DIY for Sticky Handbrake Handle

I previously posted a need for a diy for the refinishing (sticky repair) of the steering box. [need dyi removal of 575 lower steering column cover for sticky repair]. With advice from others, especially Bill "Konadog06", I was able to remove, clean and refinish the horribly sticky steering box I inherited when purchasing my 575.

I recently both replaced and repaired my sticky handbrake handle and wanted to share my thoughts and some photos. Others have written about this, but not in a lot of detail (as far as I can find). Maybe this will give some of you the confidence to tackle it yourself. It is amazingly simple.

My first goal was to replace the sticky handle with a carbon fiber one sourced from Chris at Valence USA. My 575 has racing seats and so the CF handle looks perfectly at home in the car. And, I love the look. If I had Daytona seats I would have stuck with the original handle.

Secondly, I wanted to restore the original handle and keep it in pristine condition.

The process was as follows:

1. Wrap sticky handle in thick microfiber towel, then clamp handle with vice-grip pliers at the base of the handle (nearest the leather-covered lever), being careful to not grip too tightly in order to avoid damaging the surface.

2. With a light-weight hammer tap the vice grips lightly near the handle, towards the front of the cabin (obviously). There is a longitudinal rib on the bottom inside of the factory handle that prevents twisting of the handle, so any attempt to remove by twisting and turning will be unproductive. Simply tap it straight out. Mine took all of about 15 seconds to remove. I guess it is possible some cars may have had more adhesive applied by the factory and may take more effort, but for me this was simple.

3. Once off you may want to wipe the exposed handle core. Mine needed no cleaning or prep.

4. Align new carbon fiber (or refurbished handle) with longitudinal rib at the base of the handle core. Cover upper end of the handle with towels and tap gently with a light hammer. Once the new handle has traveled to the brake release button, hold a deep socket (I used a 5/8" SAE socket) around the release button and tap on the socket to slide the handle the remaining way, until it is flush with the leather-covered lever. Keep a microfiber towel between the socket and the surfaces of the handle and release button to prevent scarring.

Refinishing the old sticky handle took all of about an hour - most of that time waiting for the PlastiDip to dry between coats.

1. Scrub handle using a toothbrush with denatured alcohol and wipe clean.

2. Use two to three coats of Performix PlastiDip (recommended in other posts by Konadog06), waiting 30 minutes between coats. Make the coats 'dry' coats - not heavy wet coats, and you will end up with a factory-like finish.

I will upload some photos to show the process. Hope this helps someone out there suffering from a sticky handbrake handle.
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