A question

[Lukec88]

Hello,

 

I have one question that bothers me quite some time. Since I got my songwriter deluxe studio in february, after Im done with playing, I always clean the guitar with soft microfibre cloth so I remove the human oils and stuff that we leave on this things.

 

I put special attention with my golden grover tuners just because I saw couple of samples when they started to wear of gold gloss and start being like more silvery after some time and I really dont want to happen to me..

 

Is there any chance to avoid this or this cannot be avoided?

 

 

 

Cheers

L.

[sparquelito]

Lukec88,

 

I wish I could offer better advice than this, but here goes;

 

a. Gold plated guitar trim and bits generally wear off their gold plating over the years, whereas most chrome-plated guitar trim and bits do not.

This is one of many reasons why I avoid buying guitars with gold plated tuners, bridges, and pickup covers.

 

(My own 1996 Gibson Les Paul Studio was black with all the gold plated stuff, and it looked good for a few years, but later on it all began to wear thin.

Some buys like that faded look, but I was never a fan. I sold it to a fan of the 'faded' look just a few years ago, and we both walked away happy.

He got a great Les Paul at a reasonable price, and I put the gold-plated experience behind me.)

 

b. You should always wipe off the guitar with a quality guitar polish after playing. I favor Gibson guitar polish, and I keep a small pump bottle of it handy in my music room, my shop, and at work.

CF Martin guitar polish is good also, but I like to stick with a known performer.

 

c. You CAN occasionally rub some carnauba paste wax onto the gold plated bits, and then buff it off.

That might stave off the eventual and inevitable wear.

 

d. You can also have all your gold plated bits and covers professionally spray-painted with a quality clear-coat.

That can be quite expensive, and the long term results can be mixed, depending upon the amount you sweat, the temperatures and humidity factors of where you reside, and how you store the instrument.

 

Anyway, good luck with it.

:unsure:

[capmaster]

Unfortunately wear of gold plating can't be avoided. The gold layer is both soft and very thin and thus rubbed off quite fast. I know this isn't nice but the way it is.

 

The layer below the gold is usually nickel. It will also corrode fast, in particular as long as there's some gold left around it.

 

The only plating durable for years and decades is chrome. That's why I clearly prefer chrome, but it wasn't always possible. Very few of my guitars and basses came with hardware plated with gold or nickel, and they wear respectively corrode quite visibly. The chrome-plated parts still look like new after up to 43 years.

 

The best recommendation is to avoid either touching and cleaning gold-plated parts whenever possible.

[OldCowboy]

What they said.

[Dave F]

I've been restoring a '65 Gretsch Country Gentleman.

 

I had all the hardware gold plated.

 

When I received my parts back, they included a special cleaner for gold plating.

 

http://www.goldplating.com/index.html

 

You may find it elsewhere

 

 

 

 

[MissouriPicker]

Just exposure to the light will have a gradual effect on gold platting. The heat will loosen the bond that the gold platting has with the metal it's layed-over. When touched by our hands there's a chemical reaction over time as well and the platting will wear-off. The tuners are not solid gold, so they will change color/tint/shade.

[Lukec88]

Thank you all for your answers. I will try wipe it out with cloth as long as I can, but maybe in few years, when gold wears off, I will change them with some others, chrome maybe.

 

But they give a guitar that nice premium look. Love it anyways! :)

[modoc_333]

using extra polishes, etc will actually make it wear faster. rubbing them down will wear it. it's thin and soft. not much can avoid it. gently wipe it off. once you get through the gold and start to tarnish the nickel underneath, it will just run from there.

 

 

 

 

Keith