The shift knob coating has been cracked and dull for many years. Today a couple of big pieces of the plastic coating flaked off. I know there are really nice ones in a hundred flavors available on eBay, Amazon, etsy, etc. I am wondering if anyone has restored the original or has insights on how to do so. I can definitely peel off most of the old plastic coating but I'm not sure what I will find. Is it real wood underneath there? Can I use a bunch of layers of polyurethane to get an original looking knob? What about dipping in a clear epoxy? Appreciate any tips.

 

I only read the headline "shift knob", and knew, what you issue is... - Been there - done it:

I had the same cracks (maybe not as bad) on my S-Type and X-Type shifter knobs (they are identical).
I found a bolt, which fits the thread of the knob, cut off the hex-head of that bolt, placed the bolt with the knob screwed on like a drill-bit in a drill (in my case a battery powered one). And then I simply held/pressed the sandpaper (starting from coarse to fine) on a sanding block onto the rotating knob until the old coating was off entirely.

Then you probably need to stain the resulting clean light-brown wooden knob a bit darker (walnut or teak stain) - or not. Let it try, and then apply clear PU gloss. I actually dipped the rotating knob on the drill into a can with PU, and then continue to let the knob rotate very slowly to get an even coating. The more time you put into this last step, the better the result.




I also attempted to but a nice looking shifter knob from Aliexpr. or something like that. It was described as wood, but it was plastic. Got myself a refund. Then I attached it to a wooden lever in a 90° angle, which locks my chicken-coop - for that it's good enough....

 

Thanks Peter, I'll copy your method. The bolt needed is 8mm, 1.25 thread pitch. Maybe that info helps somebody in the future.

Funny that you mention the cracks on yours were not so bad. I had assumed it was a combination of UV exposure and excess heat and further assumed those conditions are more harsh in Australia than here on the East Coast of the US. It is good to be reminded Australia is not just Mad Max and Crocodile Dundee.

 

> Funny that you mention the cracks on yours were not so bad. I had assumed it was a combination of UV exposure and excess heat and further assumed those conditions are more harsh in Australia

I guess that's correct: UV & heat. However, it also depends on where you park your car most of the time...: In a garage? Under a carport? I have a double-carport - soon more carports, and maybe my gear knobs would not have any damage at all, if the POs also had had something like it....

> It is good to be reminded Australia is not just Mad Max and Crocodile Dundee.

Yes, it's also "(The adventures of) Priscilla, Queen of the Desert"
It's amazing how good those 3 movies are and how bad most of the other AUS movies are.

But also not too bad is: "Red Dog".

And there is a good scene in an old AUS movie (forgot the name), which I only saw once (and that was on video in Germany), where a woman from the US inherited a property in the AUS outback, and she got stranded at a train station in the outback, and when she asks questions, she get's answers, where the following words are being used: arvo, thunderbox, dunny, no worries, fair dinkum, she'll be apples, sheila.... - and after a while she yells out in desperation, close to a nervous breakdown: "Doesn't anybody speak English here?"

Addition to what I wrote earlier, which was:

--- ..., and then continue to let the knob rotate very slowly to get an even coating. The more time you put into this last step, the better the result.
I meant to continue to rotate slowly at occasional intervals. The idea being that the surface-coating of PU distributes evenly and the liquid PU does not accumulate at one point. Maybe a little bit of help from a heat gun may help.