We buffed most of of the old paint off the steering wheel with a wire brush in the grinder and applied a coat of primer to all surfaces. We had originally thought that this was a steel steering wheel, when it is actually aluminum.

One caution when using a wire brush in an angle grinder. When the wires come loose, and they will, they are traveling REALLY fast and will imded themselves in YOU. We used welding gloves to hold the wheel and the grinder to prevent anymore painful lessons.