How to resurface gear shift?

[TitanTn]

I'm refinishing a lot of parts on my Saltare. Any thoughts on how to refinish the chrome plated finish? Can I sand it off? Paint it? Any way to polish it?

http://unumemarketing.com/boat/gear_shift.jpg

[sybrmike]

I'm in the same boat (no pun intended).

My lockout was busted, so I found a surplus new shifter for cheap on ebay. But I'm facing the same on the cleats, gas cap, and railing. The railing is stainless, so I know that'll polish back nice. I think the cleats, gas cap, etc are chrome plated cast (like the shifter handle). I'm gonna try some good chrome wheel polish first. Yours looks fairly pitted though, so don't know how well it'll turn out.

Yeah, you can sand and paint. I'm almost done blasting my trailer axles, hubs, suspension, etc. and painting with Rustoleum's High Performance rattle cans (couldn't put axle grease, leaf springs, bushings, brake fluid in the powdercoat oven with the trailer). I used this stuff to touch up metal fencing & has held up nice for 3 years now.

For ultra-durable finish, you can have it powdercoated. Lots of new powdercoat color options these days - neons, metallics, & even glow in the dark.

[87SunSportMikeyD]

I bought a chrome throttle knob, I think from Rex Marine online. They have large and small, the small are much easier to hold between thumb and index and make small adjustments. Far nicer than the black plastic OEM on the older boats.

[DKJBama92Mariah]

Any electroplating shop should be able to remove the pitting and rechrome that handle for you at a reasonable cost. Look in the Yellow Pages under the heading "Plating" Mine looks just as bad as yours so you've given me an idea for yet another project to tackle during this off-season.

[TitanTn]

I'm trying to be as economical as I can on some of these minor projects because I'm putting my money into the larger ones (floor, carpet, etc). I was hoping to avoid any expense on this one.

The black hub of the shifter and the black plate around it were flaking paint also. I've sanded, primed, and painted the black parts and they're really looking good. I'm wondering if I couldn't do the same with this. I'm thinking that an all black shifter might look cool anyway. And if it doesn't look good, I can take it to be plated as DKJBama suggests. How do I remove the plating? Aggressive sanding?

The PO had cored out a billiard ball and used it as the knob. Way to big and gaudy. I've removed it and thankfully the threads are still in good shape. I plan to look for a knob like what 87SunSport is referencing.

[DKJBama92Mariah]

I'm trying to be as economical as I can on some of these minor projects because I'm putting my money into the larger ones (floor, carpet, etc). I was hoping to avoid any expense on this one.

I can't blame you here.



The black hub of the shifter and the black plate around it were flaking paint also. I've sanded, primed, and painted the black parts and they're really looking good. I'm wondering if I couldn't do the same with this. I'm thinking that an all black shifter might look cool anyway. And if it doesn't look good, I can take it to be plated as DKJBama suggests. How do I remove the plating? Aggressive sanding?

A plating shop can remove the old finish by sandblasting or chemical processes. If you want it black, a powdercoating shop could do the same thing.

If you decide to do it yourself can can accomplish the same with sandpaper. I'd start with 120 grit to cut through the plating and work your way up to 600 grit or maybe 1000 grit to smooth the surface out. To get down to bare metal, you will need to sand through two layers, the chrome first, and then the copper layer underneath it. In all likelihood, you will not be able to get all the chrome off the threads where the shifter knob screws on. It will take sandblasting or a chemical process to remove this without damaging the threads. The only problem here is that you will not be able to get paint to stick where there is still chrome. As a counterpoint, this part of the handle will be covered by the shift knob so I guess it doesn't really matter.

After sanding, wash the part with dawn detergent and water to make sure you've removed all debris from the part, and then dry thoroughly. Then spray on a couple coats of metal primer. Lightly sand between primer coats if you want an ultra-smooth surface, and then finish up with the color of your choice. I must stress that proper prep-work is key here or the paint will start flaking after a season or two and rust will soon follow.

To save yourself the trouble, I'm thinking you could get the part powdercoated or plated for less than $100. It all depends on how much you value your time. Also keep in mind that powdercoating or chrome plating will be MUCH more durable over time in a marine environment than any rattle-can paint job could hope to be.



The PO had cored out a billiard ball and used it as the knob. Way to big and gaudy.
That's about the most awful thing I've heard all day. I believe the word I'm searching for is tacky.

DKJ

[TitanTn]

Well, you've convinced me. I'm going to try painting it. If I don't like it, I'll get it plated or something. I have a small sand blaster, so I'll give that a shot and see if I can get the plating off.

And yes, I think you've described the previous owner perfectly.

[wotan2525]

Here's the knob I put on mine.... Looks awesome and I always get compliments on it!

http://skidim.com/prodinfo.asp?number=ONG50020

[87SunSportMikeyD]

Per request here is my throttle knob installed on my boat. Small version, 1" diam I believe.

http://photos.wakeboarder.com/data/3519/medium/603724.jpg

http://photos.wakeboarder.com/data/3519/20090525_0587.JPG

[TitanTn]

Thanks Mike! It's nice to see it in place. I think this is exactly what I'm going to do. The small is 1 inch and the large is 1 1/4 inch. So do you think you ordered the large or the small?

[jet]

Before you paint and sand use Never Dull. ALL BOAT OWNERS NEED THIS PRODUCT. It wont take the pitting away but it will make it so shinny you wont be able to see the pitting. Use it on any aluminiums, SS, brass but be carefull of soft or special coatings like clear coats, I think it will take them off. It makes old shit look brand new and you can get it at walmart or local auto store. Jet

p.s. you might have to go over it 2or3 times.

[TitanTn]

Before you paint and sand use Never Dull...

Well, this is good to know, but I'll have to try it on the next project. I've sand-blasted and painted the shifter and shifter base. I'm going to order a stainless shifter knob to go on top. I know it's not perfect, but it looks pretty nice in real life. The camera picks up imperfections that you tend to not notice otherwise.

http://unumemarketing.com/boat/shifter_painted_sm.jpg

[rludtke]

Chroming, or re-chroming small parts isn't necisarily expensive. The plating shop will "reverse plate" the parts to remove the old chrome, refurbish the pits on the base metal by grinding, sanding and polishing, then replate and polish again. They can even fill pits by plating with other metals, such as nickel, then grind until the pits are filled and smooth. Then plate with the finished chrome. This may sound like a lot of work, but restoring old parts this way can often be less expensive than buying new.