When my car was new, the black leather shift knob was replaced with a Lapis blue one. Seven years on, I still have the original knob in mint condition with the blue one on the car. The shift pattern on the knob has developed a yellowed tint, and the blue is coming off the leather. Some might look at this and say, gross, it is years of hand slime. I see it as a beautiful patina, like a set of old billiard balls, gracefully yellowed over time. I do regularly clean the shift knob and steering wheel, so they aren't dirty. I don't have any pictures right now, but the comparison is quite dramatic. Anyone else love this long term effect?
Yes, actually. The knob on my '03 is the original and it also has a slight yellowing and patina.....my Lapis blus shift boot still looks new tho....
My original knob started to leave little chrome flecks in my hand. This is because I wear a pretty hefty college ring and it just so happened to hit the the lip of chrome every time i went to shift. Eventually I switched to an aftermarket CF knob...then to the OEM JCW CF shift knob that a buddy gave me after he wrote off his car... I don't think I have had a shift knob long enough to experience this patina...