Zentar Posted October 6, 2016 Share Posted October 6, 2016 I have tried Hoppes #9 barrel cleaner to add the effects of wear on nickle plating to no avail. I thought Hoppes might take the new sheen off since it cautions using Hoppes #9 on nickle plated firearms. Hoppes is hydrochloric acid I think. The nickle plating seemed to be unaffected buy the acid. Anyone know a common chemical that will take the sheen from nickle plating? Something I can find economically at Lowes or a gun shop? Will cement cleaner do the aging trick on nickle? I hate to buy a gallon when I only need a few ounces for a single job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted October 6, 2016 Share Posted October 6, 2016 Playing does the trick for me although I don't like aging of guitars at all. The nickel-plated hardware on each a Gibson Custom and an Epiphone Les Paul guitar of mine is the only stuff on either looking old. Everything else seems like new. The nickel aging proceeds multiple times faster than that of the chrome-plated strings I play. <_< I guess I would have scraped off all the nickel after just a few hours of playing if I had tried to remove all the tarnish regularly. :unsure: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zentar Posted October 6, 2016 Author Share Posted October 6, 2016 Thanks Capmaster but this is an old guitar and something shiny really stands out like a bow tie at a pool hall. I had heard that cement cleaner would tarnish nickle and wanted to hear from someone who has used this or similar chemicals. I had heard that copper acetate , citric acid and water will dull mickle. Again though: is this true? Where do you get copper acetate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btoth76 Posted October 6, 2016 Share Posted October 6, 2016 Hello! Steel wool is used on metal parts of V.O.S.-treated guitars. Brake fluid "will do wonders" too, I am sure. Bence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted October 6, 2016 Share Posted October 6, 2016 ... I had heard that copper acetate , citric acid and water will dull mickle. Again though: is this true? Where do you get copper acetate? That is pretty likely. Copper(II) acetate might eat nickel without citric acid, too. I think it should be available in small quantities at a well-stocked pharmacy. ... Brake fluid "will do wonders" too, I am sure. Bence. Beware of the use of brake fluid eating nickel in a car! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted October 6, 2016 Share Posted October 6, 2016 Thanks Capmaster but this is an old guitar and something shiny really stands out like a bow tie at a pool hall. I had heard that cement cleaner would tarnish nickle and wanted to hear from someone who has used this or similar chemicals. ... I've been rethinking the point I highlighted in the above quote. Are you sure it is nickel at all? It could be chrome! Chrome is quite durable due to its natural passivation with a chromium(III) oxide layer. Removing a chrome plating is only possible through mechanical means like abrasives, and you may run the risk of removing the nickel layer below and even grind holes into the covers before all the chrome is gone. In case of chrome-plated hardware I would replace the respective parts with nickel-plated ones, and these will age within a manageable period without additional actions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btoth76 Posted October 6, 2016 Share Posted October 6, 2016 ... In case of chrome-plated hardware I would replace the respective parts with nickel-plated ones, and these will age within a manageable period without additional actions. http://www.crazyparts.de/pickup-making-parts/pickupcovers-aged/index.php Bence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted October 6, 2016 Share Posted October 6, 2016 It would be useful to know what guitar this is about. For instance, replacing covers is not an option for "tarback" pickups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zentar Posted October 6, 2016 Author Share Posted October 6, 2016 Tuners Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted October 6, 2016 Share Posted October 6, 2016 Tuners This is all about tuners? Interestingly, during the 1970's Gibson made guitars with all the metal parts chrome-plated except the tuners that came in nickel. As a consequence, they are the only hardware looking old on the two of my 1970's Gibsons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zentar Posted October 7, 2016 Author Share Posted October 7, 2016 Normally I love the sheen of nickle plating but on this one old guitar it just irks me how poorly the new sheen goes with vintage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted October 7, 2016 Share Posted October 7, 2016 Brake fluid "will do wonders" too, I am sure. Bence. True, but you have to know when to stop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zentar Posted October 8, 2016 Author Share Posted October 8, 2016 True, but you have to know when to stop. I am wondering if pure brake cleaner is too much. Should I cut the pure mix? Straight brake cleaner may remove all the plating? This is the trouble with one time home projects. If I start mixing chemicals in my dungeon will I blow the house up like Grandpa Munster? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zentar Posted October 9, 2016 Author Share Posted October 9, 2016 I've got another set of tuners arriving Monday that I know are nickle plated. I am going to try Hoppes barrel cleaner on these tuners. Hoppes uses hydrochloric acid. These are Grovers. $30 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btoth76 Posted October 10, 2016 Share Posted October 10, 2016 I am wondering if pure brake cleaner is too much. Should I cut the pure mix? Straight brake cleaner may remove all the plating? This is the trouble with one time home projects. If I start mixing chemicals in my dungeon will I blow the house up like Grandpa Munster? No, don't do it. It was just a joke. You will not get uniform results with it. I would use steel wool - a friend used it with good results. Bence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zentar Posted October 13, 2016 Author Share Posted October 13, 2016 No, don't do it. It was just a joke. You will not get uniform results with it. I would use steel wool - a friend used it with good results. Bence. Steel wool wont reach nooks and crannies on tuners. I just tried a couple of other chemicals to no avail. I cant believe I cant mess up these tuners. I usually am quite good at messing stuff up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zentar Posted October 14, 2016 Author Share Posted October 14, 2016 http://leatherworker.net/forum/topic/28773-how-do-i-antique-nickel-plating/ This worked. I used Oxpho blue(gun bluing) cut with isopropyl. 5 mins is plenty. Stop the process with oil. Dip them in oil. Wash them out good in hot water and let them dry in the sun. Watch the process as being immersed too long will give a copper appearance. If I did it over I'd use ferric acid not gun bluing but I was only after a slight change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zentar Posted October 14, 2016 Author Share Posted October 14, 2016 Bence I was inspecting the tuners today to see if the chemical process had stabilized. I noticed there is still a slight sheen to the plating even though the color had changed. I used steel wool lightly to dim much of the shiny areas. I was surprised how well the new tuners look. They look good without looking new. I didn't have the guts to leave the tuners immersed in gun bluing long enough to get pitting to appear. I was worried about rust afterwards. If I left these tuners immersed an hour there may not have been any plating left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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