Horn Push Restoration

[david.g.chapman]

My original horn push recently acquired with an original steering wheel had a fair amount of crazing in it - and looked to be impossible to improve.

However, I have had some success. Looking at the crazing cracks carefully from the side (more easy to see) I saw that they seemed to stop before breaking through to the LOTUS moulding surface underneath. So for a total thickness of say 3mm there seemed to be 1mm or so of clear material.

So out with the files. I stuck the horn push down on the bench with some temporary adhesive and started. The domed surface of the push turned into a flat surface and I kept wetting the surface to see what was left of the cracks. Careful does it as I did not want to break through. I ended leaving about 1mm in thickness.

I look the push off the bench and rubbed it against some 400 grit wet and dry paper, then 1200 grit, and finally finished off with T-cut. It is much easier than you might think to get back to a mirror finish as the material is soft but does not transfer to the wet and dry paper.

Result - a horn push that looks quite good with minimal cracking. Note that I had a spare horn push otherwise I would not have tried it. However - knowing what I know now I would give it a go with no safety net.

Good luck if you want to try!

Dave Chapman.