There have been a couple threads recently on this topic, so I thought that I would document my attempt to refinish my trim ring around the shifter.

The finish on the U-shaped silver trim that surrounds the shifter boot on the 996 (1999 C4 I my case) starts to bubble and lift, as you can see from the pictures.





While I had read that it would require a full replacement the boot assembly (over $250) as the trim is an integral part of the boot assembly, I decided to try to remove and repair it.

Trim removal from shift boot assembly
It is possible to separate the trim from the assembly. Six plastic studs are molded into the back side of the trim to hold it in place in the boot assembly. Starting at the open end of the “U”, I pushed from the backside and lower part of the trim. It took some time to work them free and separate it. Go slowly, be firm, but gentle.



Removal of old trim finish
The trim is a piece of U-shaped plastic covered in a foil-like silver finish. It is this finish that was bubbling.



Starting where it had bubbled up, I used a sharp knife to peel the old foil off. This can be time consuming because the foil adheres quite well where it is not bubbled. Using a sharp blade (razor or x-acto) flush against the surface allows you to peel back the foil enough to use your thumb and forefinger and pull it off in small to medium-sized strips. I also found that if you do this at the edges of the tri, you could get larger edge to peel off. You want to be careful not to gauge the surface as this will likely show through when you paint it.



I removed 100% of the foil from the visible portion of the pieces, all of the edges, but could not get about 15% to 20% of the foil on the inner (concave) portion of the trim piece to come off and did not think it was necessary to spend any more time.

Refinishing

Preparation - Very lightly sand the outer surface of the piece with 220 grit (I did not have any 360 or 400) to rough up the surface and smooth any knife marks. Wipe it down with a damp rag to remove the sanding dust and then wipe with a rag dabbed in a small amount of acetone to clean the surface. Prime with Dupli-Color grey primer – 3 light coats.





Finishing – Finish with 3 coats of Dupli-Color VW Diamond Silver (P/N 8802029) and 2 coats of clear coat. (I took the trim to the store and VW Silver was the closest match).





Reinstallation

The trim piece simply snaps back into place.





Conclusion
The silver is a pretty close match (the picture is not representative). The new finish lacks, perhaps, a bit of metallic lustre, but is much better than what was there.

Total time was about 1.5 hours, but it took about 8 hours with paint drying time.