Gold B gone

[Spyderg0d]

Recently I opted to replace the gold hardware on a 2005 Studio natural. I spent the $180, 2 57 classic pup covers, new saddle and stop tail.

Every single piece tarnished in a week.
SW replaced a cover and stop tail. Another week later they are spotted awaiting the bubbles of bullsh*t. I'm so mad. My last set lasted 5 years+. Brand new Gibson brand stuff lasted less than a week. And honestly didn't show up great either.

Is there a better brand that won't crap out as fast on gold hardware? A protective coating that still shines? Something. (Please don't say chrome or nickel, this guitar needs gold to be at its best lyfe).

 

[crossroadsnyc]

I'd go back to the original hardware on there, and enjoy the natural aging process. Probably not the opinion you were looking for, but I love that look.

 

[Spyderg0d]

Neh. They are groce. The pitting bubbles have green in them. Not cleanable really. Wich makes me cringe to think about. Lol

 

[ampeq]

Recently I opted to replace the gold hardware on a 2005 Studio natural. I spent the $180, 2 57 classic pup covers, new saddle and stop tail.

Every single piece tarnished in a week.
SW replaced a cover and stop tail. Another week later they are spotted awaiting the bubbles of bullsh*t. I'm so mad. My last set lasted 5 years+. Brand new Gibson brand stuff lasted less than a week. And honestly didn't show up great either.

Is there a better brand that won't crap out as fast on gold hardware? A protective coating that still shines? Something. (Please don't say chrome or nickel, this guitar needs gold to be at its best lyfe).

Try waxing the parts with a good car wax. I used to use turtle wax on my LP and it still looks great. The acid in your sweat will take that cheap gold coating off in no time. This is why I never bought anything with gold hardware, I like nickel best.

 

[Spyderg0d]

I too dislike the problems of gold. But, when seeing a really good flame top in natural finish, gold is the way to go. Unfortunatly.
Will try the wax.

 

[10kDA]

Gold plating ain't what it used to be. The typical gold plating process of the past involved the use of cyanide in potentially lethal concentrations. These days the commercial plating industry is reluctant to deal with the toxic waste generated, so a different process is used. Real gold does not tarnish, but thin gold rubs off so easily the tarnish may be the plated surface under the gold showing through. I agree with the car wax to preserve the surface as much as possible. Maybe someday somebody will offer polished-metallic-looking vinyl wraps for pickup covers etc - which may or may not be more durable than the slight amount of gold on typical current guitar parts.

 

[10kDA]

Another thought - I wonder if those ceramic coatings in a bottle for car finishes such as "cera-cote" or whatever, might be a solution? Some of them have selling points of high levels of durability. Maybe I'll try it on my Epi with gold plated hardware before the plating degrades.

 

[10kDA]

Neh. They are groce. The pitting bubbles have green in them. Not cleanable really. Wich makes me cringe to think about. Lol

If the surface looks like small bubbles and pitting, the parts were not properly cleaned before the electroplating operation.

 

[V-man]

How serious are you about this, actually?

Guitar plating (as referenced above) is a joke and is priced accordingly. Certain machine parts and firearms applications call for Gold and other metallic finishes to stand up to holster and metal-on-metal parts wear. Shipping a pair (or quad) of empty pickup covers to such a finishing service outfit would be easy enough.

What you will end up paying however will be an entirely different matter, but if you have “piss-away money” to help an expensive-topped LP “live its best life,” it may be worth $250-500 for a pair of properly-treated covers to you.

 

[ampeq]

Another thought - I wonder if those ceramic coatings in a bottle for car finishes such as "cera-cote" or whatever, might be a solution? Some of them have selling points of high levels of durability. Maybe I'll try it on my Epi with gold plated hardware before the plating degrades.

Cerakote is very good stuff and used a lot in the gun world. Duracoat is pretty good but not as strong as Cerakote. If you can clear a good set it may hold up for a very long time. You need to bake it on but it’s good stuff.

