[Les Paul Studio - Fixing fading/tarnished Gold Hardware]

On 5/7/2020 at 12:05 PM, RoyC said:

Your best solution is to re-plate them. 

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=gold+plating+kit

 

On 5/7/2020 at 8:32 AM, cesarbg said:

I worked at a local chroming and nickeling center. It is possible to gold plate (not real gold though) the pieces again. Where I live they charged about 15 USD to do the process for a bunch of pieces. So it could work for you. 

They need to chemically remove the playing it has, because the metal is rusting , not just wearing off. Using polish will only take the gold color away completely, so it is useless for gold plated pieces.

Hope this helps. 

 

Alright, all I've got to do is learn to solder the wires again after removing the pick-ups. Learning something new every day!

[Les Paul Studio - Fixing fading/tarnished Gold Hardware]

On 5/7/2020 at 4:22 PM, sunking101 said:

Some would say that when white yellows and the gold parts wear it's mojo. Look how much people pay for Custom Shop relics!

Here's a Custom Shop Randy Rhoads guitar where people buy it brand new with yellowed paint and extremely worn gold hardwear!

 

I'm afraid it's not yet quite that far into its aging process 😄

[Les Paul Studio - Fixing fading/tarnished Gold Hardware]

Thanks for the replies guys!

Shame it doesn't last. I'm kind of bummed about buying alpine white + gold. The gold fades, the white becomes yellowish. Never again.

[Les Paul Studio - Fixing fading/tarnished Gold Hardware]

Hi Guys,

I own a Les Paul Studio, alpine white with gold (gilded) hardware.

Over the years, though I've tried my best to keep it in good condition, the pickups, saddle and bridge have become faded / tarnished. Here's some pictures: imgur link..

I'm not sure, but I think 2 things are going on.

1. The gold is getting rubbed off, especially notable at the top of the pickups (near the low E) which is where my hand usually rests, obviously.
2. There's some sort of dirt/oxidation building up. I seem to be able to remove that by rubbing it hard.

 

Does anyone have any experience with this? What's going on, and how can I restore the hardware into it's original state?

Thanks in advance!