996 Manual Gear Shift Refurbish

First post and a recent MY02 996 Coupe owner. My gear shifter was looking pretty ordinary (as can be seen in the attached pics) when I purchased the car so I decided to "refurbish" it myself rather than replace it. Im sure scratching and wear is a common occurrence  on the manual transmission models given the age, and because I'm anal I had to "fix it" cosmetically.. All required items were purchased at Bunnings for a grand total of $25. A far cry from replacing it with a used or new for $150-$250 or thereabouts.. It may or may not hold up as well as the original paint, but for $25 and not a great amount of effort I guess it's not really much of an issue if it gets scratched again! The last pic is side by side with a factory standard shifter. I couldn't tell the two apart at all so I'm thus far quite pleased with my efforts. Even removing it from the vehicle was easy and painless! I know it's a bit "yawn" but I thought I would share with the group and introduce myself.. So hi! I guess I should post up a pic of my new joy too.. http://s1039.photobucket.com/user/Metalbattle/media/Mobile Uploads/image_zpspxobnx3o.jpg.html?sort=3&o=3 I hope that link works as I am doing this on my iPhone and was having all sorts of trouble trying to upload the images as file size was way too big (and I'm technologically challenged!)

Great job on the shifter Metal and thats a cracker of a car.

Nice job. I've tried to remove my shifter before but gave up. My ones in the notorious punch a hole in the sunroof category when removing. What was the paint you picked up or did it have to get matched?

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After unclipping the base (use a butter knife wrapped in an old t-shirt to avoid damage to surrounding housing, slowly and carefully unclip the four main clips) pull the leather right up over the top of the knob and check if there's a screw holding the shifter in place. If there is you will need to loosen it (not completely remove it). There wasn't one on mine. Apparently some models do have a small screw locking it in place. I sat in the drivers seat (being right handed) dropped it into 2nd gear so it was in a locked position (more stable than neutral) where you are pulling it more toward the passenger seat than directly upwards toward the roof or worse yet toward yourself or your beautiful face.. If you are right handed place your left hand on top (as if changing gears) to stop it from flying out and damaging the car or your hand/arm/elbow etc.. Then grip directly underneath your left hand with your right and pull. For me it came off first attempt and with very little effort. No twisting. Just pull it straight in line with the angle it sits while in 2nd gear. I have read stories of people breaking windscreens, damaging sunroofs and smashing elbows, wrists or smacking themselves in the chin whilst trying to remove the shift knob. I even read about a mechanic standing with one foot on each front seat in a cab in an attempt to get leverage to remove it. Best suggestion: drop it into 2nd gear and put your non dominant hand on top to avoid the shifter flying off and causing more problems than it's worth. Then pull with reasonable but not excessive force. It should slide right off. I must admit I didn't attempt colour matching outside of using my eyes. I didn't take the shifter with me to Bunnings etc either. I was initially looking for an "arctic silver" but couldn't find it in the shop.. Brand I used was Dulux Duramax Metallic with White Knight Crystal Clear Acrylic. Matches perfectly. I'd suggest it's the same colour on the shifter as it is on the internal door handles which is another high wearing surface and likely my next refurb project if the shifter holds up well. Before I do that however I want to see how it holds up in the heat extremes of the cabin. If there is bubbling or other issues I won't repeat the process on the drivers inside door handle.. I hope this helps others considering doing something similar anyhow!

Just on the shifter the shorter tequipment ones have a screw holding them in place. Also to note, there are actually 2 silvers. Denoted by V01 and V03 in the parts catalogue. V01 is a flat silver on cars up to 02'. V03 is the metallic silver you're describing. Is the shifter now on ebay as an OEM one? I recognise the image/matting