I can tell you the wrong way. I sanded off my chrome finish then used scratch x and polishing compound to get it shiny again. Actually looks really good...for about a week then the shine fades away, it looks like dull metal, and I polish it again. Thought about getting it chromed again, but a little polishing compound every other week seems to do the trick. Not perfect, but looks a lot better than the nicked up appearance it had before
The knobs are aluminum with a clear coating on them, they are NOT chrome plated. It is usually the coating that scratches off. So to do this right, you will need to remove the coating, lightly polish the metal, then recoat with a clear coat. The permanent, and more costly solution would be to strip it and have it hard chromed, then infill the black numerals again. It will look good for a long time if hard chromed. Ferrari should simply chrome them from the start.
I've got peeling clearcoat on the shift knob, too, but since it's an auto, there are moving parts. Any advice on removing the coating and recoating without gumming up the mechanism?
The knob on my 456 is polished alloy, not plated. It may have been clearcoated once....apart from scratching - the PO was a ring wearer - it has corrosion damage around the engraving, from sweat and skin acid, I suppose - and no, I don't wear stringbacks. Was going to repolish in the lathe and recoat but......for $71 Ricambi can supply Hill Engineering copies. Have ordered one, should be here in a few days and will report. Usual excellent service from Daniel too, same day dispatch, tracking etc.
The perfect way to do it would be to remove, polish with a buffing wheel and a mild abrasive stick, then apply Nevr-Dull to protect, fill the shift pattern with black clock-makers' wax, wipe down to remove the Nevr-Dull residue and smooth the shift pattern, and then spray (airbrush) with clear coat. After that coat dries, polish lightly and repeat with another layer of clear coat. Polish once more and apply a coat of hard wax. Will outlive you. Someone else can do it for you. Buy a new one and wax and it will outlive you, too. Taz Terry Phillips
Oops sorry thought it was chromed. I'll try clear coating mine this weekend after a good polish and let you know how it turns out
Norm- All I have is a little T-Handle. Hardly seems appropriate. I was going to suggest something like this, but was afraid my credentials might get pulled. Taz Terry Phillips Image Unavailable, Please Login
Too many guys talking about polishing their knobs.................you should be out driving and not thinking about polishing your knobs, boys! Let's get some nice fall pictures or something, maybe some chicks hanging off some nice cars, enough with the knob polishing, that's a personal problem........lol........jk..........
The Hill Engineering knobs are spectacular. I have had mine for almost 8 years and it looks like the day it was installed. The black inlay to this day looks totally perfect. I say buy a new one and save the OEM one in case the next owner wants it.
