guitarrich Posted January 9, 2012 Posted January 9, 2012 Hello, I have an '05 335 Reissue. I love the guitar, but this is one annoying issue; the metal parts have tarnished and detracts from the guitars appearance. The pickup covers & tuners are the worst; I think these are nickel plated. Is there a special polish that I can use to restore the look of the metal parts on my 335 ? Thanks, Rich
JO'C Posted January 10, 2012 Posted January 10, 2012 Hi Rich, I have a 1997 CS Les Paul Elegant that has the same problem and it can be really annoying. The guitar finish is flawless except for the tarnishing nickel. On my guitar it happens mostly on the pickup covers and bridge. I found a good polish that works and is not abrasive. It comes in a small toothpaste type tube. If I can find it I'll reply with the brand name. The good news is that the original shine comes back. The bad news is that the tarnish returns after a couple of weeks. I have a 1987 '62 reissue Strat that does the same thing. But I also have lots of other Gibsons that have nickel and never need polishing. My guess is that the plating may have some more porosity that causes it to oxidize more readily. Could have been a weak or poor mix in the plating tank that day. I don't mind it on my Strat because it makes it look vintage, but I want my Les Paul Elegant to be elegant.
JO'C Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 Hi Rich, I found the tube. It is GHE Happich Simichrome Polish. It is a soft paste chrome polish. Probably any brand of soft paste chrome polish will do the job. I think you want to avoid brass or silver polish as these could damage the nickel. Good luck and once polished I hope yours stays nice longer than mine.
bluezguy Posted January 16, 2012 Posted January 16, 2012 Hello, I have an '05 335 Reissue. I love the guitar, but this is one annoying issue; the metal parts have tarnished and detracts from the guitars appearance. The pickup covers & tuners are the worst; I think these are nickel plated. Is there a special polish that I can use to restore the look of the metal parts on my 335 ? Thanks, Rich 100% right on the Simichrome Polish. One problem exclusive to a lot of us is the fact that the oils in our hands are responsible for this dulling of chromes and nickel finishes. Believe it or not, my 40 years of bar room/roadhouse performance has cost me a fortune in guitar strings. Mine are dead after a 4 hour performance. Just on a whim, during an annual medical check up, I asked my physician waz happenin'??? He was the one who told me about the acid in our skin. The only way to lessen this effect on strings and metal parts is to change your diet somewhat to lessen the effect .. I never did and I don't remember what changes in diet would help.
Red335guy Posted January 20, 2012 Posted January 20, 2012 100% right on the Simichrome Polish. One problem exclusive to a lot of us is the fact that the oils in our hands are responsible for this dulling of chromes and nickel finishes. Believe it or not, my 40 years of bar room/roadhouse performance has cost me a fortune in guitar strings. Mine are dead after a 4 hour performance. Just on a whim, during an annual medical check up, I asked my physician waz happenin'??? He was the one who told me about the acid in our skin. The only way to lessen this effect on strings and metal parts is to change your diet somewhat to lessen the effect .. I never did and I don't remember what changes in diet would help. interesting thread
69tele Posted January 20, 2012 Posted January 20, 2012 I agree totally amazing how quickly nickel tarnishes. I recently cleaned up a 335 I got in a trade see below for the before and after pics. used a product called autosol polish (bikers use it here for chrome), which I believe is similiar to flitz in the US. Before After
guitarrich Posted February 4, 2012 Author Posted February 4, 2012 Hi Rich, I found the tube. It is GHE Happich Simichrome Polish. It is a soft paste chrome polish. Probably any brand of soft paste chrome polish will do the job. I think you want to avoid brass or silver polish as these could damage the nickel. Good luck and once polished I hope yours stays nice longer than mine. Thanks Jo ,the simichrome polish worked fine on the pu covers ! Rich..
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