Guest nhyr2009 Posted May 23, 2010 Share Posted May 23, 2010 Hello all,I have a 1927 Buick Model 50 and need to redo the wheels. The wood is intact but very dirty, dry and rough. I need to redo them and wanted to see if anyone knew any good methods and what materials to use. Thank you,Ethan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted May 23, 2010 Share Posted May 23, 2010 Ethan, first you have to assess their condition. Wood still tight, not split, etc. Just make sure that the wheel is sound and ready for road use. Examine each wheel for striping, paint color, etc so you can bring back to original. But it sounds like your wheels need a refinish job. So sand, apply a very light dark stain, and either apply a spar/marine semi-gloss varnish or tung oil. I use tung oil on mine as I can recoat the wheels every couple of years without standing or removing the old material. It is more a sealer rather than a paint. Also some folks have their spokes painted a body color. Just depends on what you want and what the aim of your restoration is. Refinishing the wheels is not a hard job, but it does take time as it is all hand work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest nhyr2009 Posted May 23, 2010 Share Posted May 23, 2010 Hello thanks for the reply:The car is currently in running condition and is driven about once a week for a few miles. The wood is in great shape.I want to bring the wheels back to original condition.It looks like they have a blue(Body color) Pinstripe and it is just wood color around those stripes.What do you recommend for a stain?Thank you ,Ethan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted May 23, 2010 Share Posted May 23, 2010 I used a minwax light oak stain, and then five coats of tung oil. Here are my wheels. The stain was put on twenty years ago, and just two years ago put on two more coats of tung oil. Here are a couple of pics from the 28, front and rear wheels. Excuse the grime, it has not been spruced up after the winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickelroadster Posted May 24, 2010 Share Posted May 24, 2010 It's not always necessary to use a stain. Hickory looks pretty good with a natural wood color. If the wood is somewhat discolored, you may want to play around with a stain to improve its looks but unless this is so, I'd go with the natural look as this is what they had when new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted May 24, 2010 Share Posted May 24, 2010 I used the stain to darken the wood just a bit so it matched the age of the car and would not stand out as being redone. I tried doing it with just the natural color of the wood, and it looked like the car was wearing white socks with black dress shoes. But again, that is just me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Shaw Posted May 24, 2010 Share Posted May 24, 2010 I had my wheels gently blasted with greensand and they came out great. The blaster was a seasoned pro and advised that if there was any rotten wood, you would want to know about it and the blasting would definately reveal it. If the wood is solid, the gentle blasting does a very nice job. I used marine varnish that added just enough color to make the spokes look like they were renewed but not new.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rainandsun Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 wow, i am interested with this wooden wheels.i am very curious about this one. how do it carry the weight of a car.. ___________rain and sunauto repairi need to learn some techniques in auto repair manual to make me good car man(that's my name) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trimacar Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 Wooden wheels support the weight of the car through compression. Thus, the weight of the car is supported by the spokes closest to the ground.Wire wheels support the weight of the car through suspension. The weight of the car is supported by the spokes at the top, or furthest from the ground.My son calls me Captain Obvious, Defender of the Already Known...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest miyaka Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 wow, i am interested with this wooden wheels.i am very curious about this one. how do it carry the weight of a car.. ___________rain and sunauto repairi need to learn some techniques in auto repair manuals to make me good car man(that's my name)as what i can see in your profile your an auto mechanic, are you sure you haven't seen this one? you can google this kind of wheel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now