[Healeys] Refinish steering wheel

[mlempert at bellsouth.net]

While I was once a regular reader and participant in this email list, I rarely have the time anymore to read the digests I receive. I do sometime scan through the subject before filing the digest email. I just happened to do that and noticed the discussion about steering wheel refinishing. 

There is much I can write and when I do I typically transgress into all kinds of related trivia, but I will try to avoid that.  But first some comments about the original poster’s wheel. It is indeed a Derrington type, but it is very difficult to know whether it came from Derrington or from another of a few makers. Moto-Lita was certainly one of the makers and they did sell wheels as Derringtons. I can usually tell a Moto-Lita by the workmanship if not the quality of the ply laminate. A rivet poorly aligned with a spoke is an indication of Moto-Lita.  In this case it is something else that I find unusual. Notice how the nine mounting holes are misaligned with the spokes. That was either a very poorly done job from new or it was a wheel sold without holes which allowed the owner to drill and maybe misalign intentionally... or accidentally.  More can be read about Derrington in my blog here, although the information is not exhaustive: http://www.pbase.com/mdlempert/victor  

Refinishing or restoring these type rims is difficult due to the time and exposure effects and also the limitations of the wood grain in spots as explained in my blog. It is always a judgment call whether to restore or replace the rim. I have recently completed one rare Victor Derrington for a Healey and am working on another for a Jag XK. The Healey rim was worth saving because it was in relatively good shape, but the Jag had to be replaced mostly due to bad work performed earlier.  The old wood, mahogany and obeche, especially the obeche colors gets muddled over time and no longer displays the original contrasting colors, but can still look nice as an obviously old and original rim.

I do not use chemicals for stripping rims, I use a very sharp razor as a scraping tool, being careful to scrape in the angle of the grain not to damage – you can feel it, but laminates will have grain going in multiple directions, so care is needed.  Only after fully removing the finish will I do any amount of sanding, and never so much as to remove much wood. I do most of the sanding by spinning the wheel on a lathe, but obviously not the rear where the grips appear. In this case with the Healey version, we went through more heroic efforts to save the wood. It was scrubbed with a toothbrush using ammonia and then bleach two times. Still, the colors were muddled, but better. After neutralizing the cleaners and sanding again just to smooth any raised grain, it was given the new finish. I have read that the original finishing was french polish, or at least at some point in time (Derrington, not necessarily Moto-Lita).  While you can select whatever method you are comfortable or desire, I use a UV cure clear finish. Over the years I’ve used a number of finishes, but for the amount of work I do now I have moved to this UV system which I find to be excellent in every way. I would also recommend Waterlox at least for a sealer if not topcoat also. It is a wipe on tung and resin mix. I have also used General Finishes water based (only after the Waterlox seal) Enduro-Var gloss. It can only be applied after the sealer has dried fully. It typically took five coats with sanding in between. It dries quickly and feels great when done. I always polished the rim on the lathe after finishing to smooth out perfectly and give the desired amount of shine/sheen. 

This is the Victor Derrinton after all was done (UV cure), but prior to the metal being cleaned and final polishing:  http://www.pbase.com/mdlempert/smalley

Happy New Year

Mike Lempert
Lempert Wheels
‘56 BN2
‘59 BN7
‘60 Bugeye
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://autox.team.net/pipermail/healeys/attachments/20160101/8e6bfc2f/attachment.html>