Wood wheel refinishing

[Rich Kline <richkline@domain.elided>]

Here's a summary of the responses I received to my question on refinishing our
wood steering wheels.

What I found worked best was to remove the old finish with a med to course
grade of emery cloth, as it tends to load up less then 150 grit sandpaper, I
then finished the wood with 220 grit sand paper prior to refinishing (be sure
to get all the old finish off prior to applying any type of finish as it will
appear white under any new finish).

I then used Flecto Varathane gloss in the spray can in very light coats,
fine sanding the coats between with steel wool.

The completed job came out excellent and the two cracks I filled with wood
filler (I use the dark Elmers Wood Filler from Home Depot) were barley
noticeable. The finish is beautiful and I couldn't be happier with the out
come.

The best suggestion I can make is to take your time with the refinishing,
allow the finish to dry completely before sanding with steel wool.

Kurt Incledon
AROSC

---

Sorry that this won't be much help. I sanded my wheel with progressing finer
sand paper until it was absolutely clean and smooth. Then put on multiple
layers of Sanding Sealer sanding between coats. Then used marine spar
varnish. Multiple coats. Lots of sanding. It looked great at first, but
seemed to absorb oil from the palm of my hands. Three years on it doesn't
look good, especially for the amount of work I put into it.

My recommendation is don't try this approach

Dave
74 GTV

---

PLEASE, no sandpaper, beyond a final smooth with very fine paper before
refinishing. What you need is a heavy-bodied paint remover, follow directions
on can and do it a second time if necessary; then after all old finish is
removed clean it up lightly and refinish. Polyurethane is closest to the
original; shellac or tung-oil can give a better finish but a less durable one.

John


It doesn't sound like there is a consenus on the best way, but I figured I
would share the results


Rich
Two 74 Spiders
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