Silver Etched Bird Inlays Tarnishing

[Bogner]

I Have A PS Guitar That Has The Silver Etched Bird Inlays And They Seem To Tarnish Incredibly Fast. Does Anybody Else Have This Problem And If So, How Do You Solve It? Or Is It Just Par For The Course With This Type Of Inlay?

Side Note: I Take Impeccable Care Of My Stuff, I Wipe My Guitars Down, Wash My Hands, Etc Before I Play. I Don't Have Acid Hands So I Know It Isn't That. I Find This To be An Odd One So I Thought I Would Ask.

 

[opnoob]

Can you post pics?

 

[Bogner]

Can you post pics?

I Am Not Set Up To Do So. Imagine A tarnished Piece Of Silverware...Same Deal. I Can Get It Removed With Some Very Light Rubbing With Proper 0000 Grade Steel Wool. It Just Tarnishes Again Far Quicker Than Frets Do.

 

[Moondog Wily]

I use silver jewelry polishing cloth on my frets for a final shine after cleaning them with gorgomyte or magic cloth. That would probably do well on those inlays. After cleaning them up with a silver polishing cloth, I would be sure to vigorously wipe any excess off the board.

 

[Bogner]

I use silver jewelry polishing cloth on my frets for a final shine after cleaning them with gorgomyte or magic cloth. That would probably do well on those inlays. After cleaning them up with a silver polishing cloth, I would be sure to vigorously wipe any excess off the board.

Good Idea! Thank You For That!!

Beats My Idea Of A Belt Sander And 40 Grit Followed Up With A Wipe Down With A Thick Slice Of Bologna...(Non GMO Of Course).

 

[veinbuster]

I use silver jewelry polishing cloth on my frets for a final shine after cleaning them with gorgomyte or magic cloth. That would probably do well on those inlays. After cleaning them up with a silver polishing cloth, I would be sure to vigorously wipe any excess off the board.

This sounds right. I’ve used it on silver bits on my Thorn.
It isn’t exactly a magic solution...it is a bit of work.

 

[László]

I Have A PS Guitar That Has The Silver Etched Bird Inlays And They Seem To Tarnish Incredibly Fast. Does Anybody Else Have This Problem And If So, How Do You Solve It? Or Is It Just Par For The Course With This Type Of Inlay?

Side Note: I Take Impeccable Care Of My Stuff, I Wipe My Guitars Down, Wash My Hands, Etc Before I Play. I Don't Have Acid Hands So I Know It Isn't That. I Find This To be An Odd One So I Thought I Would Ask.

It's not odd. That's what silver does: it tarnishes very quickly.

We have a silver coffee/tea set on a tray. It's beautiful and my wife loves it, but we have to polish it once a week. There are silver polishes that are dry and on pads that would be a lot less messy than a liquid polish, and probably safer for the fretboard. There's too much silver real estate on the coffee/tea set and we have to use a liquid polish (Weiman is a very dependable brand, but I don't know if they make a dry polishing pad).

There are also treated cloths made to prevent tarnishing that you could try placing over the neck if it's kept in a case or gig bag. We keep our silver that's not out in them. They work, to a point.

If it wasn't there before, it's possible that PRS sealed the neck with something before shipping the guitar and it simply wore off.

 

[Simon Says]

I would consider the nano-coating, although I would probably run it through PRS customer service first

What is Nano Coating? - An Introduction to Ceramic Coatings

Nano-coating is the process of applying a surface layer that repels dry particles, water, oil and dirt.

www.twi-global.com

 

[Black Plaid]

Silver is an odd choice for inlay due to it's tendency to corrode. I have a PS with white gold etched inlay, same look, none of the problems!

 

[Bogner]

All Good Advice So Far. Thank You Everybody!

Over Time, It Seems To Happen Quicker Than It Used To. 99% Of The Time The Guitar Is Cased.

 

[veinbuster]

All Good Advice So Far. Thank You Everybody!

Over Time, It Seems To Happen Quicker Than It Used To. 99% Of The Time The Guitar Is Cased.

That is the nature of corroding metal. Once it gets a start, it is insidious. It annoyed the heck out of Mrs.

 

[László]

I'll admit this is a very odd thing to mention in a guitar thread, but they've dug up ancient Roman helmets from the 3rd, 4th and 5th centuries that were made of iron, then sheathed in a layer of gold-plated silver.

The iron disintegrated from corrosion. The silver sheath and the gold plating stayed together, and they're now displayed in museums looking pretty functional. So...the silver lasted a long time.

Late Roman ridge helmet - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Bogner]

That is the nature of corroding metal. Once it gets a start, it is insidious. It annoyed the heck out of Mrs.

All Of This Silver Tarnishing Talk Gave Me An Idea. I Am Going To Invent A Solution. I Will Use Iommi's Fingertip Thingies...Apply Some Polishing Cloth To The Tips...Add Some Kirk Hammet's Spastic Vibrato Inlay Sauce To The Tips And Then Practice Primarily On Odd Numbered Frets. I Can Play And Polish All At The Same Time!

 

[László]

As I was searching for a way to avoid tarnishing, I stumbled on mention of this stuff. It's used in museums to preserve armor, fine metals, etc., from corrosion and tarnish. Just doing a quick search, it isn't very expensive.

The article mentions its recent use in guitar making, though I have no idea what parts of the guitar would be involved.

Would I use this to preserve the silver fretboard inlays? First I'd want to know more about how it interacts with wood. But it might be worth exploring. They're usually pretty careful in museums.

Renaissance Wax - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org