Refinishing steering wheel

Walz

Walz

New Member
Mar 7, 2008
163
Chesapeake Bay
Boat Info
1999 310 DA, radar, HDS-7 GenII
"Springer Time"
Engines
350 MPI Inboards
I have the wood style steering wheel. The previous owners must have left the dash exposed to the weather and sun as part of the finish is coming off the steering wheel and a small area of exposed wood has turned gray. My plan is to remove the wheel and refinish it over the winter. I was wondering if anyone has done this and what their experience was as well as recommendations. What did you use to refinish it, multiple coats of poly? :huh:

Thanks!
 
Be careful with a single part polyurethane. It is notorious for lifting (bubbling up) previous layers or coats of finish.

The finish that is on the wheel is a multi-coat spayed on product that cures very hard. I don't know but suspect it is a clear high gloss catalyzed urethane like Imron or AwlGrip. I haven't done it, but wouldn'tbe afraid to try. I think the secret is going to be to get as much trim off the wood as possible where you can sand it properly. If it is flaking, you will probably have to sand it to bare wood which means you will be spraying/sanding a lot of coats to get wood sealed, grain closed and the final finish you have now. Lastly, the steering wheels are block sanded and polished after the finish is applied. Budget a lot of time for your project........its going to be one of those where you spend 10 minutes a day over a long period.

Take photos and post before and after versions.............
 
Walz,

Haven't done a Sea Ray steering wheel, but I have done more than my share of antique Jag wheels, as well as boat related woodworking. I am not familiar with the 1998 style wheel, is it all wood, or partial?

If it is a partial (like our 2002) then the rubber has to be masked off. I am guessing it is coated with a polyurethane, in which case the best bet is to sand it off. However I don't know everything , so you can try a paint remover like stripeze (with proper ventilation and protection for yourself - nitril gloves, eye protection and a good painter's mask with charcoal filters (also very helpful during duckbill replacement, but I digress).

Start by striping and hand sanding, or just sanding try and use nothing coarser than 220 and work up to 320 and then 400. Wiping the wood down periodically with a damp rag with mineral spirits, or rubbing alcohol will keep the dust from getting impacted into the surface and not raise the wood grain. Just let it dry before restarting to sand.

When it is smooth and uniform in color you are ready to coat. It is outside in the sun, on a boat, so you are going to have to spring for a quart of the good stuff; International, Epiphanes etc. I'll leave the choice of brand and finish to you. Polys are the best long term low maintenance choice, and my recommendation to you. Shellac is used on car steering wheels and by wooden boat builders, but requires some upkeep and practice to get just right.

My trick to painting 360 degree wood rims was to place a dowel through the center and support the dowel so that I could spin the wheel on the dowel. A shop vise can work. Where ever it is you want to be able to stand/sit in front of the wheel and work comfortably on the top of the wheel. You are going to leave the wheel there to dry, so make sure it is a no traffic zone (kitchen is generally a bad choice). A gooseneck lamp also helps to be able to focus the light on where you are working.

You then position it in front of you just the way it goes on the boat. You only brush between 11:00 and 1:00, turning the wheel a bit at a time. As you do each coat you can SLOWLY rotate the wheel several times to brush off (always working in the 11-1 zone) any high spots, dust motes, brush bristles etc. ALso rotating the wheel will evenly distribute the coating on the rim.

You can do this with a partial wood wheel, but you must be anal about the masking on the rubber section (painting at 12:00 means drips land at 6:00).

Depending on the material you are using, you will need at least three, and possibly six coats. You must let each coat throughly dry. This means at least 24 hours, and longer is better. DO NOT GO BY FEEL. The marine polys cure very slowly, particularly the INternational. They tend to cure from the outside inwards. The surface can be hard enough to sand for the next coat, but the interior will be soft. As the poly cures it outgases, if you re-coat too soon you will trap very thin bubbles between the coats that will cause delamanation between the coats next summer when the sun gets on it.

So after each coat dries, sand it lightly with 320, just to scuff it up, and clean with rubbing alcohol and follow the process until done.

Its not hard, just time consuming to do right.

Henry
 
Like Frank mentioned a catalyzed Urethane. My friend is a painter and used a catalyzed "Conversion varnish" on my front doo. It really makes a nice "hard" finish. That's the way to go for durability.

Best of Luck
 
Nehalennia said:
Like Frank mentioned a catalyzed Urethane. My friend is a painter and used a catalyzed "Conversion varnish" on my front doo. It really makes a nice "hard" finish. That's the way to go for durability.

Best of Luck
Click to expand...

First a Bayliner shirt and now catalyzed Doo in the front of your house..........

Henry
 
DuPont came out with a wood "sealer", its basically a high build sealer so that you dont have to apply as much clear.
You dont want to use thier clear in thier wood line up because its not UV stable as its intended for interiors, you can at that point use a imron clear or pretty much any catylized clear you can get your hands on.


the key to a nice job is the prep work filling in the grain so it comes out like a piano.
 
