Riffster Posted October 7, 2017 Share Posted October 7, 2017 Ever since I saw the new natural Explorer 2018 with nickel hardware I've been thinking how much better it looks than the gold hardware on my 2008. The gold hardware never grew on me after all this time. I looked up if there is a way to remove the gold plating and there is, a simple buffing with Brasso takes it right off and exposes the nickel plating. I have a gold cover from a Classic '57 that I found locally for $20 and decided to give it a shot, it works! now I just need to make the decision, do I keep the gold hardware or polish it to nickel. What would be your preference on a natural Explorer, gold or nickel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted October 7, 2017 Share Posted October 7, 2017 That's actually a very difficult one for me to answer. The original '58s had gold hardware so I would probably be tempted to go down the original route even 'though my own preference would be nickel. Also if the Explorer gets played a lot and you start off with gold plate then it will soon wear off and look a bit of a mess have some of that 'Vintage Mojo' thing going on which so impresses the youth of today. I'd probably go the whole hog and fit a set of green-key Klusons into the bargain! Tricky. Whilst the Brasso idea is a good one in theory in practice it might not be quite as straightforward as you initially imagine. The bridge agglomeration might prove to be a bit finnicky and the tuners will need to be done, too - although I'm 100% sure all that stuff has already been taken into consideration by your good self. On balance I'd probably stick with the gold and have it wear naturally. But, as a general rule (and just IMO), nickel almost always looks much better... Pip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted October 7, 2017 Author Share Posted October 7, 2017 That's actually a very difficult one for me to answer. The original '58s had gold hardware so I would probably be tempted to go down the original route even 'though my own preference would be nickel. Also if the Explorer gets played a lot and you start off with gold plate then it will soon wear off and look a bit of a mess have some of that 'Vintage Mojo' thing going on which so impresses the youth of today. I'd probably go the whole hog and fit a set of green-key Klusons into the bargain! Tricky. Whilst the Brasso idea is a good one in theory in practice it might not be quite as straightforward as you initially imagine. The bridge agglomeration might prove to be a bit finnicky and the tuners will need to be done, too - although I'm 100% sure all that stuff has already been taken into consideration by your good self. On balance I'd probably stick with the gold and have it wear naturally. But, as a general rule (and just IMO), nickel almost always looks much better... Pip. Yep exaclty my thoughts with exception of the tuners, changing the tuners is not an option, they use a side screw and well the original style tuners would not cover the holes in the back and adapter bushings would have to be used in the front, too much trouble and well the body of a '58 has rounder "points" than a '76 style. A '76 cannot pass for a '58 no matter what you change. By the way there is wear on the gold hardware by now, top of the bridge, top of and bottom or the bridge humbucker and tailpiece. Something I did not know is that the plating apparently is not actual gold reason why it wears off so quick and why so many people rub it off when they attempt to polish it, probably most use a metal polish and find the hard way. It is actually hard to find pics of an old Explorer with shiny gold hardware. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted October 7, 2017 Author Share Posted October 7, 2017 I just posted about gold on another thread. Not a fan of gold. I wish my BB King was nickle or chrome or silver what ever we want to call it. I know it is supposed to make it look super expensive but it when it dulls it looks terrible. You know I have always liked it on black or white LP customs because of the contrast in colors, in my Explorer the contrast is not there, Mahogany gets darker as it ages and well it is on the yellow-ish side and does not contrast. Maybe not the best example but it is kind of like having gold hardware on a goldtop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted October 7, 2017 Share Posted October 7, 2017 Nickel... nearly always Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tx-ogre Posted October 8, 2017 Share Posted October 8, 2017 I'm not a big fan of gold hardware. I prefer nickel, chrome or black chrome with very few exceptions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted October 8, 2017 Share Posted October 8, 2017 rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted October 8, 2017 Share Posted October 8, 2017 That's EC. He might be high. There's One In Every Crowd, side 2, next to last, one of his best. rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted October 8, 2017 Author Share Posted October 8, 2017 I still can't believe he cut that Explorer... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted October 8, 2017 Share Posted October 8, 2017 On a NATURAL Explorer? I have to admit gold looks good on them. But they're the exception to the rule, well, my rule anyway (i.e., nickel or chrome, please). So... hm. Tricky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparquelito Posted October 8, 2017 Share Posted October 8, 2017 Like others, I am not a fan of gold plating. It never ages well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
american cheez Posted October 8, 2017 Share Posted October 8, 2017 sometimes it fits really well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted October 8, 2017 Share Posted October 8, 2017 sometimes it fits really well Or not Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted October 8, 2017 Share Posted October 8, 2017 Damn! Just as I was enjoying my apathy, you made me think! Having thought, I voted nickle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted October 9, 2017 Author Share Posted October 9, 2017 Looking at pictures of 1958 and 1976 Explorers looks like the gold plating on most of them is gone. Seems the cycle is: Gold rubs off quickly where hands make direct contact with the hardware. Cleaning the hardware does not help. Polishing it makes it worse. Eventually most of the plating is gone, cannot be re-polished back to gold, it has to be re-plated only to start the cycle above over again. I think if nickel was stock on these guitars not many people would replace it with gold, the gold it's sort of a "leave the guitar stock" mentality. For instance the Explorer 2018 has nickel hardware, that's stock, I doubt if anybody will replace it with gold. If I do decide to remove the gold it'll be a nice project once the weather gets cold. Thanks for the input guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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