Got a Wheel Back From Stutzman's Wheel Shop

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2012: Got a Wheel Back From Stutzman's Wheel Shop
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Coiro on Friday, July 27, 2012 - 03:09 am:

When I asked for a quick turnaround on rebuilding my rear wheel, Stutzman's Wheel Shop said they'd do their best to accommodate me. They did get the job done in about a week, which was even faster than I'd hoped. The price they charged for the rebuild was low enough to make me feel guilty about it.

The natural wood on this wheel looks so darn beautiful, I hate to paint the spokes and felloe black to match the other three wheels (I didn't get a chance to take a snapshot of the wheel this evening, but will post some pix tomorrow). In any case, I'll have to either paint or varnish it and it seems to me the right way to do that job would be to unscrew the nuts and take the two brake drums (Rocky Mountain and Ford parking brake) off, first. I'm wondering, though; if I do that, will the wheel fling itself apart and leave me with a pile of spokes?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Russell Day on Friday, July 27, 2012 - 03:48 am:

Not likely, just don't drop the wheel on the hub end and you will be fine. To be safe, remove the nuts and brake drums and put the nuts back on. The hub has a large flange on the back side the drum lays against so there is plenty of support. Tape off what you don't want varnished and go from there. Piece of cake!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Royce in Dallas TX on Friday, July 27, 2012 - 06:50 am:

You can remove the hub easily if the bolts have not been peened over. I just removed the hub from a 30 X 3 wheel that Stutzmann did for me. I used a lead shot filled mallet to knock the hub thru. Nothing came apart, no problem whatsoever, no press needed, try it and see for yourself. I knocked the other hub in and it fit perfectly, all holes aligned, etc.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Will,, Trenton,,,New Jersey on Friday, July 27, 2012 - 07:33 am:

I sent all four my wheels to be respoked to them 25 June. Still waiting. I thinking maybe the first or secound week of Augest. They do very good work for a very low price. Well worth the wait. They did the the wheel for my Smith and I could not be more pleased


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ricks - Surf City on Friday, July 27, 2012 - 07:54 am:

Will, do you have a Smith Motor Wheel? My oldest brother built one around a motor.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Coiro on Friday, July 27, 2012 - 11:40 am:

THANKS FOR THE RESPONSES, GUYS... NOW THAT BRINGS ME TO THE SUBJECT:

I'm considering staining and varnishing this beautiful new wheel, but that means I'll have to strip the paint off the other three wheels before I can stain and varnish them to match. I'm wondering about the down-side of that intent:

Considering I'm a know-nothing newbie with no facilities other than a garage attached to my house, what would be the simplest (I'm dumb), least back-breaking (I'm crippled), least messy (I'm married) method of stripping off the paint that won't infuriate my environmentally-oriented neighbors?

Will I have a problem getting the other three wheels to match this new one because of the difference in age and weathering?

Would this really be worth the hassle or should I just paint the new wheel black and fuhgedabowdit?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Charlie B actually in Toms River N.J. on Friday, July 27, 2012 - 11:55 am:

The way I see it the chances of you getting the old spokes clean enough to match the new is about zip any way. My only experience is cleaning up spokes that were natural but needed re-doing. Frankly, it was a chore and they weren't painted at all. I was pleased with the result (see my profile pic) but it was all old wood besides.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Will,, Trenton,,,New Jersey on Friday, July 27, 2012 - 11:57 am:

The simple answer is to send out the other three wheels! Problem solved. Rick,,,, The wheel I had them do last year is for my Smith Form a Truck.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Royce in Dallas TX on Friday, July 27, 2012 - 02:21 pm:

I did this on my '15 touring by brushing on aircraft brand paint stripper on a 90 degree day. While it was wet I (wearing rubber gloves and a face shield) scraped the spokes with a tri corner babbit scraper tool. Let the stripper dry completely, about 2 hours. Then drove to the car wash and used high pressure water to remove the rest of the paint.

