greenlee i have a strat style neck that is in need of some nickle kluson type tuners for an 70,s greco strat i have and was wondering if anybody had any experience aging or "relicing"nickel hardware.i cant see putting on shiny parts when the rest of the guitar has aged.this is strictly cosmetic ofcourse .any suggestions?
SawaotheBuster heres what I do if I ever need aging...throw them outside and get em in about a week or so depending on your climate...prob with that is it may just super rust if you don't watch it...so I don't know...I've only done with plastic so you may not wanna try it( I have no idea what the moisture will do to the nickel so...)I just think that nature do a better job than any "relic'ing"
PaLo_aLTo paul_ said: use your breath. only works for a few seconds though, and you get lightheaded quickly. 😆😆
Nimbus Maybe rubbing the parts with some toothpaste that has small particles in it could work.. But try it on your own risk, I've never done any "aging" to any material. Washing the parts afterwards is recommendable if you try this, if you don't want a really fresh smelling guitar. 🙄
SawaotheBuster you fool!the toothpaste will protect the tuners from the decaying affects of plaque!!!! 😁
Tweez SawaotheBuster said: you fool! the toothpaste will protect the tuners from the decaying affects of plaque!!!!And kill any residual tartar
Gavin Lawl.Don't age the bits at all. Metal parts on guitars look better when they're shiny and new, in fact, all parts of guitars look better shiny and new.
Bob_the_godly_dude Gavin said: Lawl. Don't age the bits at all. Metal parts on guitars look better when they're shiny and new, in fact, all parts of guitars look better shiny and new.I'll second that!
Gavin greenlee said: i cant see putting on shiny parts when the rest of the guitar has aged.Well actually I see his point, they would look out of place on an old guitar. You could try burying them in the back garden for a few weeks, I have no idea if that would work, I've never tried aging a guitar before, but I'd try that if I was gonna try anything. I wrap them in some fabric though, to stop them getting full of mud.
Bob_the_godly_dude Yeah, I supose, or go mad and replace all the hardwear with new hardwear, but that'd be expensive and annoying probably.The garden idea sounds most natural, but there's the risk of ruining them. I'd probably try the toothpaste thing first.
Gavin Some website I found said: Hardware Aging Here's a great way to do the hardware: Get a thick plastic container, at least 12" x 12" inches square with a flat plastic lid. Drill small holes in the lid, spaced a couple inches apart. Get a bottle of Muratic acid. This is sold at all home depot/home base, supply type stores. Get a nice respirator with good vapor filters and a place with lot's of ventilation cos' it stinks! Pour 1 or 2 inches of muratic acid in the bottom of the container and cover with the lid. Arrange the hardware on top of the lid, without any parts touching, screws touching are OK. Cover entire bucket tightly with black plastic trash bag. Leave overnight for aging and check in the morning to see how things are progressing. You can pull a part out and wipe off to see how the aging is going. Make sure you use nice rubber gloves. Leave in longer if more aging is desired. When the parts are done, pull them out and rinse off with soapy water. Make sure you oil any moving parts, like the bridge pieces,screws and tuners otherwise they might freeze up. http://www.tdpri.com/resourceRELICING.htm
mumblyjoe The thing i would be worried about when ageing them is whether or not it would effect the working of the tuners. Sure they might look great, but they are useless if they cant be used to tune the guitar
Nimbus mumblyjoe said: The thing i would be worried about when ageing them is whether or not it would effect the working of the tuners. Sure they might look great, but they are useless if they cant be used to tune the guitarTrue. Best way would be to age the visible parts of the tuners and keep the mechanics inside like new. Maybe by disassembling the tuners and aging only the visible parts, but is it possible to disassemble them? Or then protect the mechanisms inside the tuners with something, not sure if large amount of vaseline/etc would do.
Nimbus Gavin said: The moving parts won't be nickel coated, so it won't affect them.Ok! I haven't studied chemistry much but I thought an acid would affect almost all metals.. Don't know what is muratic acid either, maybe some weaker acid.
Lou toothpaste can be used to shine jewelry so I doubt it would work.I like Paul's idea.Just do that though.......12 times in a row, every half hour
Pedro If I was going to do it I'd steer clear of acid cos if it wears the gearing at all too you've wasted your time and a set of tuning pegs. Maybe get some 1200 grade wet+dry paper from your local car spares shop and give all the shiny visible surfaces a light rub down. It should take the brand new shine off and give a nice matt vintage-looking finish. Obviously try it on a less noticable area first in case it doesn't work!
Gavin Sanding would look fake.The muriatic acid technique is how Fender Custom Shop do it, so I wouldn't be worried about it.
Nimbus But do they cover/shield/etc the gears somehow at Fender Custom Shop when they use the acid..? Don't wanna be difficult here, it's just not very easy to believe that acid wouldn't eat all the metal there..
