[QUOTE]Originally posted by ulysses
[B]reviving an old thread .............. has anyone tried to restore the Titanium gear knob to its original condition ........ mine has developed scratches and stains with some loss of lustre. Tried using Mother's aluminium and metal polish (as suggested by someone here) but to no avail.

 

and those knob socks are hideous. I prefer to burn my hand from the Phoenix sun rather than put that thing over my beautiful 6-speed shifter
......................
The ultimate shifter knob sock is the one that is often used by Australians in the Outback. They tie a leather kangaroo pouch over the shifter knob. You get only one such pouch per [male] kangaroo. From the kangaroo's point of view, the pouch is more precious than titanium.

 

My 2001 came with an Aluminum shift knob standard. I had to talk the dealer into giving me a Titanium knob. I like it much better than the Aluminum knob. It looks better and it shifts better, due to the extra weight.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Rick Hesel
[B]

Chuck the thing in a drill (on a 10mm bolt with the head cut off), spin it a high speed, and use 4xxx steel wool to buff the imperfections out.

 

I would like to say that I am not a metallurgist, chemist or physicist but I am involved daily with titanium and various types off stainless steel. My back ground is with medical devices. I have made a titanium shift knob for a friend of mine who owns a corvette. All the work done on a stand manual lathes with computer controls . The material was left over from a implant job we had just completed. Material specification as follows:
Unalloyed Titanium for surgical implant applications. Commercially pure, (Grade #4 (TI 98.9%), Centerless Ground, Annealed Condition, In accordance with specification ASTM-F67- Work hardening material.

Results were favorable except after about 1 years use the threads began to strip out (cp is soft and has a tendency to roll instead of cut when milled). We reamed out the old threads and replaced them with a heli-coil thread. I will look for the picture of Ti knob and try to post it.

If I were to make the knob again I would make the knob out of Grade 6al-4v, 6al-4v eli (Extra Low Interstitial) or 6al-7nb. Titanium can be heat treated and anodized. Titanium can absolutely combust in solid form, I have seen it burn through the bed of a $400,000.00 cnc Swiss Lathe {not one of our}. If you encounter a flammable metal fire use a class "D" fire extinguisher.

As for polishing titanium my suggestion is to use red or grey Scotch-Brite or if you have a blast cabinet I would use a glass bead intended for stainless steel and use very low air pressure. It will remove all the nicks you may have gotten from a ring or watch.

I've thought about making my own shift knob for the s2000 but it would require too much work and really isn't worth the trouble. I hope I was a help to some of you.

Richard,
on a side note.

Do you know how they plan to machine the knob? I thought I read that they are milling all the knobs. I think it would the machine would be more economical if the parts were turned complete in a cnc lathe.


-Reese-

 

This is a great thread! Particularly the science - this was a great review of P-chem and metallurgy all in one.
If it's weight you want hold out for depleted uranium - I think there's a fair amount in Afghanistan at the moment. Tough to work though.

I'm so excited to have the car that I haven't even fussed about the leather wrapped shift knob yet.

2002 Black/Black