Pelican Parts Forums - Throttle Knob Restore

So I wanted to share this little project. Everyone here has helped me a ton and although this is pretty simple I wanted to contribute something to the board.

I am in the middle of an interior restore (down to metal and color change) on my 75 911. This week it was time to rebuild and paint the shifter and lever cluster. I was bumbed to discover there aren't replacements for the mid-year style knobs that say "Defrost" on the top. I looked at some used ones but most were in the same condition as mine.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1336701530.jpg

So I decided to try and clean mine up a bit. My car is going to be far from all original but it's fun to have some of these original bits there. I'm sure I'm not the first to do this and I'm hoping some of you will add to this to refine it a bit.

All I did was:

1. Clean the knobs. Soap and water then mineral spirits.

2. Paint the letters on the knobs. I used a enamel paint from a hobby store. First I tried to paint just the letters with a micro brush and that was pretty tough - and I have a steady hand. The next time around I over filled all the depressions. I let the paint dry overnight. It shrinks a little so I added more and let it dry again. Make sure it drys at least 24 hours before you go on. I found out the hard way the polishing compound will smear the paint if it's not totally dry.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1336702058.jpg

3. Next I started with 800 grit and wet sanded the excess paint. Then 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500, and 3000. I tried to sand in different directions with each.

4. Finally I used a polishing compound made for paint scratches and clearing headlights.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1336702203.jpg

Here is the finished project. I think they look much more red in person but the flash really brings out the imperfections. Overall I am pretty happy with the results.

Please insert jokes about polishing your knob now.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1336702369.jpg