Cleaning gold hardware

[Mugatu]

Some of the gold hardware on my Sheraton was slightly pitted and grubby, so I decided I would use good old elbow grease and a nice soft cloth on the stop bar, and see what happened.

Anyway, what happened is that the stop bar is now shiny, blemish free, and looks nice, but it's a different colour to the other hardware. It's lighter, and I fear I may have taken off some of the finish.

 

Is it possible to do that with just a plain old soft duster, or is it just that it now looks cleaner?

And if I have damaged the finish, what's the best way to clean gold finished hardware in the future?

 

The guitar is 12 years old by the way.

[charlie brown]

Well, gold plating isn't always "gold!" Real gold (plating), can be cleaned with a "damp" (not wet) cloth, and bar soap (not the girtty kind, though). I have cleaned the gold plating on my Gretsch Country Gent, several times, with good results, that way...being careful not to use too much pressure.

 

"Pitting" is another matter. The only way to rid yourself of that, is to get new covers or hardware, as pitting is into the metal, generally. IF it's only the plating, that's pitted, you'd have to have it removed, and replated...which, will cost more than new hardware, generally.

 

CB