How to keep the paint stuck to my new shift knob?
 

I got a new shift knob and the wife is painting it for me. Once it is painted I was thinking of using Krylon acrylic clear coat to seal it. I am not sure if this is going to be enough to keep the acrylic paint underneath from flaking off eventually with the amount of use this thing gets. Can I get it powder coated clear or something? No pics of teh shifter until the paint job is complete. It will probably be a few days although she is working on it now.

Drew

You are going to have a hard time finding a coating to last on your shift knob. I is exposed to a lot of abrasion from the friction applied by your hand when you grab and it intensified by the vibrations of your running engine. The coating you put on has to be very hard, acrylics are typically more flexible and soft and I think after a couple of uses it will rub off. A urethane clear like automobiles use would be a better solution. If you know any automotive painters they could shoot it with multiple layers of clear for you. More is better for this application, so if you can get 10 or more coats I think it will hold up.
The big question is....What type of paint is your wife painting it with? Compatibility between what she used and urethane clear is another concern. Urethane is pretty aggressive and can lift alkyds and acrylics... sign painters paint and paint used to make pin stripes should be compatible with urethane's.

Hope this helps.... Any coating related questions feel free to shoot me a message, I've been in the field for 28 years and do not mind offering my 2 cents.

Ha.... I should have had my second cup of coffee down before I started offering advise... Using acrylic to paint your shift knob is going to be tough to get it to stay on. Did you sand the knob first with like 600-800 grit sandpaper? Did you wipe it down with a mild solvent to remove any grease, oils, fingerprints so that the paint sticks only to the knob and not other surface contaminates? An acrylic clear wont lift the acrylic paint, possibly if you put enough coats on it will last but I have my doubts. It would need to be a good quality clear though as lesser quality clears tend to yellow as thickness builds.
I'm curious to know how it turns out.

My first thought is clear epoxy. It's the coating used on lotsa bars (the place you sit and drink) when they want to seal thing into the surface.

This might sound weird, but I coated a wooden handle for an outdoor fireplace poker with Gorilla Glue. It dries clear and shiny. That thing stays outside 365 days a year, and still has a nice coating on it. Nothing penetrates that stuff.

You may want to try it on a practice piece first.

Thanks guys. the paint job is done, waiting for my phone to update to get a pic. I can always have it repainted. I guess the one shot sounds like the best idea. We'll see how this wears. I avhe to drill and tap it still too. I probably should have drilled and tapped it first too. It is all a learning experience for me.

Drew

if it were mine I would dip it in clear epoxy.

Try some automotive clear polyurethane. Two or 3 coats of that will should last awhile.

Heck of an idea

Since I used acrylic paint, which is water based I have to be careful what I use to coat it or it will crack. I'm going to try 10 coats of the Krylon acrylic sealer. It needs another day or two to completely dry. I just drilled it. Small bit, bigger bit, bigger bit. Easy as pie.

Drew