Overall my steering wheel was in decent shape as the rim had been wrapped for a long time. But the center pad looked worn out.
Are there any other instances of Argent silver within the interior that I should be trying to match color and gloss-wise? I think I can match to the glovebox emblem well. Granted it’s aged also.
Overall the wood grain and pad are in good shape. Since it smelled funky, I washed the pad gently in the sink and dried it well. Then I sprayed “Odor Bully” all over it for a few days to get it smelling fresh. Trim ring was the worst piece so got a new one. Plan is to paint both the ring and emblem to be close to factory correct.
Here’s the paint options I have collected and some sample pucks I made. VHT Argent (far right) has too much metallic in it. Next to it is the same paint with VHT Matte clearcoat. Ford Motorcraft Argent (2nd from left) has less metallic. It’s fairly close but “newer” looking than XR7 glovebox emblem. Adding the VHT Matte over it(3rd from left) tones is down a little.
Looks good! The only other thing in the interior that is matte silver is the horn ring. My process is to paint the plastic trim around the pad with Krylon aluminum enamel. After it dries overnight I shoot it with a coat of VHT matte clear enamel. Seems to match the horn ring well.
Thanks Royce. Good to hear that you’ve tried the VHT Matte and like the results. I will shoot a puck of the Krylon and check that out. A question though - Do you spray the Krylon, VHT and then add the black to the recessed area? Or does the VHT clear go over the top of everything?
Here’s the Krylon Metallic Aluminum that I was able to find. A shade or two darker than the Argent and better match to the horn ring. I made samples with and without the matte clear but I couldn’t see any visual difference. I’ll prep’ the parts and do some more experiments with the blacks.
I know this isn’t the route you’re taking, but just for comparison, I sent mine out to get vacuum “chrome” plated. I have a base model and everything else in the interior has a shiny chrome finish (other than the horn ring), so I figured it would look good along with the shiny repro trim bezel on the steering wheel. I know it’s not “concours” but I like it.
I found this epoxy enamel stainless steel appliance paint at my local Ace hardware, and it has been perfect for where I need a very low-gloss bluish tinted metallic color without metal flake.
Thanks Blitz! Yes Chrome has a certain appeal. The entire rest of my dashboard is original. In good condition with only a few bits of original chrome that cleaned up nicely. So a subtle restoration of the wheel is the way I’m going. With that said I am trying out an accent color on the wheel wrap. Unsure if I’m going to keep it but it sure does feel good.
As an aside. I did work for Automotive interiors some time ago. In today’s standard’s steering wheels will have lower backlighting brightness and subdued shininess. This is to avoid driver distractions etc… Unsure when OEMs started to think on that level as the 60’s were just to beginning of highway safety standards.
Here’s the Appliance Epoxy Stainless Steel paint that I found at Ace Hardware. I’d say it’s one shade brighter that the Krylon and a bit more metallic actually. I wasn’t sure which color to use so I asked my kids. Going to give the Krylon a try. It’s the best match and looks good contrasted with the black I am planning for the inlay.
I scrubbed the emblem and exposed the silver paint beneath. It would seem to indicate that the horn ring has changed shades over the years. Entirely possible or the match of painted metal vs painted plastic was a bit off from the factory.
Here’s an update. Doing the black recess was a chore to say the least. Used Testors black semi-gloss. Ended up looking good but it took four rounds of paint/touch-ups with toothpicks and other “micro” tools. These pics are the raw paint and I will clearcoat after 48 hours.
So here’s the final product. Thanks to all for the paint advice and positive comments. I really like the improvement it made. I messed up one aspect however. I never test fit the metal woodgrain piece into the plastic bezel. So of course it didn’t fit. Here’s a video about how I addressed that issue.
Unsure if I’m going to keep it but it sure does feel good.
