Question: Burnt chrome hardware?

[Philly Q]

Not exactly a "Pickups" question, but it does relate to BKP finish options:

Is it possible to "burn" the chrome on existing bridges, tailpieces etc, or does it need to be done before final polishing?

I have no idea how it's done, but assuming the process involves extreme heat I'm guessing it would do horrible things to tuner mechanisms...

[CaffeineJunkie]

oooh, a while back i was wondering this about fret wire too, never really did anything about it though.....

[Crazy_Joe]

Burnt Chromes hardware would look amazing!

[TwilightOdyssey]

Theoretically possible, but it will probably be difficult due to the part's thickness ...

[n_mountain]

hmmm??
I guess  the burn process involves exposing the material to a flame for short time so only the top is really changed. On the other  hand, with metals being excellent heat conductants the rest of the part will be quite hot as well...

Anyway this is just a guess at how they do it?

But would definitely look cool!
:D

[Dakine]

Have done this before to metals, not pro,but have done.
Usually have heated to red glow (every metal has diff. temp. to reach) then dipped in heavy oil (i.e. old engine oil)

[CaffeineJunkie]

wouldn't that mean that if the metal was fairly thin, i.e. fret wire, then the metal might lose some of its strength during the process and could break or deform????

(and yeh i know that it would regain its strength once it's put in the oil, but between the flame and the oil)

[gingataff]

Assuming this only works on chrome then you'd first need to find some chrome fretwire 8)

[CaffeineJunkie]

meh .... minor details

[TwilightOdyssey]

i.e. old engine oil)

mmmmm, engine oil.
Sorry, had a beer moment!!

[Tim]

Pickup covers are very thin so react to heat very quickly-most hardware would take too long to react and probably damage it.

[Philly Q]

Pity.  I was lying in the bath this morning - not that you needed to know that - and had the idea of kitting out my black SG with a burnt chrome Warpig and matching hardware.  Looks like it'll have to remain a fantasy.  

[OD-Black_Fire]

I'm sure you can get a pro to do it. What would probably happen is that everything would warp and bend, but I bet a pro could "unwarp" it. Maybe.

Oh, and...

mmmmmm engine oil.

[Dakine]

Depends upon sooooooo many factors.
Type of metal
Cast or cut from block
Thickness
Purity
etc.

It is interesting. To be honest a repro gibbo tailpiece can be had (new) for about a tenner. So it may not be a hugely costly experiment. Some metalergy knowledge is needed though, i.e. what metal is and 'heat' point index.
An old trick with aluminium is to rub soap onto the metal, when heated at the point the soap turns sooty black the metal is at the correct point for manipulation.
Problem I see is that I believe many parts are 'cast' which as a process does not make the molecular structure as strong and makes the part brittle.
With good quality and less density Tim is very correct, the point of heat is easier. many Zippo lighters can be purchased with the same effect these days.
Anyway, maybe ya need to be a 'guineapig' and try for us all :)

[Philly Q]

Anyway, maybe ya need to be a 'guineapig' and try for us all :)

Thanks for volunteering me!

If I had the know-how, I might give it a go.  Problem is, if you destroy a set of cheap hardware it hasn't cost you much, but if the process works you're left with a nice-looking - but cheap - set of hardware you wouldn't want to put on a quality guitar.

Conversely, if you use quality hardware and wreck it that's money down the drain - and even if the treatment works on the finish, it sounds like all that heat might have a detrimental effect on the tone(?).

I know next to nothing about metallurgy, but wouldn't there be a problem that the bridge material itself - probably cast brass in the case of modern Gibson parts - would be affected by the heat at a much lower temperature than the chrome plate?  Even more so with lightweight aluminium parts.  Or does the thinness of the chrome plate make that less of an issue? :?

This is making my brain hurt... but it's interesting.