Collectors Edition Woodgrain Steering Wheel Restoration

k9t8m

k9t8m

Rollin' Twankies
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I just finished refinishing the wood on my CE steering wheel and I could not be more pleased. I havn't really ever done to much with wood before, and am really suprised at how smoothly it went. I think the wood is now in better shape than it ever was from the factory.

I have an appointment next week to get the steering wheel leather replaced, then it will be perfect again.

Ill post pics when I get it back from the upholstery shop and get it put back on.




Anyone need theirs redone? Id be happy to do it.
 
Wish I had a wood CE steering wheel. They look real sharp. My leather is rough too. Sure you will love it when done.
 
hey chris where are you getting the leather done at?
 
RedCellSix said:
Wish I had a wood CE steering wheel. They look real sharp. My leather is rough too. Sure you will love it when done.
Click to expand...

Im going to have one for sale in a couple weeks. Ill pm you and let you know when Im ready to sell.

lsc8 said:
hey chris where are you getting the leather done at?
Click to expand...

I have 2 shops here that will do it, Xtreme Sounds in Bartonville and Twin City Upholstery in Bloomington.
 
I've been wanting to do mine for a long time but have been afraid of screwing it up... want to give me a few details on what you did?
 
Post some pics when your done replacing the leather.
I didn't know this could be fixed so I drove mine with worn out steering wheel leather and wood.
 
I have been searching for a tan one for a while now myself. Found one once on ebay that was reasonable but the leather was shot so I passed it up. Now I wish I would have bout it and had the leather done. :(
Still trying to find a CE shifter too...... damn, there is TONS of crap I am trying to do at once on my sled. :lol:
I need to slow down.
 
Thats why I am kinda glad the dude with the black on black 1st gen hasnt called me. I would go insaine (and broke.... more broke) chasing these little parts untill the car looked like new. Although it seems 1st gens are easier to shop for.
I have been hunting tan inside door handle bezels for a year now and cant find a clean pair. There are 12 pairs of first gens on ebay though. :mad:
 
if i had to guess, chris prob sanded the wood grain down and cleared it till the blem's were filled and it looked good. you can actually do the same thing with tail lights.
 
No way!!

I'm mostly interested in what he used as far as a product, maybe I'll wait until he drives it a while and see if it holds up worth a damn...
 
I did basically what Jeb said. I lightly sanded the orig clear laquer (not knowing how thick it was originally). I then applied a couple of small coat of clear aresol clear laquer that I got from menards, sanded with 600 grit to remove some of the imperfections, then applied 3 more coats, sanded again with 600 getting most everything out, then applied a final 3 coats of clear laquer. It was nice having the paint booth at my disposal. The bake cycle made dry time real fast.

Ill post some pics of the wood tomorrow, but like I said the leather will be a couple weeks.
 
its actually a little easier to use car clear, cause it actually hardens and you don't have to worry about sanding it off so easy. once you "seal" the wood you just need enough material to sand it smooth. Then clear it again to get a good shine and depth.
 
I thought about automotive clear but I wasnt sure how it would react to the laquer clear that was on the wheel.
 
Here are the pics of the wood restored to new. As you can see in the last picture the leather is pretty torn up.

2ccxc8i.jpg


108clye.jpg


muz6mv.jpg
 
Damn I'm going to do mine now!!

I'm going to try and do the surround too, can't look any worse than it does now...
 
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