Is it chrome or nickel on the pickup covers and other pieces of hardware? I used to think my 2003 LS 80F had chrome hardware, but it is looking more and more like nickel... my eyes are playing tricks on me. Who knows the real answer?
Nickel or chrome hardware on new guitars?
- Thread starter Boogle
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Novosel
Well-known member
Because the catalogues shown in the Registry don't specify type of hardware, I'm only guessing that on a LS80 it would be chrome, and nickel on the two top models. It's tough to tell on a brand new guitar because both chrome and nickel are so shiney when new. Of course, I'm sure you know about the obvious difference: that chrome has a blueish/silver caste or reflection and nickel has a more browny/yellow caste. This is really apparent when you have a chance to compare the two side by side, although even the experts have to look carefully at really shiney stuff. The best way to tell is to check your guitar again in ten years - if it still gleams, it's chrome, baby!
I posted a while back (and I don't mean to hijack your thread, Boogle) that I got tired of the really shiney chrome on my fifteen-year-old LS60, and replaced the bridge and tailpiece with nickel for a more worn-in look. The pup-covers were more of a challenge because of the unusual polepeice spacing of the Tokai PAF's. I took those covers to a metal plating shop where they discovered that they were nickel under the chrome, so they just stripped them, and I aged them. It's ironic that chrome, which will keep it's brightness forever, as opposed to nickel which tarnishes, is considered the "cheaper" of the two in the guitar world.
I posted a while back (and I don't mean to hijack your thread, Boogle) that I got tired of the really shiney chrome on my fifteen-year-old LS60, and replaced the bridge and tailpiece with nickel for a more worn-in look. The pup-covers were more of a challenge because of the unusual polepeice spacing of the Tokai PAF's. I took those covers to a metal plating shop where they discovered that they were nickel under the chrome, so they just stripped them, and I aged them. It's ironic that chrome, which will keep it's brightness forever, as opposed to nickel which tarnishes, is considered the "cheaper" of the two in the guitar world.
15 years?! I am tired of the shininess already 
How much did it cost to either replate them in nickel or strip the chrome? Maybe I could dull up the surface, but I run the risk of having scratched and ugly pickups. I think steel wool is a no no on pickups.
How much did it cost to either replate them in nickel or strip the chrome? Maybe I could dull up the surface, but I run the risk of having scratched and ugly pickups. I think steel wool is a no no on pickups.
Novosel
Well-known member
I personally would be a little hesitant to start buffing a chrome cover, but perhaps tokaiguy has some experience there. I also bought some Micro-Mesh sanding pads which are extremely fine grit (I'm talkin' 8000 grit!) to keep the swirl patterns to a minimum; and you can get 12000 grit to bring it back to gloss. I used this to rub over the plasticy-looking poly finish and add a little (artificial) patina.
The cost of the covers: to strip the chrome off, they charged $20 per cover; to nickel plate them would have been only $25 per cover, but I didn't need that. Funny thing is, when the lady behind the counter proudly presented me with the gleaming mirror-like finished product, all wrapped in tissue, she was horrified when I explained to her what I was planning to do to them. I went straightaway home and got out the muriatic acid and did a really admirable job of ageing them, if I do say so myself.
The old Tokai looks tremendous now, with the toned-down poly, and the aged lustre of the nickel. I also changed the knobs from the dark amber ones to a more accurate gold type (which I also did some creative ageing on). The only thing I forgot - and this REALLY BUGS ME! - is to take the chrome pickguard bracket off and get that nickelized. Maybe I'll try tokaiguys advice.
NOTE: I know some guys are just not into this relicing thing, and are scratching their heads right now. To those of us who get it - no explanation is necessary :wink:
The cost of the covers: to strip the chrome off, they charged $20 per cover; to nickel plate them would have been only $25 per cover, but I didn't need that. Funny thing is, when the lady behind the counter proudly presented me with the gleaming mirror-like finished product, all wrapped in tissue, she was horrified when I explained to her what I was planning to do to them. I went straightaway home and got out the muriatic acid and did a really admirable job of ageing them, if I do say so myself.
The old Tokai looks tremendous now, with the toned-down poly, and the aged lustre of the nickel. I also changed the knobs from the dark amber ones to a more accurate gold type (which I also did some creative ageing on). The only thing I forgot - and this REALLY BUGS ME! - is to take the chrome pickguard bracket off and get that nickelized. Maybe I'll try tokaiguys advice.
NOTE: I know some guys are just not into this relicing thing, and are scratching their heads right now. To those of us who get it - no explanation is necessary :wink:
I did the steel wool to a set to good results, no swirls. Let us know how the bracket turns out. A year ago or so this thread about "ageing parts" came up, some funny stuff about bridges in the garden and the best tea and coffee to soak plastic parts. It's archived here somewhere!TG :wink:The newer pickup covers are probably nickel with a chrome covering, just like Novosel wrote. When I placed it side by side with a nickel PU and chrome PU, the Tokai/Gotoh one looks very "inbetween". I think it's weird that they would make chrome plating.
I remember reading about some electrolyzing process to age nickel. You connect one side of a low volt battery to the metal part, throw them in a bucket of water. Umm... it was something like that :lol: I can't remember for sure but if you're ambitious maybe you could test it. Maybe it works on chrome or the stop tailpiece.
I remember reading about some electrolyzing process to age nickel. You connect one side of a low volt battery to the metal part, throw them in a bucket of water. Umm... it was something like that :lol: I can't remember for sure but if you're ambitious maybe you could test it. Maybe it works on chrome or the stop tailpiece.
