Finish recommendations for wooden steering wheel

[andy2794]

I have sanded and wiped it clean with a damp cloth. What is the best way to finish my wooden steering wheel for my 1916 T?

[TWrenn]

Spray it with Rustoleums gloss black appliance epoxy

[A Whiteman]

several thin layers of 'Danish Oil' - is durable and can be touched up easily -shows the wood grain nicely.
Apply thin coats I usually wipe on with a soft cotton rag. You can build up a good depth and from satin to semi to gloss finish as desired.

[jiminbartow]

Is your steering wheel made of nicely grained hardwood such as oak, or a mediocre grained wood such as pine or poplar? The question then becomes, do you want a finish that shows off the grain or doesn’t matter? If you have a wood with a beautiful grain, I would use a satin or semi-gloss polyurethane. If you want a little color, I have used an aerosol Minwax satin Pecan Polyshades with beautiful results. The below was downloaded from Amazon. The more coats the deeper the color. Jim Patrick

[Allan]

I use clear, gloss spar varnish. It is turps based, and I can add stain to the varnish to control the depth of colour.

Allan from down under.

[Dan_Jensen]

[image][/image]I used this product called Rubio monocoat on a mesquite countertop. Goes on easy and makes an oil type finish without any build-up. A 355 ml can is $52 on Amazon, but a very small amount goes a long way. Flat surfaces you use a plastic bondo spreader, curved surfaces a foam brush works good.

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Screenshot 2022-09-07 6.21.20 PM.png (129.66 KiB) Viewed 5509 times

[John.Zibell]

Tung oil. Available at good hardware stores. Carefully follow application instructions. Using tung oil, the more you handle the wheel, the better it will get.

[Wayne Sheldon]

The REAL question is, do you want it how Ford and Henry made it? Or how almost everybody today likes it?
Ford produced about four hundred thousand 1916 model year model T Fords! From a practical standpoint, every - single - one - of - them had a shiny black painted wooden steering wheel rim!
My 1915 is black! My 1913 is black! I like them that way! However, I really do not mind seeing them "natural finish" either.

[Original Smith]

Keep it authentic.

[Bruce Compton]

I agree with Wayne and Larry. It's a Model T, not a Packard or a Rolls Royce. I also totally understand the urge to update the rather mundane Model T but somehow they just look right with the black wheel and black wood spokes too. I paid a lot of money for a beautiful wood grained steering wheel for my '25 coupe and took it off after a week as it just looked wrong and somehow out of place. I think that the basic, simple and mundane look of a T is actually the character of the beast.

[Allan]

I have a particular interest in timber and woodwork.To me it is sacrilege to hide the beautiful finger jointing of the joins, and submersing the fact that my 1912 van wheel is made of one piece of bent timber. Recently, a forum classified a nice wheel for sale, complete with a section of the bark missing from the OD. By all means fill that and paint it, but show the public how things were done if you can.

Allan from down under.

[Erik Johnson]

I personally cannot get excited about a varnished maple Ford steering wheel as, in my opinion, it detracts from the looks of a car. There is nothing spectacular about the grain - it's about about as exciting as a high school gymnasium floor. It's not like it's mahogony or burled walnut where the grain really pops.

Unfortunately, the general public has been conditioned to drool over varnished wood regardless of species, grain pattern or how ugly or beautiful it actually is. Doesn't matter if it is a crappy piece of low end pine veneer plywood full of knots or high quality burled walnut. As long as it is varnished, they'll declare how wonderful it is.

[TWrenn]

Keep it authentic.

Yep...thats why I suggested spraying it gloss black with the appliance epoxy.

[browning]

My most original steering wheel was on a Fordson tractor I purchased years ago in California. The story that came with the tractor was that it was one of Henry's "gift" tractors in 1918 which was given to a farmer by the name of McCracken in Santa Rosa. I have no way of substantiating that story but the tractor is certainly an original 1918 which was given considerable care over the century before I bought it. The steering wheel was wrapped with several layers of friction tape and I was interested to see what was under all of that tape on the odd chance that Hank had actually driven the tractor. When I unwrapped the wheel it fell into eight pieces which were in very good condition save for the fact that the glue had completely failed. I cleaned the joints and reglued them and returned them to the tractor. Several months later I was asked by one of the T parts vendors whether I could manufacture wood steering wheels and copied the joint geometry and construction of that original Fordson wheel. If you have purchased one over the last 5 to 10 years it may well be patterned after that one except resized to the smaller diameters of the Model T. Some time later I made some from cherry and walnut and made them available pre-finished for the wood worshipers in the hobby. I am currently in the final stages of restoring a "Staude Mak A Tractor" which I decided to do in quartered white oak. I did the firewall, hood shelves, floorboards, seat, steering wheel, and modified pickup bed all to match. I redid a 1914 engine/transmission and added a new brass radiator along with cowl lights. It is not anywhere near stock and not something that anyone would have built or used back in the day and is not exactly a correct 1914 but is a great and fun 3 mile an hour project. Now I don't know whether to take it to a car show or a tractor show.

My position has always been that a transparent or stained wheel can be painted black in just a few minutes if it bothers anybody but stripping and finishing a painted one is more difficult. Different strokes for different folks.

[andy2794]

I decided to go with the Tong oil. With the brass radiator and my other brass parts I felt it would look better. I have a black steering wheel if I change my mind. I would like to find a brass bell for the horn. Thank you all for your opinions and input.

[jiminbartow]

Tung oil should not be painted on. I used to use Formby’s gloss tung oil a lot. The best way to apply it is with your bare fingers to give you a beautiful hand rubbed finish somewhat like a French Polish without the rag. Put a few drops on your fingers and with a swiping motion, rub it into the wood until it becomes tacky on your fingers and continue to do this several times (coats) keeping your hand moving in a light swiping motion that will build up the tung oil as it is rubbed into the wood. Once you get the hang of it, you will find tung oil will give you one of the nicest deepest, finishes, possible.
Jim Patrick

[andy2794]

I didn't know there was a high gloss tung oil. I used Minwax, it said to apply with a cloth. How do I fix this and get the high gloss? Can this oil be removed?

[jiminbartow]

What kind of Minwax? Stain alone? Polyshades? Polyurethane over stain? The Minwax should be able to be removed with Lacquer thinner. Paint the lacquer thinner on and let it sit and soften the Minwax, then wipe off. Continue to do this until it is all off down to the bare wood. If the stain was applied separately, it should remain, but if some of the stain comes off and lightens the color, I think it would look better. It seems too dark. Once all of the Minwax is off, a hand rubbed tung oil finish, as I described, will give depth to and enhance the grain. A little goes a looooong way. Jim Patrick

PS. This picture is of a newer bottle. The first picture I posted above is a 40 year old bottle.

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[A Whiteman]

My gloss finish was arrived at by several thin coats and rubbed with a soft cloth between each after they dried.
Cheers

[jiminbartow]

Even though the formby’s tung oil says it is gloss, when applied by hand and rubbed in with the fingers, the finish is more of a semi-gloss. A lot of people don’t like a high gloss finish. Jim Patrick

[MWalker]

I'm in the "paint it black" group.