?