When I bought my '65 TR4A, it came with a wooden steering wheel already installed. Unfortunately, the DPO had stored the car uncovered outside for about 10 years, so all that was left of it was the chrome spokes and a rusted iron ring for a rim. Since my restoration budget didn't include $300+ dollars for a new wooden wheel, I had to come up with an alternative. I didn't care for the type of wheel that came with the TR4A, so I went to the local LBC junkyard and browsed around. I wound up buying a rusty TR6 type wheel with the rubber grip for $20. The following is the steps I took to restore the wheel prior to installing in my car, and notes of what I would do differently if I were to do another one:

1. Removed the rim from the hub.

2. Sandblasted the hub to remove corrosion and old paint.

3. Prime, then paint with gloss black paint.
(Note #1: Next time I might try powdercoating)

4. Bake hub in oven at 200 degrees for 30 minutes.

5. Spray layer of clearcoat on hub.

6. Starting on the rim, trim the rubber back on the spokes (since it had cracked so badly) even with the rim.  This will also make the leather cover fit better.

7. Sandblast the spokes, making sure you get all the rust and corrosion off.
This left the spokes clean, but pitted in places, so this next step was very time-consuming

8. Prime and sand until spokes are smooth.
(Note #2: I guess you could try spot putty or JB Weld to speed this up)

9. Spray several layers of metallic silver.
(Note #3: this proved very sensitive to ANY contact, so I tried the next step)

10. Spray layer of clearcoat on spokes.
(Note #4: This turned the bright silver to a dull grey, so ...)

11. Scrape paint off of spokes.

12. Reprime, then brush on an oil-based silver enamel.
(Note #5: and 2 days after I did this I found out that POR has just released Metal Mask - a bare steel colored product that would have been perfect!)

13. Install a leather wheel cover (from Victoria British) per directions.
(Note #6: Took me a week and left me with blisters and cuts!)

 I think it looks great, except for some small gaps around the spokes.  If I were to redo this, I think I would drill/chamfer 2/3 holes in each spoke so that the cover can be pulled tight against each one. Also, get yourself a latch-hook to pull the laces tight, it's the only way to get the cover tight enough to look like a professional job.

That's it, for about $45 total, I have a good-looking, usable wheel.