Corrosion on 594 chrome pickup covers?

[xxxadixxx]

My 2018 594 has chrome pickup covers with the bridge cover turning cloudy below the bottom two strings. Some of this was present when I purchased it in October. I use blue magic metal polish when I change strings only for the cloudiness to come back pretty quickly. I notice similar discoloration on the bridge with the brass also turning dark.

This is the first guitar I have had with chrome hardware. Is it typical for this to be so fussy and require a lot of attention. I wipe the guitar down, with a microfiber cloth, after every session. I love the guitar and it is a bit disappointing to see it looking grimy. Any suggestions on how to keep things looking great would be appreciated.

 

[veinbuster]

In my experience, once corrosion has started, it will keep coming back. The best you can do is keep at it.
I wipe my guitars after each use and if there is a hint of hazy on the chrome, I try to clear it off.

 

[László]

It's a nickel/silver plating, not chrome.

Nickel has a warmer color, but it tarnishes. Chrome has a bluer cast to it, and it tends to peel (I had chrome pit and peel on several non-PRS guitars back in the day when I still played several brands). Paul Smith doesn't like the tone of chrome plated hardware.

PRS recommends Blue Magic Liquid Metal Polish. Have you tried it?

 

[xxxadixxx]

It's a nickel/silver plating, not chrome.

Nickel has a warmer color, but it tarnishes. Chrome has a bluer cast to it, and it tends to peel (I had chrome pit and peel on several non-PRS guitars back in the day when I still played several brands). Paul Smith doesn't like the tone of chrome plated hardware.

PRS recommends Blue Magic Liquid Metal Polish. Have you tried it?

Thanks for the response as I was not aware of the distinction between nickel and chrome. All of my previous guitars had uncovered pickups and black hardware (Jackson and Ibanez). Yes, I use Blue Magic. It cleans it up a bit but the haze returns very quickly.

With so many other PRS guitars out there with nickel covers, how exactly are people caring for them such that they always look pristine? Other than wiping down with a microfiber cloth is there a protective coating or some thing that helps?

 

[bodia]

Just depends on your body chemistry. Some folks corrode strings fast, and the same applies for the pickup covers. Plus, if you live in a very humid climate that will accelerate it.

 

[jak3af3r]

Just depends on your body chemistry. Some folks corrode strings fast, and the same applies for the pickup covers. Plus, if you live in a very humid climate that will accelerate it.

I'm one of those corrosive people. The pickups on my McCarty went cloudy pretty quickly and it bothered me at first but at least I'm the one who did it and it looks wild to have the body pristine with "aged" hardware.

Any exposed brass doesn't even turn dark. It just goes straight to green.

 

[xxxadixxx]

Maybe the answer is I just need to add a Tremonti to the collection….

 

[bodia]

Maybe the answer is I just need to add a Tremonti to the collection….

Definitely!

 

[Warmart]

The 2 sided jewelry cleaning/polishing cloths help a ton.

 

[Jimi D]

I'm one of those corrosive people. The pickups on my McCarty went cloudy pretty quickly and it bothered me at first but at least I'm the one who did it and it looks wild to have the body pristine with "aged" hardware.

Any exposed brass doesn't even turn dark. It just goes straight to green.

Ya, I long ago stopped trying to keep my pickup covers looking pristine; for me it's a losing battle, and it has nothing to do with playability or tone. My much gigged/much loved 25th Anniversary Custom looks like it was abandoned in a flood zone now, but I'd never sell the one I played the most anyway...

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Definitely! And don’t forget to add a Santana.

Fixed.

 

[gemyneye]

I am the same as several others on here. Mine tarnish quickly, but I stopped a long time ago trying to shine them up. I love all my guitars and will not sell them and have grown to not even notice them tarnished (until I compare with a newer guitar lol).

 

[Alnus Rubra]

The wrap-around bridge on my SE245 is tarnishing where my greasy mitt rests on it. I’m wearing it as a badge of honour!

 

[xxxadixxx]

I am glad to hear so many have similar experiences as me. So many of the guitars on Reverb look like they have never been touched so I was worried I was doing some thing wrong. I will pick up a jewelry polishing cloth (suggested above) and just run with it. In the end, I play it about an hour a day (home playing) so it is earning the tarnish. Thanks all.

 

[dogrocketp]

In spite of my corrosive personality, my pickup covers usually look good. I use Meguiar’s liquid Cleaner/Polish in the burgundy bottle every time I change strings. If any of the wax gets caught in the crevices, my extra soft toothbrush gets it out in a hurry.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

In spite of my corrosive personality, my pickup covers usually look good. I use Meguiar’s liquid Cleaner/Polish in the burgundy bottle every time I change strings. If any of the wax gets caught in the crevices, my extra soft toothbrush gets it out in a hurry.

I’ve always found that wax in crevices is extra!

 

[Going Modal]

PRS recommends Blue Magic Liquid Metal Polish. Have you tried it?

I have used this myself, and can confirm that it works quite well. I've had a handful of used PRS with tarnishing/dulling on the nickel pickup covers & bridges, and this stuff cleans it right up--not quite back to mint condition but definitely back to an "impressively clean used guitar" at that point.

With that being said, I'm not sure if it can be used on the gold-colored pickup covers, so I still haven't tried it on those yet. (Luckily I have fewer of those and they're not too tarnished either.)

 

[Tone-y]

Think of it as a patina - which it is. Nickel dulls and goes grey. It picks up marks and pits and it ages. A good vintage guitar with nickel parts will pick up a nice patina. I've always thought of this as a positive

 

[László]

Think of it as a patina - which it is. Nickel dulls and goes grey. It picks up marks and pits and it ages. A good vintage guitar with nickel parts will pick up a nice patina. I've always thought of this as a positive

This is so true. At one time I was into ‘must look new’.

While my guitars still do, because my hands are so dry they don’t leave shmootz, I can really appreciate a genuine patina now.

Though I also think ideally it should be honest play wear, not faked by a relic-ing process. But that’s a personal thing, and what other folks like no longer bugs me.

 

[jak3af3r]

Though I also think ideally it should be honest play wear, not faked by a relic-ing process.

This.

If you have acid hands it's really easy to pick out the fakes because the fake acid vapor aging some people use comes out too even or too splotchy. See it waaaaaaay too much with brass saddles on teles.