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.

 

How much is the replacement part?

 

https://www.jaguarlandroverrenoparts...r-console-scat

@ $700

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.

 

$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:
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.

 

You cant make anything as good as the OEM for even twice the price.
If you count your time, may be 4 times the price.

Try making a .05cent coke can, it will shock you it cost thousands to manufacturer.

Consider re-plating. It could be turned into a repeatable opportunity.

 

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.

 

^^^ Clown

 

Keep in mind what has happened- the material hasnt failed, its still perfect.
The finish has failed. And that is one of the toughest finishes around.
Here is a company that will refinish for you.
Plastic Chrome Plating & Electroplating Services | Classic Chrome Plating

but you still have the screen printing to deal with for the lettering.
Maybe they can mask??
See how inexpensive and risk free that $700 is looking.

 

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?

 

Perhaps this could also be tried...I'll wait for others to experiment.

 

Or perhaps a chrome wrap of the part...

 

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.

Here is a preview. Feel free to comment.

Thank you
Malcolm"



Thoughts?

 

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.

 

It's not what I had in mind.


But it works if you have this problem:

 

Dashing Diva for the win.

 

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.