Refinish Atari Steering Wheel

[tommyinajar]

I have a 3 player Super Sprint and one of the wheels has a chunk of the black coating missing from it. They appear to be a metal ring with maybe a vinyl around it? Anyone know if there is a way to fix it, I thought of bondo, but the vinyl is to flexible for the bondo I believe. Thanks.

[bkenobi]

I would lean more towards an epoxy, but I don't know how you will get it molded in the right shape.  Even if you can, I'm not sure how well it will adhere.  My suggestion would be to replace it.  I picked up an extra wheel locally in trade, but I would be surprised if you can't find something on ebay if nothing else.

EDIT:  I just checked ebay and there are 3 relatively inexpensive possible candidates right now.  There's a Night Driver wheel (probably would work especially if you just need the wheel itself).  There's a Pole Position (the mechanism is different, but I'm assuming the wheel itself would work).  There's also an Atari "500" wheel that looks identical to my Championship Sprint wheel (should be the same as your super sprint).  All of these are <$50 shipped.  I would think you should be able to get something for closer to $20, but it depends on how bad you want it I guess.

[bleargh]

FYI... a few years back I bought a "box o'steering wheels" off of eBay.  I wanted it specifically for a red-flecked wheel that was in the box, but the whole box has since, uh, sat around unused (gee, big surprise).

Box has nine or ten wheels in it, though; if you're still looking for one in particular then drop a photo in here of which one you're looking for and I'll see if I've got one here in the box.  Note, that these are just the wheels; I don't have stems or encoder wheels for them (part of why they're unused).  Considering that I only wanted one or two, though, I've got several to spare...

[tommyinajar]

I looked around more and someone suggested using Plasti-dip. I put the first coat on but I don't know, I might be better off just replacing it. If you would be kind enough to look that would be great.

P.S. and now a short rant.....


It took me almost a year to find a good med res 19" monitor in my price range, now I've got to replace another wooden side board that was literally bondo'ed together, (I already did the base). I Still need to paint it, replace the speakers, and replace the artwork-$175 on Ebay right now. I went to a local Super Auction on Saturday and a great condition Super Sprint, with great wood and picture, & played fine went for $150

I know restoring it is half the fun but come on- with what I've already spent, a nice complete one for less money than just the artwork!!  

[eds1275]

I would've put the ugly wheel in the position you play in most [I assume the middle?], gone to the auto store, and got a steering wheel cover. I probably would have gotten something fuzzy with leopard print, but I guess they probably have something in black.

[bkenobi]

If I remember correctly, Plasti-Dip is a product that you use to coat tool handles with to add grip and protect them.  If so, that product is closer to truck bed liners than the original steering wheel, which is a hard plastic that's very smooth.  That would not be the product I would use if it were me.

[tommyinajar]

I thought it was hard plastic too, but the ones I have are just a vinyl around a steel core, the plasti-dip is VERY close but there is no way to get it round...

[bkenobi]

Make a mold?  If you have a good wheel, you could make a latex mold.  Then, put the bad on in and pour the stuff in.  It won't be perfect, but I'm sure it will be better than what it is now (well, assuming it was worth doing in the first place).  The only problem you might have is with the density of the new material.  The original wheels were perfectly balanced so that they could spin for quite a few revolutions.  If that dip material is denser, you might end up with a wobbly wheel.

If it were me (and the chunk isn't that ugly), I'd just move the wheel to player 3 and move on.  Keep an eye on ebay for a new wheel and enjoy what you have!