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I think an issue is durability of the chrome process, notably along the inside edges where it appears that peeling occurs due to friction from repeatedly moving the shift lever. What do you think about making the prototype in black and just chroming the top surface? The shift lever could move without damaging the black plastic inside edges, which wouldn't be noticeable and would match the rest of the black surround assembly.
Or again, stick an old plastic piece in a 1:1 CNC machine, give it two hours, and behold your nice shiny aluminum one.
Well, it may need to be flipped once...
We can machine this on our CNC
The issue is you need to finish that part- and you are back to square 1
Also many plastic parts rely on flexibility for assembly.
The easiest thing you can do is:
1. have it re-chromed- it will last as long as your original part, maybe longer.
2. Put a carbon-fiber wrap on it, which will remain scratch-free for 3 years.
3. Cover it with leather (thin skived)
Basically you need a material that will hold up to abrasion.
Since you've played this game you know CNC's gonna be a bear to hold rigid enough to get a good finish and also going to have troubles on the inside corners. Small diameter tool for corners requires smaller step overs and the finish is still going to look like crap at .010". I could probably make the part at my house but it's way too labor intensive to finish and I'm pretty sure I could polish it well. Small parts suck, small flimsy parts even worse.
Maybe rough it and wire EDM the last couple thousandths. I've never played with one so I don't know how well the tool would stand up to repeat parts. I can only imagine the cycle time is going to be forever.
... Unfortunately, I couldn't find a separate replacement part just for that chrome J trim, and the only OEM replacement part is the entire surround, which is very expensive ...
$700 to fix this small piece of trim is beyond "very expensive "; it's ridiculous.
There's a business case to be made for an affordable overlay, since every 4.2L X150 will need one eventually. The worldwide market is huge. I'm surprised that we haven't heard from any Forum sponsors that sell parts.
$700 to fix this small piece of trim is beyond "very expensive "; it's ridiculous.
There's a business case to be made for an affordable overlay, since every 4.2L X150 will need one eventually. The worldwide market is huge. I'm surprised that we haven't heard from any Forum sponsors that sell parts.
I was in touch with a vendor on eBay (solar_signa) that was planning to manufacture an aluminum (aluminium for our British brethren) overlay, but my last contact with him was in late August, as shown below:
Hi Kurt,
I wanted to let you know we have not forgot about the new model but are experiencing problems with our supplier. We have found an alternative solution but it is not an immediate one.
Best regards
Malcolm
He previously manufactured an overlay for the XK8 model (a true "J" gate, whereas ours is more of an "L" gate, IMO) and I'll bring it back to the board if I hear back from him again. In the meantime, full steam ahead on any other solutions to this known issue.
FWIW, I broke down and bought a used shifter assembly on eBay for $300 and swapped it out. The used ones that are cosmetically perfect are becoming as scarce as hen's teeth out there due to the aging of our vehicles.
Since you've played this game you know CNC's gonna be a bear to hold rigid enough to get a good finish and also going to have troubles on the inside corners. Small diameter tool for corners requires smaller step overs and the finish is still going to look like crap at .010". I could probably make the part at my house but it's way too labor intensive to finish and I'm pretty sure I could polish it well. Small parts suck, small flimsy parts even worse.
Maybe rough it and wire EDM the last couple thousandths. I've never played with one so I don't know how well the tool would stand up to repeat parts. I can only imagine the cycle time is going to be forever.
After you get the tooling marks out by hand, you still have to anodize or plate the material or paint, all of which will eat your lunch many times over.
Polished or brushed aluminum will look worse than the part you are taking out withing weeks.
If it were me, I would take several photos of the issue(s) involving the shift gate and send them to Plastic Chrome & Plating asking if they have ever had any experience dealing with the gate. Or, better than that why not give them a call first?
Has anyone tried or even considered a touch up with chrome nail polish? (See "Dashing Diva" in the pic.) Or even a liquid metal product such as J-B Weld?
A quick follow-up on my post from yesterday, which prompted me to send a follow-up note to Malcolm at "solar_signa" on eBay regarding the status of his initiative. I received the following response, along with a photo of his prototype
"Hi Kurt,
We've managed to obtain a first prototype but we still need to find the right double sided tape to hold the plate to the original piece. We also need to fabricate the mold that will shape the plate.
I wish you guys had never started this thread, because yesterday I looked at mine and see a spot where the chrome is coming off. I would probably never have noticed it before, but now I can't not see it.
A quick follow-up on my post from yesterday, which prompted me to send a follow-up note to Malcolm at "solar_signa" on eBay regarding the status of his initiative. I received the following response, along with a photo of his prototype
"Hi Kurt,
We've managed to obtain a first prototype but we still need to find the right double sided tape to hold the plate to the original piece. We also need to fabricate the mold that will shape the plate.
Agreed. I made the "rookie" mistake of trying to correct my peeling chrome by re-touching the chrome ring with chrome paint. Because I'm "smart", I taped around the chrome ring to make sure none of that got on the black part. It actually looked good ... until I pulled up the tape, and the black paint with it, including the backlight shifter points. Painting over it (with black paint) made it appear better, but I lost that backlighting frame of reference (not an issue for me, but for the Mrs. or other/future drivers, it would be).
The other reason I think the entire overlay might make a better solution here is the scarcity of cosmetically pristine used shifter assemblies. I passed on close to a dozen of them via eBay and other after-market sites as they either had something wrong with the paint or the chrome ring, but were in good working mechanical condition. It wound up costing me $300 plus an hour of my time to swap assemblies for what amounted to a cosmetic issue.
Malcolm's overlay piece might be a bit 'futuristic' for some, but it addresses multiple problems for what will likely be a fraction of the cost. My $0.02 worth on his design.