 

[El Gringo]

What if you spray pained the gold parts with polyurethane ? Really spray it on thick to . A really old dude told me to use clear nail polish when I was a kid . I think the polyurethane option is a good one .

 

[jeffb]

Keep in mind that in your effort to preserve the looks by using different methods of coating/replating/refinishing/whatever, you can significantly alter your tone in the process. Pickup covers and they way they are plated are not all sonically equal- even many that claim to have transparent or near transparent tonality, do not. You could probably have them film dipped/color works'ed if you want, but they will sound like mud.

As previously stated, I'd reinstall the originals and move on

 

[Matthews Guitars]

The sad thing is, there is an alloy that looks like gold, has that color all the way through it, doesn't tarnish, shines up as well as any other metal, has good mechanical properties for bridge and tailpiece hardware, and is even reasonably priced, but nobody uses it. Not for guitar hardware, at least. It'd be ideal. Maybe a little bit pricey but not too bad. Not any more expensive than gold plated hardware, I'm pretty sure.

It was developed for usage in military insignia.

 

[anitoli]

Maybe use the same material as the gold colored fret wire.

 

[George B Dickens]

Have a custion jewerly shop cast the parts from 10k gold it Last forever .
Gold is said to be a good investment.
1 ounce of 10 K in Canada is 1100 about 800. US
Probably cost less than a new Gibson Custom shop Les Paul.

Just kidding. Electro-plate and Clear coat is ths only option I think.

 

[Spyderg0d]

I'm thinking il have to try another supplier that's not gibson and try the wax or ceramic protection agents. The gibson covers that showed up to be honest weren't great out of the package and obviously were not up to what I'd expect to come on a new guitar.

From what I read, pickups only last to nature around 10 years anyway. Maybe next is just new pickups that come with gold covers.

 

[10kDA]

I'm thinking il have to try another supplier that's not gibson and try the wax or ceramic protection agents. The gibson covers that showed up to be honest weren't great out of the package and obviously were not up to what I'd expect to come on a new guitar.

From what I read, pickups only last to nature around 10 years anyway. Maybe next is just new pickups that come with gold covers.

I'm not sure what you mean by "last to nature" but I'm extremely skeptical about this stated life limit for pickups. Was this sourced from, say, an aftermarket pickup manufacturer, who wants to sell you a set?

I have two guitars with pickups 59 years old, one set is P90s, the other humbuckers. Another (Fender) guitar with 58 year old pickups, so the most common/popular pickup configurations are covered. All sound great and are doing fine. Maybe it's true - "They don't make them like they used to" - but I don't think pickups have changed that much at a basic level.

 

[10kDA]

The sad thing is, there is an alloy that looks like gold, has that color all the way through it, doesn't tarnish, shines up as well as any other metal, has good mechanical properties for bridge and tailpiece hardware, and is even reasonably priced, but nobody uses it. Not for guitar hardware, at least. It'd be ideal. Maybe a little bit pricey but not too bad. Not any more expensive than gold plated hardware, I'm pretty sure.

It was developed for usage in military insignia.

What is that alloy?

 

[Matthews Guitars]

I've been trying to relocate the reference to it. Information on it is very scarce.

 

[ampeq]

I'm thinking il have to try another supplier that's not gibson and try the wax or ceramic protection agents. The gibson covers that showed up to be honest weren't great out of the package and obviously were not up to what I'd expect to come on a new guitar.

From what I read, pickups only last to nature around 10 years anyway. Maybe next is just new pickups that come with gold covers.

I”ll bet if you call DiMazio and talk to the right guy you can find out what works best. I like uncovered pup’s as a rule, maybe get a good set and put the covers away, waxed and covered.
If you want to try the Cerakote ceramic stuff, just do the tail piece first to see what happens. If you’re not sure about it or have the stuff needed to do this, I will be happy to do it for you. Just buy the clear you want, gloss I would think, in the smallest bottle you can ($35?) and send it to me with the tail piece. If nothing else it would be a good experiment. I have used the colors but never the clear, don’t use Duracoat, although good for some stuff it would not be good for this.