Need Advise to Restore a 65 "wood grain" steering wheel

-

zephyr

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 31, 2017
Messages
356
Reaction score
162
Location
San Bernardino
I had to remove/replace the retaining ring on the underside of my steering wheel while it was face down on my dining room table. This caused a lot of micro-dings and scratches which are almost invisible but I can feel them when I drive.
Can I just sand and polish the wheel? Is it brown plastic all the way through? Or, I am thinking I might paint it like it was originally. Were these wood grain wheels painted to look like wood or is that just what they were called? What paint would you use? Anybody have pictures of a restored or new one?
 
I believe @65dartcharger used a NOS woodgrained steering wheel (or sport wheel I think they were called) on his DartCharger. If so m, he might have pics or shed some additional light on redoing the woodgrain
 
I had to remove/replace the retaining ring on the underside of my steering wheel while it was face down on my dining room table. This caused a lot of micro-dings and scratches which are almost invisible but I can feel them when I drive.
Can I just sand and polish the wheel? Is it brown plastic all the way through? Or, I am thinking I might paint it like it was originally. Were these wood grain wheels painted to look like wood or is that just what they were called? What paint would you use? Anybody have pictures of a restored or new one?

It's brown plastic all the way through. The original wood "graining" on the steering wheel in my 65 Barracuda has completely worn off (300,000 plus miles); it's just smooth brown plastic now. (A car show judge asked me once why I had a brown steering wheel in a black interior. LOL)
 
Last edited:
The woodgrain texture is molded into the steering wheel. If it wears off there's little you can do to get it back. Fortunately, mine still had texture that I enhanced by wiping it with black paint. 65'
20210105_174048.jpg
 
Ok, well that's good news. I'll just sand and polish it then. No traces of black grain in mine either but since it's a white and gold interior it looks fine. Thanks guys.
 
Just a suggestion, I have a “wood grain” wheel on my 65 Mustang I refinished. You can take a very fine awl or something sharp and randomly “scratch” the texture back into the wheel and then take black paint on a rag or sponge and fill the texture marks and wipe it off. Find an appropriate color for your wheel and brush it on. After getting the look you want get a can of 2k clear and two coats and it will seal it. I know it’s not a Mopar but same principle. This is the wheel original to my car.
C4AB4513-288C-45A3-BC3B-30CF145A6836.jpeg
 
The wood grain had a very distinct pattern. If you’ve seen an NOS wheel like Ulf has you’d recognize it. My high school Dart GoGo (not the car I’m restoring now) was a year old plus when I bought it in September of 1966. I remember very well what it looked like. The steering wheel on the ‘65 convertible I currently own still has some pattern inside the rim and other places and it matches my memory. I got a bid from a well-know restorer who does these wheels for $1500. He hand applies the woodgrain with a sharpie, then clears it. To me, his pictures looked like... he had applied the woodgrain with a sharpie. If anyone knows of an NOS woodgrain wheel I’d like two, one for my ‘65 GoGo coupe and one for my convertible, which is going to be a GoGo clone. I probably won’t like the price if I find one (or two.)
 
Thanks for posting this, Ulf. I was hoping you would. It’s pretty obvious that the woodgrain on this wheel would be very hard to duplicate by hand. It was very realistic looking. I can remember being surprised that the steering wheel on my high school car was plastic and not real wood. It looked that good until you eyed it real close. I wish someone would reproduce them, but there just weren’t enough cars with them to make it economically possible.
 
No you probably can't reproduce that with a sharpie or an awl, but if your wheel is wore out and you want it to look a little more original you can at least take a crack at making it look better! If you are good with wore out and can't pay NOS then you find alternatives.
 
ON my '65 Dart GT I recently sold, I had my pinstripe guy do the steering wheel and console in faux burled wood look. Not a show car, but I liked the look.

029.JPG


014.JPG
 
That looks great! I’m telling you guys and gals, take the wheel off, prepare it if there are cracks or blemishes, get some Testor paints and experiment until you get the look and 2k clear for protection. There are all kinds of how tos on wood graining.
 
-
Back
Top