ras52 Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Hello friends, do you have any tips on cleaning up hardware which is becoming speckled with corrosion? My G&L JB-2 has pickup pole pieces and bridge saddles which are in need of a little TLC. This is fairly minor at the moment and doesn't show up too well in the pics, especially as the camera insisted on focusing on the bridge base plate rather than the saddles :-/ [url="https://flic.kr/p/p1Azry"][/url] [url="https://flic.kr/p/p3At9Y"][/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubit Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 I think once corrosion sets in to metal, you are never going to get it back to the original. I would live with it. It gives your bass more character! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ras52 Posted September 3, 2014 Author Share Posted September 3, 2014 I feared as much. But as you say, mo mojo! (Or replaceable if I decide I want lessjo.) Funny thing is, I have a couple of much older instruments which are spotless... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubit Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 I feel for you mate cos I have the most corrosive sweat ever. I need to change strings almost every gig and bridge pieces suffer too. Try wiping with a clean beer mat between songs. That will at least keep the damage to a minimum, but as I say once it's eating into the metal, your not gonna clean it up completely. I've tried cleaning it off and had no luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowieBass Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 I bought an old bass off eBay the other year and it had a fair bit of corrosion on the bridge/saddles, control knobs and tuners (no visible pole pieces with the soapbar pup). I ended up using metal polish with an old toothbrush for the milled serrated knobs (poured metal polish onto an old saucer and dipped the tips of the bristles into that) and cotton buds for the smooth surfaces (so use one end with polish on it then the other end to clean off the residue) and it got rid of the worst of it. Once a metal surface has been attacked you'll never get it back completely smooth as it was when new but it'll do a lot to improve the appearance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubit Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 The bridge in your picture doesn't look like it's too bad. I reckon a good wipe with pledge would bring that up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subdude Posted September 6, 2014 Share Posted September 6, 2014 i live in a tropical environment with high humidity and a few hundred yards from the ocean so i know your problems.... to clean the pole pieces i use a fiberglass pencil. you find them from electronic suppleirs. this removes the rust very easy and leaves the poles like new. then you can use paint or clear varnish and paint the pole pieces over to prevent new corrosion. to prevent corrosion of the small screws in the sadles, tuners etc. i use the CRC marine corrosion inhibitor spray. it is a liquid that coats the metal without cloging up the slots. i spray a small amount into the lid of the spray can and use a small paint brush to apply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ras52 Posted September 9, 2014 Author Share Posted September 9, 2014 Thanks for the further ideas, I'll certainly give the fibreglass pencil a go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefyst Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 bit of super fine wire wool should take the corrosion off the pole pieces...the plating on the bridge might be trickier Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubit Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 All these suggestions are just for surface corrosion. Again, if it's eaten into the metal, there is no going back. You are going to have to live with it or else replace the hardware on your guitar. I don't mind having worn looking hardware on my guitars, especially Fenders. They seem to suit it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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