Looking for an original polished steering wheel for my 68 E type, needing refinishing ok if the wood is in good shape
Mark
Best repost in the Classifieds to avoid running afoul of the site rules (related to site liability concerns).
If youāre seeking originality your ā68 steering wheel spokes should be brushed aluminum rather than polished. Something to do with US Federalized Safety Standards saving us from the evils of reflected sunlight.
Hi Mark:
Not intending to be picky but if you mean āpolishedā as in shiney thatās specific to how the Series 1 wheels are but just in case youāre not aware there was a change for the '68 Series 1.5 model - the steering wheel spokes at that time were changed to brushed aluminum. If you care at all about this detail itās mentioned in the JCNA MY ā68 Judgesā Guide.
Best place for your search is to post a want ad in the Classified Section. Good luck with this.
Oops, I see Nick beat me to it.
So how would you go about producing a brushed finish with the wood on and off .
Producing a brushed finish is easily accomplished with 600 grit wet/dry.
Done that but it does not look factory
Benjamin Sign Co.
8346 NORMANDALE CIRCLE
PRIOR LAKE MN 55372
952-435-6636
Roger Benjamin
I used 600 grit but likely my standards are lower, since Iāve also done several retrofits that donāt look factory. Maybe blasting with glass beads would reproduce the effect, though you might need to experiment with air pressure and nozzle size. Dunno. Just throwing that out.
As Nick, Iāve produced a satin finish on alum with the fine grit Wet/Dry paper using it WET. Do not sand dry I would go 400 to 600 to 800grit depending on the state of the surface. Then some fine rubbing compound and aluminum polish by Hand to finish it off. Reduces any sanding marks to invisible. If you use a power buffer you will get the mirror finish you donāt want. Hereās a couple of products.
This is a pic of a trim piece I added to my Sprite. Did it about two years ago. Itās a little dirty now.
If you want a brushed finish stop at the extra fine grit paper. You get it to 1200 and finer. Too fine, go backwards.
I would not bead blast it for a brushed finish. Thatāll just make it dull not brushed.
Iād get a piece of aluminum and do some test polishing
Make sure your test aluminum is not anodized as is commonly available in the hardware stores.
A good piece of 5052 alloy Alum I believe would be what you want.
Metal recyclers will have it. Fabricators here can advise better perhaps.