how do you get the dark staining on the wooden bits? i have a wheel that's a bit blanched on the top.

 

Not having done the job myself as Lady P's wheel is all leather . First would have to remove the finish . After that there is a old school " wood bleach " available but would have to be very careful of the leather . Might be able to take it apart . The pic is a small 340 gram jar of dry powder oxylic acid that can be obtained from a specialty woodwoorking store that may have better advice .

 

A friend who has a XK stripped the polyester finish off of all his wood trim using Heirloom heavy duty stripper. It is a gel product so it does not drip to much. I used it to strip the finish of of my SKS rifle as well. It does a very good job. Once done you can then restain and put a finish on the wheel.

 

hi, thanks for the replies but i'm after the staining of the wood bit.

how is it stained, with what?

 

The steering wheel is coated with the polyester finish at the factory. The wood is stained etc prior to them applying the polyester. To re stain it it, you have to remove the polyester finish. Once that is done you can prepare and re stain. You cannot stain the polyester finish.

 

Hi, that's what the replies above were discussing, how to strip the wood finish and re-stain a color you prefer.

The wood in the X300 has a clear polyurethane finish, under which is the stained wood.

If you want to change the wood color yourself, you really only have two options:

1) Paint over the existing finish with either an opaque "paint", or there are also translucent coatings available like those for darkening brake lights that you may possibly be able to use to darken the wood portion and retain seeing the wood grain. You'd have to experiment.

2) Strip the poly finish off, then stain/bleach the wood the new desired color, then recoat with a clear finish. This is the correct method, but will be time consuming.

There really isn't any easy "wipe on" option to re-stain the wood.


And of course there is the option sending the wheel to a shop that refinishes interior wood. I don't have any to recommend, but I'm sure a Google or search of the forums would return many options.

Or you might be able to find a nicely preserved used or even NOS wheel online with some patience. For example, wheels are on eBay pretty frequently.



.

 

hi, thank you for your reply. i had worked out that the wood was varnished and that this would have to be removed before staining

 

hi, thanks for the reply.

this is what i have been asking. i can tell there is a varnish over the wood and that would have to be removed first, prior to staining, then re-applied afterwards. it's the actual staining material and/or method used that i'm after.

this is certainly the easiest option

 

Any quality wood stain would do from your local wood crafts/finishing, general hardware or home improvement store.

Check Youtube for "how to" to apply stain, but quick summary.... scrap rags are best to rub in the stain.

The real trick is going to get a good smooth finish with the poly. That will take some practice to find the right application method that works for you.

Minwax (in the US) for example usually will have a display of small cans of various wood stains you could choose from. They are inexpensive so you could try a few on wood scraps to get the color you'd like.

I also recently used a Minwax poly that turned out great, just like our steering wheels in fact, deep and glossy. But I took several tries to find the right roller (in my case, for a table top) and multiple sandings and reapplications to get it thick and defect free.

.

 

thx for your reply Al

 

I think there is a difference between Polyester and Polyurethane finishes, right?

I have not been able to get the regular stripping chemical, methyl chloride, to affect the (what I believe is ) Polyester finish on the Jaguar interior wood pieces.

I don't know of anything that works on the Polyester, if that's what it is.

But the methyl chloride stripper works immediately on any Polyurethane based finish for me - and it also works on the Urethane based exterior body paint.

 

The product that I posted previously will work to remove the Polyester finish, but my friend who used it had to apply it at least 3 times and use very fine wire wool as well

 

Almost forgot - what ever finish you choose to go back on the top -- make sure it has UV protection.

gibbon -- Yes I see that now, but can't find the Heirloom brand out here in the new country. It is at Home Depot Canada (but only in stores). I will keep checking.

 

Hi XJ-Executive,

If it were me, before I went to the trouble and mess of trying to strip the finish off your wheel, I might try one of the wood toner products designed for touching up scratches in wood furniture finishes. Here are links to some examples:

https://www.woodcraft.com/products/t...rnt-umber-12oz
https://www.woodcraft.com/products/t...rk-walnut-12oz
https://www.woodcraft.com/products/t...ect-brown-12oz
https://www.woodcraft.com/products/t...yke-brown-12oz

Another possible solution is the Minwax Polyshades line of aerosol stain and polyurethane finishes:

Minwax PolyShades Aerosol - Aerosol Spray Wood Stain | Minwax

Luthier suppliers like Stewart-McDonald sell spray toner products, but they're typically based on nitrocellulose lacquer, which would not be a great choice for a steering wheel due to it's vulnerability to checking when exposed to temperature extremes.

I'd start by drop-filling any scratches or dents with cyanoacrylate (Super Glue) and allowing to cure thoroughly. Here's how it's done on guitars:

Super glue drop-fill: quick fix for finish chips | stewmac.com

Then, carefully sand with 320 or 400 grit to level the cyanoacrylate fills, slightly reduce the finish thickness, and provide a key for the new topcoat to adhere to.

Assuming the steering wheel was finished in UV-cured polyester, it would be prudent to test your chosen toner for compatibility on a small area on the side of the wheel that faces the dash. If the new finish reacts badly or will not adhere well, you could try applying a thin coat of aerosol dewaxed Shellac as a sealer/adhesion promoter. Allow to dry and scuff-sand with 400 grit. Here's a popular product among furniture and musical instrument makers, which is typically available at many home stores such as Lowes and Home Depot:

Zinsser Bulls Eye Shellac

With either the toners or Polyshades products, the more coats you apply, the darker the color. So you would apply more coats to the faded areas and fewer to the darker sections. Some toners require a separate top coat, so read the instructions carefully. For UV protection, the Marine finishes are tough to beat, but you'd have to test compatibility with whatever toner you chose.

We'll all be anxious to hear what method you try and how it works.

Cheers,

Don

 

This is correct, polyester was first used on the X300. Previous models were lacquer. Polyester will not strip. It is the gelcoat of fiberglass. If stripper removed polyester, it would remove a Corvette body.

I refinished my entire interior and sanded the finish off. Took way too much time. I'd just ebay a new set if I did it again.

Refinished thousands and thousands of pieces. I am an owner of a furniture refinishing shop for over 35 years