Re: Steering wheel restoration

Posted by Jack Richard on September 18, 1997 at 10:50:31

In Reply to: Steering wheel restoration
posted by Steve Watrous on September 17, 1997 at 22:49:30

: I've found a very nice original 30/31 steering wheel. It has no cracks or chips. It does have a light brown stain on some of it's surface, primarily the underside and the entire surface is somewhat dull looking.I've washed the entire wheel with liquid Dial handsoap and a tooth brush.Some of the brown seems to come off but the general dullness remains.Can anyone adive me of materials/procedures to restore the finish of the wheel??
: Thanks,
: Steve
You're fortunate to have a wheel without cracks!The brown oxidation can be removed by carefully sanding the wheel by hand, starting with about a 220 grit and working it down to a 600 or finer grit sandpaper.You can then use steel wool and then rubbing compound and wax to give it a great shine.Be careful when sanding not to take off too much material, just enough to remove the rough, oxidized outer layer, leaving all the details you can.This approach results in a much better appearing wheel than just painting it with black paint.Ford did not paint the wheels, and original photos seem to indicate that the finish was not too shiny.
Good luck

Follow Ups:
Re: Steering wheel restoration Larry Jenkins September 18, 1997 at 18:50:16(0)

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