Members Jazzer2020 Posted June 7, 2018 Members Share Posted June 7, 2018 I have a Gibson humbucker that sounds great but its cover is badly corroded (lost its sheen).If I wanted to restore the original shine what would I do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jtr654 Posted June 7, 2018 Members Share Posted June 7, 2018 Nothing . Were they Chrome or nickel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Danocoustic Posted June 7, 2018 Members Share Posted June 7, 2018 You could replace the cover. Fairly easy job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 You could replace the cover. Fairly easy job. That's probably the best option. Like jtr654 did, I'm wondering if the covers are chrome or nickel, and what kind of "corrosion" we're talking about. OP, can you possibly post a picture of the pickup cover so we can see it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted June 7, 2018 Members Share Posted June 7, 2018 People go thru a lot of effort to make new pickups look old (its called relicing and I hate it) and they almost always fail. Here is a very old Custom with the original pups - no way would I put shiny new covers on that baby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 People go thru a lot of effort to make new pickups look old (its called relicing and I hate it) and they almost always fail. Here is a very old Custom with the original pups - no way would I put shiny new covers on that baby [img2=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","src":"http:\/\/i51.photobucket.com\/albums\/f387\/Freeman_Keller\/Repairs\/Les%20Paul%20Custom\/IMG_4392-2_zpskjjthbhi.jpg"}[/img2] That Custom is a great example of why I don't usually care for gold plated hardware... but then I've usually been more concerned with taking care of my guitars and trying to keep them looking good than I have been with trying to mess them up and make them look faux old. Gotta agree with you Freeman - a new pickup cover on that guitar would stick out like a sore thumb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members badpenguin Posted June 7, 2018 Members Share Posted June 7, 2018 Leave them alone. It's called 'mojo' and people pay extra for that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted June 8, 2018 Members Share Posted June 8, 2018 The best polish I've found is called Nevr-Dull. It should work if anything will. Do be sure to mask the wood first. [ATTACH=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","title":"Nevr.jpg","data-attachmentid":32249986}[/ATTACH] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted June 8, 2018 Members Share Posted June 8, 2018 ^^^ You never want to use anything corrosive or could scratch the gold hardware. (If its new) if its old and worn through like this then its a waste of time. Gold hardware is hard to maintain. I have several instruments including the LP in my Avatar which have gold. The oils from your hands is corrosive and eats right through it. Once the gold electroplating is gone, no polish is going to bring it back. Unlike others, I see no problem with you replacing the covers. You simply want to be sure they are the correct type and not some cheap import junk. . You can buy actual Gibson hardware and redo all the worn metal. You can keep the old pieces in case someone wants to put it back on there. Don't know many would prefer to play a guitar that looks like crap but I suppose there are some. So long as its actual Gibson hardware of the same design the instrument wont loose its value. I've had to change the tail once, bridge twice, tuners 3X on mine. It still has the same resale value. I will say you should expect to pay 2~3X more for actual Gibson hardware. Once you have new hardware I suggest you apply several layers of carnauba paste wax. Once you have a thick coat on there the salts/oils from your hands wont penetrate and eat away at the plating. What's important to know is whether you plan to maintain the new hardware. By the looks of those pictures and the layers of crud there its obvious why the original hardware is in bad shape. If you don't think you can get into the habit of cleaning and waxing the hardware then I really don't see much sense in replacing it. If you Only clean hardware at string changes, then you shouldn't expect new gold hardware to last more then a year and then you are right back to where you are now. If you clean the hardware after each playing to remove finger prints and put a coating of wax back on you may get 5~8 years before it wears through, depending on how much you actually play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Danocoustic Posted June 8, 2018 Members Share Posted June 8, 2018 ...those are Freeman's pics, not the OP's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jazzer2020 Posted June 8, 2018 Author Members Share Posted June 8, 2018 Like jtr654 did, I'm wondering if the covers are chrome or nickel, and what kind of "corrosion" we're talking about. OP, can you possibly post a picture of the pickup cover so we can see it? Thanks for the replies guys. Not sure if it is chrome or nickel. It's definitely not gold! Here are some photos. You can compare the shine of the screws to the pickup. This is not something that is very important to me, just had the idea a few days ago that it might look better. The guitar is 90's vintage, but has had mods done to it (removed the other pickup and filled the hole with a wood plug). Removed the other pickup's control (left the holes). [ATTACH=JSON]{"alt":"Click image for larger version Name:\t2evbuiq.jpg Views:\t1 Size:\t53.7 KB ID:\t32250720","data-align":"none","data-attachmentid":"32250720","data-size":"full","title":"2evbuiq.jpg"}[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=JSON]{"alt":"Click image for larger version Name:\tra59h3.jpg Views:\t1 Size:\t53.4 KB ID:\t32250721","data-align":"none","data-attachmentid":"32250721","data-size":"full","title":"ra59h3.jpg"}[/ATTACH] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jazzer2020 Posted June 8, 2018 Author Members Share Posted June 8, 2018 A couple more photos to fill out the picture more. Here you will see I also changed the tailpiece to something much lighter in weight. It went from tarnished to shiny new. So right now it's got quite a 'mixed' look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 If you still have the old pickup, you could probably just swap the covers on them... I am not positive, but that looks like nickel to me and not chrome. Chrome shouldn't tarnish like that. Stay away from things like TarnX and stick to chrome polish if you go that route. Here's a Wikihow link that describes ways to clean nickel plated objects. https://www.wikihow.com/Clean-Nickel-Plating Make sure you clean ONLY the cover (IOW, remove it from the pickup first before cleaning) and be careful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mikeo Posted June 8, 2018 Members Share Posted June 8, 2018 https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PRPC030--gibson-accessories-neck-position-humbucker-cover-nickel?mrkgcl=28&mrkgadid=3274464223&rkg_id=0&product_id=PRPC030&campaigntype=shopping&campaign=aaShopping%20-%20Core%20-%20Guitars&adgroup=Guitars%20-%20Guitar%20Accessories&placement=google&adpos=1o1&creative=226299461162&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=CjwKCAjw0ujYBRBDEiwAn7BKt12SI0mEqcJYrXwkwY8t vGCnFCHD9tUmdWRawh_0kpQtiRPYvv8abhoCFxAQAvD_BwE I was at a motorcycle show with a buddy of mine years ago. He bought some of this stuff called Metal Gloss It's not inexpensive but will do a ton of chrome part over the next decade and a half. http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cspages/sealerGloss2.php?gclid=CjwKCAjw0ujYBRBDEiwAn7BKt6h H0gFt5eJn46-yFCnwqJI0UB7fjxZwk3ObTWxSv4NP6zMsYxH63BoCPjEQAvD_B wE [video=youtube;2XVqVrTI2h8] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted June 9, 2018 Members Share Posted June 9, 2018 More reading less typing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted June 9, 2018 Members Share Posted June 9, 2018 I'd swap it out for a new cover personally. I agree about the mixed look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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