RobF300 said:
DuPont came out with a wood "sealer", its basically a high build sealer so that you dont have to apply as much clear.
You dont want to use thier clear in thier wood line up because its not UV stable as its intended for interiors, you can at that point use a imron clear or pretty much any catylized clear you can get your hands on.


the key to a nice job is the prep work filling in the grain so it comes out like a piano.
Click to expand...


Rob,

How will this hold up with a UV stable top coat? It sounds like you are talking about something like a car coating where the clear is more of a finish and a surface sealer, yes?

Henry
 
Thanks for all the good suggestions. I'm an experienced woodworker so I can appreciate the importance of a good prep job. The use of a catalyzed poly is new to me, but I do understand the concept. I'll have to practice with that on some scrap wood. I did something like this with a sailboat tiller many years ago, but went with about a dozen coats of poly.
 
the sealer will hold up fine under a clearcoat, at that point the clearcoat is for aestics and protection as the sealer is what will seal the wood and fill the grain.
again dupont has a wood clear, but its more of a interior lowerer gloss clear, not a high gloss uv stable clear.
 
The '98 wheel is a Dino wheel from Italy with wood around the perimeter while the center are flat metal spokes. There is a vinyl padded cover and plastic center over the metal spokes that comes off pretty easily.

My wheel was worse than you describe yours as all of the finish was burnt by the sun and coming loose from the wood.
1_DSC00558.jpg

I was able to peel it all off without resorting to anything chemical. Then I sanded the wood smooth. The exposed wood is laminated into a circle so in some spots I had fill with an epoxy wood filler.

I have been working on this sporadically over the summer putting on two coats of Ultimate Sole High Gloss Finish and sanding before reapplying to get a very high gloss. What I like about the Ultimate Sole is that while it is high gloss, it is also non-skid so your hands don't slip on the wheel when it gets wet.

1_DSC00036.jpg


So what have I been using to drive while the wheel is in the basement shop? A totally new replacement from Founder Pounder, a company that buys up old Sea Ray parts. (They are down the street from the factory.) When I am done, I'll throw the old wheel up on eBay. Last one I saw like this one sold for over $150!!!

Gene
 
Back in the day when I restored classic cars all wooden steering wheels were refinished with exactly the same urethane clearcoat used on the auto exteriors. I would suggest bringing it to a body shop for clearcoating. It will probably take two sprayings. The first will seal it and need to be lightly sanded smooth, and the final coat should go on like glass.
 
right fwebster- which is why he would want to seal the wood

spraying multiple coats of clear until it is buried is old thinking, there are better ways of doing things, once the wood is sealed then yes he can spray whatever clear he wants on there that is uv stable, including whatever his favorite body shop is spraying.

If you want it to come out like a piano then seal it, if you just want to brush some clear on it then go to home depot and get some minwax.

rubber duckie- I know if I went to all the trouble my time would be worth alot more then the $150, dont sell it that cheap, keep it as a spare as im sure your new wheel will do the same thing
 
Last edited:
RobF300 said:
rubber duckie- I know if I went to all the trouble my time would be worth alot more then the $150, dont sell it that cheap, keep it as a spare as im sure your new wheel will do the same thing
Click to expand...

It took ten years in the Florida sun unprotected for the old one to get that way. The new one is protected by a elastic wheel cover and a sunbrella dash cover in the NorthEast. While I agree the new one might get that way eventually, I'm hoping it will be more than 10 years from now at which point the boat will be over twenty years old. I doubt I'll be the owner then.

But you're right, maybe $250 or more is a better price.

Gene
 
RobF300 said:
DuPont came out with a wood "sealer", its basically a high build sealer so that you dont have to apply as much clear.
You dont want to use thier clear in thier wood line up because its not UV stable as its intended for interiors, you can at that point use a imron clear or pretty much any catylized clear you can get your hands on.


the key to a nice job is the prep work filling in the grain so it comes out like a piano.
Click to expand...

Rob,

Can you post the product name of the DuPont sealer?

Thanks
 
RubberDuckeeToo2 said:
The '98 wheel is a Dino wheel from Italy with wood around the perimeter while the center are flat metal spokes. There is a vinyl padded cover and plastic center over the metal spokes that comes off pretty easily.

My wheel was worse than you describe yours as all of the finish was burnt by the sun and coming loose from the wood.
1_DSC00558.jpg

I was able to peel it all off without resorting to anything chemical. Then I sanded the wood smooth. The exposed wood is laminated into a circle so in some spots I had fill with an epoxy wood filler.

I have been working on this sporadically over the summer putting on two coats of Ultimate Sole High Gloss Finish and sanding before reapplying to get a very high gloss. What I like about the Ultimate Sole is that while it is high gloss, it is also non-skid so your hands don't slip on the wheel when it gets wet.

1_DSC00036.jpg


So what have I been using to drive while the wheel is in the basement shop? A totally new replacement from Founder Pounder, a company that buys up old Sea Ray parts. (They are down the street from the factory.) When I am done, I'll throw the old wheel up on eBay. Last one I saw like this one sold for over $150!!!

Gene
Click to expand...

I'm in the process of refinishing my wheel and was wondering if you used a stain to get the wheel to closely match your dash accents? If so, what product?

Your finished products looks better than the original in my opinion!
 
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