This is more of a curiosity question. The gear shift knob on my 2006 XJ8 is badly cracked. Is there a way to remove the finish, restore the wood, and refinish it? I assume it's a lacquer coating? Here's a photo of the knob:



The reason I say this is a curiosity question is I have another knob on order (should be here in a few days), so it's being replaced. Even so, if this one could be restored, it would be a fun project, I think. Thanks for any help on this.

 

Okay. I should have just researched this. It's just lacquer on wood. It can be sanded off or chemicals can be used to slowly wipe it off. Mine is so bad that I can peel off sections without damaging the wood underneath. So, I plan to remove the lacquer, re-sand the knob, and re-lacquer it.

 

Have not attempted to remove mine, yours looks as if just spins off.
Seems that i read it was not that simple to remove.
So i have not tried to remove mine to repair the cracks in its finish.

 

I think all of the gear shift knobs from the XJ8 just screw off. There's a silver bit below the knob, but that's a separate piece and does not need to be removed to get the wooden part off. I had to crank it a bit at first to get it going, but not too bad. I wasn't afraid I was going to break anything. But I am sure it had not been removed since being put on at the factory. Once lose, it just screwed off. And if you look at the ones for sale, they all just have the metal insert with the threads in the bottom.

 

Thanks.
Good chance i will never get around to it though

 

I stripped and refinished the shift knob on my X308 (planning on doing the X350 as well sometime, looks like the one pictured). The clear coating was definitely not just lacquer, but some sort of heavy-duty polyurethane or clearcoat. Soaking in methylene chloride stripper eventually popped it loose, but it wasn't easy.

 

I can peel off chunks of mine where it's cracked. It's pretty thin. I think I can sand off the rest pretty easily, then polish, and refinish it.

 

Hi
Joining in late to this thread, and having posted another thread on Which gear knob is correct, Silver surfer said he has ordered a replacement, but where did you order it from? There are many companies selling these, but most have logos on the top, which I don’t believe is correct!
B

 

I went on ebay and looked for a gear shift knob that looked like my old one and that had photos showing it from all sides so I could see the quality. I got a virtually perfect gear shift knob that fits correctly and looks great for about $35. No logo added. Just wood.

 

Hi
Thank you. I’ve seen an original one for a lot of money, tempted as I love original. My question on my just posted thread was, should my car have Walnut? It’s got leather at present, and as I said, the original brochure states leather or Walnut. What decides which it gets?
B

 

No Idea. My 2006 XJ8 came with a wooden gear shift knob. So, that's what I stuck with. And the one from ebay was an original. It was used, but it looked brand new. Which is why I got it.

 

Mind my me asking what you paid, original I’ve seen is £139.
B

 

Heh. No problem. I'd stated it in my first reply to you above - US$35.

 

Sorry, yes missed that, good Price.
thanks
B

 

Hello
This is the OEM, optional, Daimler Gear Knob as it is described in Brochures for the X300:
I have it for sale on ebay:

https://www.ebay.de/itm/114898974669