My steering wheel restore detailed.

[Diseazd]

I found that thin layers of spar varnish (brushed on from a can), steel wooled with 000 between coats gave you a harder less tacky feeling than the spray-on MinWax polyurethane. Don't forget to mark your steering wheel before removing it so the pick-ups for the turn signals are returned correctly. All IMO.......Guy

[cygnusx1]

Here is a tip that I assume most people know about. Set your steering column in it's center lock position with the key out. The steering wheel should be dead straight when in that position. Center lock is also your center reference when you reinstall the wheel. This will also reveal if someone installed the wheel crooked and then aligned the front end to the crooked wheel. Yes, it happens. The wheel resto's look GREAT!

[Zedyone_kenobi]

Oh oh...

did not know about marking the wheel's location...

Guess I am in for some trial and error. I can see how the things goes together, so I figure I can get it within a couple of splines of where it was at...guess if I turn the wheel and it does not turn off, I installed it wrong.

[Diseazd]

Here is a tip that I assume most people know about. GREAT!

Don't assume anything on this forum....that's why it's such a great source of info.....thanks for that tip.

[Zedyone_kenobi]

look at me, I had no idea about that, wish I would have known.

[Bonzi Lon]

Don't worry Zedyone kenobi, I did the same thing for my horn repair. There are lots of splines to choose from to get it wrong. After several attempts its right again.

Bonzi Lon

[conedodger]

I did this a month or two back (and wrote it up here too). I used Scotch Brite pads to rub the steering wheel along with some dish soap to take off the years of hand goo. I followed this with steel wool. I thought that stain would be needed as the finish of the 'wood' after this was whitish and ugly. In a search of the site I found what others had done plus I referenced the Humble book as well. I went straight to Spar Varnish once the wheel was dry without any stain. The write-ups were correct. The proper color comes right back. No stain is needed...

[chuck r]

OK, I need a reality check. . . My Series One wheel has wear areas where the simulated woodgrain is gone. All that's left is the ruby colored resin (kind of the coloration of a marble). Not sure if my wheel is worse than most or if Series One's used a different process.

The wheel obviously needs restoration and would like confirmation that variations of the above listed techniques will work or if my wheel is too far gone.

If it wasn't a early wheel I'd just buy a better starting piece.

Thanks for any help.

Chuck

[Z dreams]

Pictures would help us Chuck.

[er34gtt2000jp]

I've noticed the wood grain is not very prevalent in some areas of most wheels. mainly the ridges on the back side of the wheel for your fingers. Mostly its the back side that is not as grainy as the outer rim or front side.

[Mikes Z car]

I used varnish on my wheel and it looks good, I thought it was too far gone but the color came back.

[tlorber]

The wheel from one of my Z's was not to bad so I hit it last night with a plastic rubbing compound and a buffing wheel on the drill press. The luster came right back. The best part is that the horn button kept on popping off since the ridges that hold it to the steering wheel were worn away. Rotating the button allowed it to "grip" the wheel in different spots. I found that the center Nissan logo is pretty easy to remove, rotate, and then refasten to make up for the button's rotation.

The wheel on my other car is a bit more worn, So I plan on wet sanding it and then buffing.