Steering wheels

Howard. Yes, the Derrington could be polished (buffed), but I don't recommend it. First, a power buffing puts the wood at risk of damage - which can happen very quickly with an inadvertent touch of the buffing wheel. Also, an original wheel can be devalued by over-polishing. Collectors and purists expect some amount of patina on a genuine wheel. I have had a NOS Les Leston returned to me by a collector just because I cleaned and lightly hand polished it prior to delivery. Just something to consider given your large investment. What I would recommend is a hand polishing with a fine polish like Semichrome. Mineral spirits is good for removing grime, and a general cleaner for dirt. Just be careful of what you use because some cleaners (and polishes) can react badly with aluminum.

Derrington did not anodize their spokes, nor did Walsall (Les Leston), and most others. However, I believe the newer Nardi wheels as used on many replicas do have anodized spokes.

Regards,
Mike Lempert

Howard, I agree with Mike here, unless the steering wheel is dirty and grimey, I would not do much to it. I think you will find that the patina will add to the original look of your car.

I have a few hairline cracks in my steering wheel and it adds to the "vintage" appearence.

I use Mother's metal polish in my newer Nardi and it works beautifully on aluminum.

I refinished this Jag XKE wheel using 6" discs. Starting with 80# and finish with 220# or finer . Do the details with a dremel flat disc.
Some like a brushed finish so the sun doesnt blind you.
VERY tedious job, but the only way to get out the nicks.

Those pics pretty much illustrate how I wrecked my Moto-Lita wheel. Although the surface seemed to be better looking and have a cool "brushed" like finish, the edges were no longer well defined. They lost their crispness as your's have, much more rounded off than they were originally.

Ok for a driver or hobbiest, but the purists and professionals considered it worthless and look elsewhere.

Too bad, it kinda takes one more pleasure away from owning something cool, fine or precious. You almost become a caretaker or curator in a sense. Better not wreck it by cleaning it or removing the nick or whatever, 'cause the NEXT owner won't like that.

Of course I can totally see their point. I'd never want to own anything that was ruined or messed around with. I wouldn't ruin or mess around with anything myself.

This is probably very obvious, but I'll make the point anyway. Nicks, scratches, and gouges are not removed - it's the material surrounding them that gets removed. The deeper the mark, the more material, so either the surface will no longer be flat or the spoke will be thinned out.

One should always make their own decisions based on their values. But you have to weigh the benefit against the negative impact on value and decide which is most important to you. These type of decisions are made all the time when folks modify their original cars (not so much an issue with replicas).

Regards,
Mike L.

"Nicks, scratches, and gouges are not removed -"

Don't tell my wife, she thinks the I'm magic when I make 'em disappear . . .

Im done.... That wheel is staying with me nicks, scatches and all. I'll learn to love it just the way it is. Its very minor marks anyway. The wood itself is perfect. I appreciate all the input. If I had it to doo again. Id let Mike custom make a wheel for me. Want to trade?

I dropped in on Mike today and saw some of his work, including a jaw-dropping custom wheel for a street rod in CA. Incredible! I agree with Howard, I wish I'd known about Mike's wheels sooner.