Cynic09GT

A little while ago, my parking brake button developed what seems to be a common problem on RX-8's: the silver metal-like coating that covers it cracked and began to splinter off, exposing an ugly yellow plastic beneath.

I hated the look and feel of that, so I first tried removing all of the original coating with a razor blade (very difficult) and painting the button with silver model paint.

The results weren't good. Hideous, even. I then turned to the aftermarket seeking buttons that might be adaptable to our application, and found this chrome button intended for use on a VW GTI:

https://www.aliexpress.com/store/pro...299711514.html

For $5 shipped I figured I couldn't go wrong, and I'm happy to report that the VW button is now in my car and looking great. It has a similar -- though not identical -- shape to our OEM button, a good slippery feel and the chrome better matches the stock shift **** and climate control dials. Installation took me less than 1 hour, not counting the curing time for the epoxy I used.

Steps to install the VW parking brake button:

1) Remove your old handbrake cover. There are no fasteners to undo, just sit in the passenger seat, clasp both hands over the cover and apply strong forward pressure to the cover along with a slight back-and-forth twisting force. Eventually, the cover will pop off in one piece, leaving behind the metal handbrake unit.

2) You'll now be able to see your ugly old button at the tip of the brake unit, which is a 2" long plastic piece sitting in a metal channel, attached to a threaded rod and pressed up by a spring. Pull the button firmly out of the end of the metal handbrake -- it will pop free of the square metal housing. When you have clearance, twist the button counter clockwise many times to free it from the threaded rod. Don't lose the spring, and also don't push the rod down into the assembly.

3) Study your old and new parts. Compare your new button to the old unit and use a dremel with a cutting wheel to match the angled shape of the new button tip to the old.

4) Switch your dremel tool to a sanding or polishing tip and widen the hole at the end of the parking brake cover to fit the new button. Go slowly and do not remove too much material at one time -- I used a white, bullet-shaped cotton polishing tip and even at low speeds it quickly ate away the soft rubber.

5) Test fit the VW button into the cover hole as you work. It should slip in and out of the cover easily. If it grabs or gets stuck in any way, you need to remove more rubber. Go about 1.5" down into the cover, making sure that the inside surfaces are nice and smooth. Be careful not to get careless and punch through the cover, which would be very easy to do.

6) Switch dremel bits again and grind down the end of the original button assembly. The goal here is to create a close-fitting stub that you will later insert into the VW button, which is hollow.

7) Use a strong epoxy or similar glue to attach the VW button on the end of the ground stock assembly. Total length of the finished piece should be about 2".

8) Install the new button by depressing the spring with a finger and threading the modified assembly clockwise onto the rod. When the button is fully threaded, the assembly should pop back down into the metal channel with a little downward pressure.

9) Reinstall the parking brake cover and test that everything works as desired. If the button sticks during use, you still didn't remove enough material.

10) Step back and admire your work. Enjoy while blinded by your own glory and the light reflecting from your new chrome button.