My shift lever has a spot where the coating/plating is worn through, just
below the knob.  I tried painting it, but it got nicked and abused looking
very shortly; also was a pain to mask for the job.  This past weekend it
occurred to me to use some of the plastic wire loom I have.  I used the
spiral kind that Radio Shack sells, but there's no reason why the split
kind, or even heatshrink tubing, wouldn't work too.  Looks terrific, as
the side benefit is that the shaft looks like the later model 14mm 
diameter.
B.