Sanded with 80 grit, 180 grit, 320 and then 400. Applied a light oak stain to hide some of the soaked in oil stains. Applied Minwax Polyurethane spar varnish with a 1" camel hair brush.

Then I masked off all the wood and the tires and painted the hubs and rims gloss black.

I think if you stain the wheels they can look pretty good.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mike Walker, NW AR on Friday, July 27, 2012 - 02:23 pm:

I think they look nice when painted shiny black, as they were originally. This is one of 4 brand-new ones I bought from John McLaren, with felloes and spokes by the Stutzmans.

wheel

That way you needn't worry about re-doing the other three. :-)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Coiro on Friday, July 27, 2012 - 06:11 pm:

Here's a snapshot of the wheel I got back from Mr. Stutzman.



Yeah, that salmon-pattern woodgrain is too beautiful to cover up with black paint, so it'll get a very light-handed wipe of orange stain and a few coats of varnish. So, on to the other three wheels, which are painted black...

I'm reading a lot of good things about a product called "Citristrip."

If the advertising is to be believed, there's pretty much no downside to using this stuff... just paint it on and after a while, hose it off. I'm wondering whether it might be possible to use this stuff on my black-painted wheels without going through the bother of taking the tires off the rims. Any thoughts on this?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By George Button III (Chip), Lake Clear, NY on Friday, July 27, 2012 - 07:42 pm:

Bob, go with a good quality marine spar varnish and you won't need to use any stain. If you use stain, it's harder to refinish if you get any "burn thru" from weathering down the road. If you want help send me a message and I will be glad to walk you thru the process....Chip


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Royce in Dallas TX on Friday, July 27, 2012 - 09:02 pm:

It won't hurt anything to try the Citrus product. If Aircraft brand paint stripper doesn't hurt tires I don't see how that environmentally safe stuff would.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Russell Day on Saturday, July 28, 2012 - 12:24 am:

I've used Citistrip on furniture and to remove lacquer from an elevator cab prior to refinishing. It is a bit slower but doesn't gag you with the smell. Like anything else, wash it down when you are done.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Orlando Ortega Jr. on Saturday, July 28, 2012 - 01:32 pm:

I've never stripped wheels yet, but I read somewhere that putting the wheel (or whatever you're stripping) in a plastic bag and let it sit for awhile allows the stripper to work in better.

Orlando


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By David Dewey, N. California on Saturday, July 28, 2012 - 03:19 pm:

Hmm, the strippers my Uncle told me about used feathered fans. . . .


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Coiro on Friday, August 03, 2012 - 09:36 pm:

So I stained my new wheel, today. Tried to get it the same color as my steering wheel. They'll look more alike once I get a couple of coats of varnish on it.



Looks like I'm committed to stripping, staining and varnishing the other three wheels, now.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Andrew Deckman, Ogden Utah on Friday, August 03, 2012 - 10:09 pm:

You can always paint later.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Coiro on Saturday, August 04, 2012 - 12:14 am:

Better photo of the stained wheel (not varnished yet):


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By George Harrison,Norco Ca on Saturday, August 04, 2012 - 12:19 pm:

Looks great Bob,should be beautiful after varnish.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Coiro on Monday, August 06, 2012 - 08:20 pm:

And here it is after a little light sanding and the first coat of varnish...

.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Coiro on Saturday, August 11, 2012 - 05:36 pm:

Every day, I sand it down with 320 paper, wipe it off with a sponge soaked in mineral spirits, mix up a batch of varnish/Penetrol/mineral spirits, paint on a single coat, clean the brush in the back-yard, give the wheel three-quarters of a turn every ten minutes for the first hour of drying and then let it dry a full twenty-four hours before sanding it down, again. Got seven coats to go.



Man, this is tedious, but I have to admit, the results are starting to look nice.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Coiro on Saturday, August 11, 2012 - 05:56 pm:

Better photo...


