How to clean brass hardware.

Time will tarnish brass. That's as inevitable as the tides.

If your hardware is looking less than perfect you can remedy this easily with just this one simnple trick.

1- remove the hardware so it's just the brass (eg: remove saddle height grub screws).

2- Make a paste of vinegar, salt, and plain flour. Throw them in a bowl and mix it until it's smooth and gloopy.

3- rub this all over your brass.

4- Leave it for 10-15 minutes.

5- wash it off.

6- Use 0000 steel wool to remove any stubborn marks.

7- Use Autosol metal polish for a final sheen (if you want).

8- Marvel. 

9- Reassemble what needs to be reassambled and reinstall. 







Easy peasy.

Beautiful results, and with out being too acidic.

I assume the flour is just for show, with the vinegar and salt doing the heavy lifting?

Is the bass/treble control a custom job? I ask as the one on my 1A bass isn't etched like that.

Barry wrote:Beautiful results, and with out being too acidic.

I assume the flour is just for show, with the vinegar and salt doing the heavy lifting?

The flour makes it a paste, otherwise it doesn't stay on to give the acetic acid time to work.

Jerry_B wrote:Is the bass/treble control a custom job? I ask as the one on my 1A bass isn't etched like that.

Nope. 100% stock on my 1983 1A guitar.

I presume that it was standard equipment, but my '81 I-A came second hand with plain brass knobs. No markings at all.

And my '83 I-A rescue came with plastic Strat knobs

The brass hardware is the icing on the cake with these guitars. It shines like mirrors now.

I also swapped the neck magnet for an alnico 2. That's quite interesting but it's a lot darker than it was before and in toying with either alnico 5 or alnico 8 in the bridge.

Our westbone recommended doing this same thing awhile back.

Have a look at his post for a discussion and a bunch of information: LINK

Barry wrote:Our westbone recommended doing this same thing awhile back.

Have a look at his post for a discussion and a bunch of information: LINK

Aye. Thanks for the link. Same results here except there is noticeably less high end with an A2 unsurprisingly but generally it's a much more usable pickup and the split coil sound is much improved.

I don't have my 1A to hand but IIRC the B-0-T is some sort of transfer rather than something cut into the brass.

Jerry_B wrote:I don't have my 1A to hand but IIRC the B-0-T is some sort of transfer rather than something cut into the brass.

No this is engraved on there.

Yup, it's etched into the top.

You'll also see a similar thing on the PEQ control equipped guitars.