DIY - Steering wheel trim paint process w/pics
 

Tonight I decided im gonna start prepping and priming my ugly steering wheel trim, finishing up tomorrow with the painting process.
Ofcourse some folks think buying a new one for 60$ and not having to deal with the painting process is easier but eventually down the road you'll have to deal with the peeling rubber and then you have to replace it once again.
I've used this technique on my E39 steering wheel and I can tell you its a durable finish.
So here it goes...
Unhook your battery,take your airbag out and unscrew the 5 torx screws in the back of the steering wheel.You'll also have 2 torx same size in the back of the steering wheel controls...unscrew those too..now the trim is out.

http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/...ps37b2afc2.jpg
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I've started by using a product called Smart Strip.Its about 20$ for a quart at Sherwin Williams...you can use it for other projects around the house and for this particular rubber covered trim was the best solution.(sanding would have been messy and time consuming)

http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/...pscfbef175.jpg

Apply it with a brush and let it sit for 15 min.

http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/...psb183796a.jpg

After that, youll notice how it starts to shrink.Wipe it off with a rag.Wash with water.

http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/...psa8c95ff0.jpg
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Make sure you dry it out completely after you wash it(i used a hair blower)
Light sand with a 600Grit sand paper.

http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2e95a6ec.jpg

Make sure you get all the edges too for a clean looking paint job.

I used this primer to fill in the fine nicks/scratches and it is great at doing that.

http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/...ps976d186e.jpg

Spray 2-3 light coats of primer with 5 minutes dry time in between them.

http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5c8d8298.jpg

The rest of the process coming tomorrow after the primer is completely cured.

:popcorn:

Subscribed. Many people do a rush paint job, I can tell you know what you're doing because of the prep!

Properly stripped old painted, sanded clean surface, and a couple coats of primer? Your finish when done will outlast the car!

Thanks RB, mainly it has to do with the fact that I'm actually a painter.. and if the prep work isn't done properly, the rest can be art but will not last...

On my to-do-list. Thanks!

Sorry didn't post pics of the rest of the process I was really busy .The trim is all done waiting to be installed
Will be posting pics tonight or tomorrow morning the latest!

Amen to that. Too many rush jobs I've seen over the years, I'm not a painter by trade, but everytime my wife wants to paint something, I tell her to give herself 3x as much time as she thinks it will take to complete, and not to even worry about painting itself, as that takes 10% of the actual time lol.

okay, now I tried this too, and whilst i was able to sand down fine, i could not for the life of me get the spray on correctly, i went through.... wait for it 5 cans of spray paint!

each time i got imperfections, damn dust particles settling or tiny fibres, so i hosed down the area,no joy, did it indoors in the spare bedroom and the whole place was coated by 'soot' still no go, got so fed up i that i accepted defeat and bought a new piece of trim....spent a good 7-8 hours on the failed attempts....jeez

Looks great. Will this work on the sport wheel also?

Mine is worse than this, I hate it.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...psf6e1160e.jpg

That sport wheel has the OEM Cosmoschwarz Metallic lower trim section.