Wood Gearshift Restoration

[RogerB]

Has anyone ever restored a coupe wood gearshift knob? They appear to have a painted woodgrain over the wood knob. This is for a CSL knob, which may be the same as on others. The covering apparently deteriorates with age and probably from oils and perspiration from the hand over the years. Thanks for any help in this area!

Roger B

 

[coupeguy]

CSL knobs were the same as every other CS. If you have an original knob it is wood, the domed top is a very thin veneer for some reason on the otherwise walnut knob. Sanding this knob down on top will often result in the top cap disappearing. Very carefully use a good wood stripper and sand as little as possible to remove all the old gunk. Then use a semi gloss polyurethane spray like Minwax to refinish. Try wetting the wood with water to see if the color when finished is what you want. If not, use a stain to try to achieve the color you need. Let it dry from the water application completely before finishing of course. Personally I have seen very few original knobs on these thirty five year old cars, seems llike everyone had to have an aftermarket knob in leather or with a Roundel on top or some such.

 

[jhjacobs]

As coupeguy says, I rather doubt you will be able to restore the old knob to original beauty It probably has deeply soaked in hand oils. I would recommend buying or making a new one.

I had a '72 E3 which came with a factory wooden shift knob. When new it was very nice. The wood was real walnut; one of the lighter varieties, probably English. It did quickly deteriorate as you say so I decided to turn a new one from dark American walnut. I then had to make them for all my friends too.

Turning a new knob is a project I have in mind for my '71 coupe which has a badly worn wooden knob. I am going to try and match my Nardi steering wheel and wood trim, newly veneered with Australian Lacewood (4th coat of finish is drying right now).

 

[RogerB]

Thanks Dan and JJ for the good info. I am going to try the restoration using Dan's tips. Some more questions:

Is there a source for new knobs as you mentioned(i.e., OEM NOS, repro?)
W&N couldn't help there. I haven't tried Jaymic or Blankmann but doubtful.

If I turned some new ones, is there a source for the plastic insert, or do I need the insert?

Thanks again for your help!

Roger B

 

[jhjacobs]

When I have turned new knobs in the past I have simply drilled them and dropped in a bit of slit nylon tubing to form a sleeve. They will go on tight enough.

Good luck with restoration. If it doesn't work out let me know and I'll chuck up a second one for you when I get around to doing mine. I can't promise a schedule or quality.

 

[RogerB]

When I have turned new knobs in the past I have simply drilled them and dropped in a bit of slit nylon tubing to form a sleeve. They will go on tight enough.

Good luck with restoration. If it doesn't work out let me know and I'll chuck up a second one for you when I get around to doing mine. I can't promise a schedule or quality.

Thanks!

 

[NewSixCoupe]

My wood knob is original, and even though the top coat has some yellowing and cracking, the patina is very nice. Really no reason to refinish it...