Look what I discovered today:
The whole shift knob can be dismantled into several parts.
That stupid silver "button" is really a cover that lifts off of the hinged button assembly -- held in place by two small plastic push clips on either side and a thin piece of double sided tape.
It's plastic. I'm going to sand it down smooth and repaint either silver or black and reassemble.
Problem of incorrect lettering soon to be solved
I suppose if I was really ambitious I could carve in fresh lettering, but I probably won't. Too hard to make it not look like crap.