Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum

Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: RadioElectric on April 03, 2008, 01:58:30 PM

Title: Hardware to match aged nickel pickups?
Post by: RadioElectric on April 03, 2008, 01:58:30 PM

Is there anywhere in the uk that sells tailpieces that would match the aged nickel pickups? I'm going to try ageing the one that I have over the weekend but if that doesn't work I'll need to try to find one somewhere.

Title: Hardware to match aged nickel pickups?
Post by: WezV on April 03, 2008, 03:40:27 PM

check out  www.fatboyguitars.co.uk

when i wanted to do wartorn and aged hardware to match my miracle man set i asked tim how he achieved the look first

Title: Hardware to match aged nickel pickups?
Post by: Antag on April 03, 2008, 04:18:33 PM

Eat a bag of heavily salted fish'n'chips with your fingers, then without washing your hands play in a hot stuffy room for a few hours, don't wipe the guitar down afterwards & leave it for a few weeks in the corner of your bathroom.... :)

Title: Hardware to match aged nickel pickups?
Post by: Philly Q on April 03, 2008, 04:45:55 PM

Apparently you can use something called etchant fluid, a solution of ferric chloride(?) used for etching PCBs.  You can get it at Maplin, I think.

Never tried it though!

Is your current tailpiece definitely nickel plated?  Nickel tarnishes nicely but chrome doesn't.

Title: Hardware to match aged nickel pickups?
Post by: WezV on April 03, 2008, 04:47:36 PM

well thats what i used in the end - a 30 second dip is more than enough

ferric chloride is the chemical name

doesnt touch chrome.. i think for that you need it suspended above hydrochloric acid.. not really to be done at home

Title: Hardware to match aged nickel pickups?
Post by: Fourth Feline on April 03, 2008, 07:52:47 PM

There is another U.K. site called "Fake58". I do not know if they measure up to 'fatboy guitars' - but maybe worth a look ?

Title: Hardware to match aged nickel pickups?
Post by: RadioElectric on April 04, 2008, 12:49:21 AM

Quote from: WezV

well thats what i used in the end - a 30 second dip is more than enough

ferric chloride is the chemical name

doesnt touch chrome.. i think for that you need it suspended above hydrochloric acid.. not really to be done at home

I think the current hardware is chrome, so I'll have to get hold of it in nickle once I know whether it's imperial or metric threaded. I already have some ferric chloride for circuit boards so that shouldn't be a problem. Do you have any pictures of what it did to your hardware?

Title: Hardware to match aged nickel pickups?
Post by: noodleplugerine on April 04, 2008, 06:54:25 AM

Quote from: WezV

well thats what i used in the end - a 30 second dip is more than enough

ferric chloride is the chemical name

doesnt touch chrome.. i think for that you need it suspended above hydrochloric acid.. not really to be done at home

I wonder if it would work if done in a vaccum - I presume its the Chromium oxide layer on the surface of the material that stops this from working - No oxygen, and you're fine.

Title: Hardware to match aged nickel pickups?
Post by: WezV on April 04, 2008, 07:07:43 AM

sure - but bare in mind i wasnt aiming for authentic

(http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/WezV/49.jpg)
(http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/WezV/r2-1.jpg)

before dipping mine they were attacked with files, rasps and sandpaper   - then dipped

For a more authentic look i would just ip them for 10-20 seconds.. that should give you an old but not too worn look