Steering Wheel Home Restoration

[66 Sat]

I've had a wooden wheel on my Satellite since I bought it and I never really liked it to be honest. It's a Grant wheel I think, nice feel and everything, just would have preferred a factory 3 spoke wheel.
Anyway I recently damaged it - I parked the car to open the garage without the brake applied and the car started rolling slowly. Jumping back in quickly to stop it, I whacked my shin on the wheel, bent a spoke and chipped the wood.
I was going to replace it but then thought I'd try to fix it. Bent it back, glued and clamped the wood and then filled and cleaned it. I was scraping off many years of dirt and skin with a razorblade before I could even start sanding as the sandpaper kept bogging up with the dirt left from many years of use.
I went to the hardware store to get a stain and the first one I picked up was a black. I thought, hey this might look better with the rest of the black in the interior.
Stained and 3 coats of varnish, I actually like the look now. Cost me about $10 for the stain, and I already had the varnish.
I didn't remove the wheel for any of this work, but did jack the front of the car up so I could turn the wheel easily to get all areas.

Before:

Damaged:

Fixed and sanded:

Stained black:

Varnished - finished job:

 

[66ChargerHI-PO]

Wow, very nice work! It came out really nice, and it looks 1,000 times better. I honestly like the black look better because its different, and it compliments the black in the speedometer, the door panels, the shifter ball, and the glovebox door very well. It looks like it should of been black from the start. May I ask all the steps you took to restore it, and how you made the woodgrain (if you had to.) I ask because my stepdad is going to restore 2 of his woodgrain steering wheels, which he has never restored before and he would like to know how to make the woodgrain. I’m not sure if the woodgrain on these modern types of steering wheels are the same as old ones, but I figured I would give it a shot and ask anyways. Thanks in advance.

 

[AR67GTX]

The Grant steering wheel is a real wood wheel so the grain is natural to it. I assume your Stepdad's wheels are the plastic, wood-grain effects wheels to were an option on Mopars in the mid and late 60s. That’s a whole different process and very tedious. There are people that have developed a process to restore the original graining texture/pattern. I restored(?) mine to improve its appearance from the worn, pinkish-beige appearance. But I did not try to replicate the graining that original and professionally restored wheels exhibit. But at least it’s brown and has some grain coloring (but no texture) in it.

 

[66ChargerHI-PO]

The Grant steering wheel is a real wood wheel so the grain is natural to it. I assume your Stepdad's wheels are the plastic, wood-grain effects wheels to were an option on Mopars in the mid and late 60s. That’s a whole different process and very tedious. There are people that have developed a process to restore the original graining texture/pattern. I restored(?) mine to improve its appearance from the worn, pinkish-beige appearance. But I did not try to replicate the graining that original and professionally restored wheels exhibit. But at least it’s brown and has some grain coloring (but no texture) in it.

View attachment 1779513

Sorry I should have specified, yes the wheels are original 1960s ones

 

[AR67GTX]

Sorry I should have specified, yes the wheels are original 1960s ones

if interested there is a member on here who restores steering wheels including the plastic wood grained ones. I know nothing of his work or cost but he appears well experienced from some of his posts. You might PM him - 65Satteliteman

 

[MarPar]

@65satelliteman

 

[64BEL]

Yes, Charlie does great work.

 

[65satelliteman]

Hello----I saw this and thought I chirp in on it. I'm 65Satelliteman and I'm still successfully restoring steering wheels for customers worldwide and have been for over thirty years. I'm 73-years-old now and it just takes me a little longer than it used to. If this interests you, just send me a private message about it. I'm currently working on three 1968/69 woodgrains, a 1964 Savoy, a 1963 Fury, a 1965 Satellite and a 1970 truck steering wheels right now. I already know there will be more coming in January from other customers. Take Care and Here's Wishing You All a Happy New Year, Charlie.