wood spoke wheels

[bigvic]

hello, whats the best way to clean these,still has original stripes but rest is shabby. would like to save stripes and refinish with clear....?

[JoelsBuicks]

Just curious as to what you mean by "shabby?" Is the wood deteriorated, grayed, peeling finish, cracked? Is it something that sandpaper can restore? Wood restorers use oxalic acid where the acid dissolves away a layer of dry surface wood to expose fresh material underneath. Perhaps a careful combination of sandpaper and this oxalic acid would do some good whilst keeping your original stripes. Good luck with it.

[bigvic]

joel the spokes have a gray and orange appearance,the later most likely an old clear coat. they look good when they're wet. what type of clear coat would you suggest.thanks

[42crazy]

This subject is coming up at a very opportune time. I am trying to clean my '30 Roadster wheels. They were primed in a tan color, then painted red, then black. I have bead blasted them pretty clean, but, now, I want to keep the wood 'natural color', which is now very clean and nice. The big problem seems to be the huge amount of masking to paint the metal, and not get paint on the wood, or, vice versa. Any shortcuts anybody, thanks, Paul

[JoelsBuicks]

Since you'd be top-coating some areas that already have a varnish, I'd hesitate to recommend a 2-part epoxy because it would most likely be incompatible with your existing finish. I have been really impressed with Varathane's exterior (UV resistant) water-based polyurethane. You'll need to sand the existing wood and finish enough to remove any oxidation and to scuff the old finish. This stuff will brush on as well as spray and it looks like skim milk. It will dry clear fairly quickly. The bad part is that it will raise the grain of raw wood. So, you go in after the first coat dries and sand of the "fuzz" that has raised. Then at least two more coats.

I used this stuff on window stools where it is exposed to sunlight. It shows no deterioration after about 7 yrs and counting. Water based polyurethanes actually polymerize when exposed to oxygen and form a very tough finish. Depending on what you're looking for as far as finished looks go, the water based material will leave much less of a wet look than oil-based.

You could use oil-based spar polyurethane (I like the ZAR brand) but my experience is that it has a tendency to delaminate at crack areas. It does leave that wet look though.

I hope this helps,

Joel

[Fred Rawling]

What ever route you take, it would be advisable to get some good pictures and measurements of the location etc of the striping before you start. That way if something goes wrong, you can restore the striping and triangles.