I know there are great restoration guys out there for steering wheels, but I have an extra steering wheel that I would like to experiment with. I'm pretty good at filling cracks and small pieces missing, my biggest issue is simulating the woodgrain paint. Any suggestion on types of paint/stain to use?
I did one about 20 years ago (no longer have it). Marine epoxy to fill in the missing and shrunk areas. A sharp exacto blade to hand etch the grain. Hand mixed various shades of brown and tan pigments by eye to match with an airbrush. But I had to repaint the whole thing as the plastic has a different opacity than paint, Even when the color was matched, the opacity made the painted area stand out as different. Then clear coated it with urethane. It looked presentable, but didn't look like an original woodgrain wheel when i was done.
It took a long time to do. After doing one myself, I totally understand why the pros charge what they do. There isn't easy, off the shelf, foolproof products that restore these things. It takes an artist to really do it right and lots of labor.