I have purchased a used( In great condition)
3 spoke walnut stained wood steering wheel. I would like to restain the wood rim, the color rosewood, to match my "69"Z28 rosewood
dash and console. What is the best way to strip the old walnu finish, without damaging the brushed stainless steel hub. Would hand sanding down to bare would be safer, than using a stripping fluid. Any advice would be appreciated!
Thanks;
John Lighthart
<jlighthart@yahoo.com>

Are you kidding or what? The simulated "wood" wheel, both walnut and rosewood are really colored plastic. If you put stripper on them, they melt! Needless to say, don't do it. Kevin

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69' SS-350 Convert, M20, 3.55 posi. Totally Disassembled & in boxes (I'm working on it!)
69'(Hugger Orange -originally, Burgundy now) Z-21 Convert 327/PG, Driver

Kevin W;
You're not telling me something I don't already know! As I stated in my tech question, I have purchased a used wood steering wheel and would like to stain it rosewood. This is a "Grant" reproduction for a "1969" Camaro/Nova/chevelle in excellent condition! What's the best way to strip the existing walnut stain finish--sanding or a non-corrosive stripper. I don't won't to damage the brushed steel hub.

PS:
They do make a rosewood stain for wood in the minwax product line!
Thanks,
John Lighthart

John, Sorry for the mixup http://www.camaros.net/forum/smile.gif

I have done some antiques refinshing and wood working a well, so I do have some help.

The wood should have 2 layers, a stain (color) layer and a topcoat (shiny layer).

To remove the top coat, you should probably use thin consistancy stripper. Get a pair of stripping gloves and some rags and apply the stripper to the rag and wipe the finish off. That way you have some control.

Some of the stain will lighten from the stripper, but sanding after stripping it will remove most of the color.

I'm sure there is a close match for the rosewood. Take one of your trim pieces off and take to the store and compare against the samples.

Stain gets darker the more coats you put on, so match the hue of the color when you buy it. Then put mutiple coats on to get the right amount of color.

Do some trial pieces first to get the right color. Then finish it in a good quality finish. Kevin

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69' SS-350 Convert, M20, 3.55 posi. Totally Disassembled & in boxes (I'm working on it!)
69'(Hugger Orange -originally, Burgundy now) Z-21 Convert 327/PG, Driver

John, I forgot to mention a couple of things. Make sure you mask the metal part of the wheel when you strip it and stain it. There a 3 types of finish out there for wood. 1. water base polyurethane(clear/whitish finish). 2. oil based poly (orange finish) and varnish (very orange finish)

The water based ones are easy to use, but you have to build up a few coats to get that glossy feel. Diamond clear by Varythane is one that I prefer, comes in gloss or satin.

the oil based polys feel nicer on the hands, but are more of a pain to do, runs and clean up. Get some wood that is the same species as the wheel and practice colors and laying down finish. Just like Auto painting, it takes practice.

Sorry about the "wood" wheel post, but I have seen and heard a lot of people that thought the original wheels were actually made of wood!

Kevin

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69' SS-350 Convert, M20, 3.55 posi. Totally Disassembled & in boxes (I'm working on it!)
69'(Hugger Orange -originally, Burgundy now) Z-21 Convert 327/PG, Driver

Kevin, Thanks for the advice!