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By George Harrison,Norco Ca on Saturday, August 11, 2012 - 06:04 pm:

That really looks nice.I used to be glad I had wire wheels.Now not so much


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By George Button III (Chip), Lake Clear, NY on Saturday, August 11, 2012 - 06:23 pm:

Lookin good! Shouldn't need to add mineral spirits, penetrol will make it flow.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Erich Bruckner, Vancouver, WA on Saturday, August 11, 2012 - 06:52 pm:

Wow, Bob, those look fantastic. Very classy. Your car is going to look great with new shoes like those. These wood parts are a great place to do a little "over restoring" in my opinion.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Coiro on Saturday, August 11, 2012 - 07:21 pm:

George H,
I think the black cars look really good with wire wheels, but I like the brass cars to have wooden spokes—just my odd personal taste (I also like maple-bacon ice cream).

Chip,
The Penetrol makes quite a difference. It flows on so much smoother when I use that stuff and the varnish dries with a lot fewer bubbles.
Next coat, no mineral spirits.

Erich,
I'm kind of a purist at heart, but wood-grain looks so much richer than plain black paint. True, a Tin Lizzy isn't supposed to look ritzy, but the black body photographs poorly, so the wood-grain will add a bit of texture. Let's see if I feel the same way after doing another three wheels!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Coiro on Tuesday, September 04, 2012 - 02:52 pm:

Finally finished the wheel. Stain, sanding between twelve coats of varnish, paint, mounting the tire (and retouching the paint I messed up while mounting the tire) took about a month. One down, three to go.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By George Button III (Chip), Lake Clear, NY on Tuesday, September 04, 2012 - 03:08 pm:

Looks Great!! Was it worth the work in you opinion?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By George Harrison,Norco Ca on Tuesday, September 04, 2012 - 06:22 pm:

That wheel looks great. Best of luck finding the energy to do 3 more.It will be worth the effort.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Coiro on Tuesday, September 04, 2012 - 07:20 pm:

Chip,

For the most part, I followed your recipe, including the Penetrol and Epiphane varnish. I diverted a bit by staining the wheel first, because my hood shelves and steering wheel were already that orangish-brown color. I figured the wooden spokes should match the other wood on the car (and whether by design or lucky accident, they do match very well).

Twelve coats of varnish takes between two and three weeks to lay down because each coat takes one-and-a-half days to dry. Sanding between coats is a mindless, boring chore that takes about two hours each time. The varnish itself is very dust-sensitive and in my laundry-room workshop, there's just no way to get rid of all the flying lint and dust. That's okay for the first several layers, but laying the last few coats of varnish on without too many obvious blemishes was a challenge. I did strain the varnish through a no-nonsense filter, as you recommended. Thin varnish coats seem to go on better, but when you sand that, most of it disappears, so it takes quite a few layers to build up a suitable coat of clear armor. Next time, I'll plan on sanding the wood dead-smooth, down to maybe 600-grade paper, before applying the first coat of varnish. Maybe that way, I won't have to seal quite so much grain to smooth things out.

So, was it worth it? Well, I did lose a major chunk of the driving season that I wouldn't have had I simply brushed on a few coats of black Rustoleum. I think this makes a good winter project and after this driving season, plans are to start on the other rear wheel, either by stripping or getting another rebuild from Mr. Stutzman. Because of the ball-bearing races on the front wheels, they may be a bit more of a challenge to handle than the rear wheels. A simple 5/8ths-inch dowel in the vice probably won't do it, so I'm wide open to suggestion, there.

I suppose the do-it-yourself aspect of this hobby does have its satisfactions, but without the advice and physical help of expert friends, this wouldn't be much fun. I'm blessed to have been the recipient of both.

For the very first time, my wife has an opinion of the appearance of the car and it's just my luck it turns out she's a purist who feels I should have painted the wheel black for the sake of maintaining originality. As for me, I really like the appearance of wood-grain and there's just no arguing that such treatment looks very darn good. Worth the effort? Yeah.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By michael grady on Tuesday, September 04, 2012 - 07:34 pm:

Chip...If your wife likes the black paint, this is great! You only have one more wheel to go! put two black ones on her side, and just finish one more in stain for your side. Perfect.


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