Hi all, any advice on why my frets and convers are tarnishing on my new DGT?

[CakeEater]

I bought my DGT back in January and I love it. But I've realized recently that the frets and pickup covers have become quite tarnished.

I've never had this problem on any of my other guitars (though this is my first PRS), so I was wondering what might be causing it, or what I might be able to do about it if anything.

For detail:

• I bought it new
• It's a 2013 model
• It really hasn't been played that much yet
• It's kept in its case when not in use

I've attahced some pics below. If you can give any advice, I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks.

 

[Jazzedout]

First of all, nice DGT! It has a vintagey vibe that I love!!
I think this is caused by sweat and humidity in general.
Do you have sweaty hands? This is usually the cause of the build up I can see on the trem saddles.
I believe someone will recomend a good metal polish that will make your DGT look like new.

 

[CakeEater]

Thanks!

Yeah I love the Livingstone Lemondrop finish, it's actually a little smoother and yellower looking in real life.
I had the choice of it or the goldtop and I'm happy with my decision.

I probably have less sweaty hands than most to be honest. That said I can't account for who played it before I bought it.

 

[CakeEater]

That's unusual.
- Do you live near the coast? Saline mist environment can cause accelerated corrosion.
- Do you live in an usually warm and humid location? Buy a hygrometer and measure the humidity in the case. You can get one off the net for $20.
- Put a generous amount of dessicant into a sock and place it in your case, if conditions are found to be humid. Keep the case in a cool spot.
- Scuffed PRS pickup covers tarnish easily, compared to the shiny nickel ones. I share that experience too.

I don't live too near the coast. I live in Dublin, Ireland which is neither warm are particulary humid in absolute terms.
There isn't anything remotely similar on any of my other guitars. This would be unique to the PRS.

 

[CatStrangler]

I'm guessing there is something uniques about the prs fret material relative to your other guitars that reacts with the sweat from your hands.

 

[Bluesboy998]

My dgt came with brushed pickup covers

 

[CakeEater]

Is there anything I can do to restore or protect the finish?

 

[CatStrangler]

I suspect a metal polish/cleaner will be safe, but it would be a good idea to email prs customer service to see what they recommend.

 

[vchizzle]

The yellowish color I've never had before. My frets get dull, dirty and less smooth, but I haven't experience that. I clean my frets with these: http://www.stewmac.com/Luthier_Tools/Tools_by_Job/Fretting/Polishing_and_abrasives/Fret_Erasers.html
0000 Steel wool can be used, but it's very messy.

I only have a green and yellow one, mostly just use the yellow. DON'T put any type of metal polish near your fretboard. You don't want that crap on any wood.

PRS recommends blue magic for hardware tarnish - I have no idea if it should be used on brushed/scuffed pickup covers(anyone?). https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=blue+magic+metal+polish

 

[markintime]

The yellowish color I've never had before. My frets get dull, dirty and less smooth, but I haven't experience that. I clean my frets with these: http://www.stewmac.com/Luthier_Tools/Tools_by_Job/Fretting/Polishing_and_abrasives/Fret_Erasers.html
0000 Steel wool can be used, but it's very messy.

I only have a green and yellow one, mostly just use the yellow. DON'T put any type of metal polish near your fretboard. You don't want that crap on any wood.

PRS recommends blue magic for hardware tarnish - I have no idea if it should be used on brushed/scuffed pickup covers(anyone?). https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=blue+magic+metal+polish

+1 agree with the eraser. I can also suggest using Renaissance Wax on the frets. It is a micro crystalline wax polish that the British museum (and others) use to protect metal finishes and other valuable artifacts from environmental effects. I use it on all my scrimshawed ivory to protect the colors from bleeding into each other. You can read about it here. It is great stuff. Plus it will not harm your fretboard. It has no buildup.

 

[CakeEater]

The yellowish color I've never had before. My frets get dull, dirty and less smooth, but I haven't experience that. I clean my frets with these: http://www.stewmac.com/Luthier_Tools/Tools_by_Job/Fretting/Polishing_and_abrasives/Fret_Erasers.html
0000 Steel wool can be used, but it's very messy.

I only have a green and yellow one, mostly just use the yellow. DON'T put any type of metal polish near your fretboard. You don't want that crap on any wood.

PRS recommends blue magic for hardware tarnish - I have no idea if it should be used on brushed/scuffed pickup covers(anyone?). https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=blue+magic+metal+polish

+1 agree with the eraser. I can also suggest using Renaissance Wax on the frets. It is a micro crystalline wax polish that the British museum (and others) use to protect metal finishes and other valuable artifacts from environmental effects. I use it on all my scrimshawed ivory to protect the colors from bleeding into each other. You can read about it here. It is great stuff. Plus it will not harm your fretboard. It has no buildup.

Thanks guys, I'll definitely check these out.

I've emailed customer service too, to see what they recommend.

I've done some googling, some forums have suggested it may be actually the case if anyone can lend credibility to that?

 

[shinksma]

I doubt it is the guitar case in and of itself - we all have cases, many folks keep them there, and I don't recall anyone having this issue.

However, if your case is damp or has a moisture problem all on its own, then trapping the guitar in that environment could be a source of the problem.

Maybe, just maybe, there is something else different recently, in your guitar chain (beyond the guitar itself, although it could be the cause!) or home environment, or your diet (the human body is weird and fascinating..). Try cleaning up the PRS, and playing some other guitars for a while - does the problem follow you, or does the guitar oxidize all by itself?

Just some suggestions - it could be a number of things I guess, and you'll have to experiment to figure it out.

 

[DISTORT6]

If I let a guitar "sit" for a while, I get the same crud on the frets. For that I use this:

http://www.gorgomyte.com/index.html

Works great on the covers, too. :top:

 

[László]

PRS uses nickel plating on pickup covers instead of chrome, much like Gibson. Nickel has a softer appearance than chrome plating, which tends to blue and peel, but like silver, it tarnishes. However, it also polishes out very easily. If you can't find Blue Magic, I've used Flitz, a German metal polish that's widely available, in the past successfully if pickup covers needed a shine.

I've had frets on a few PRSes in the past acquire that gold hue if I haven't played them much (I used to have more guitars on hand than I do now). It seems to be greatly reduced simply by cleaning the fretboard in a standard way, i.e., lemon oil, not metal polish!

 

[Tosca]

For the pickups...the metal polishes Les mentioned work great, I prefer MAAS metal polish myself on pickup covers, bridges, tuners etc...it seems to protect against tarnish a bit longer between uses.
For the frets...Gorgomyte cloth.

 

[markie]

Natural acid in our skin is more prevalent with some people. This can cause your fret wires, covers, etc to tarnish & in some cases even rust.

 

[markintime]

CakeEater, you did mention in your OP that though you have other guitars you've never had this problem with any of them. Are they also kept in their cases when not in use? Just a thought that hit me in re-reading this thread to see what others have in the way of suggestions.

 

[CakeEater]

CakeEater, you did mention in your OP that though you have other guitars you've never had this problem with any of them. Are they also kept in their cases when not in use? Just a thought that hit me in re-reading this thread to see what others have in the way of suggestions.

My two other guitars are a Fender Strat and a Mayson acoustic. While the strat is usully on the wall, the acoustic is either being played or in its case.
The strat is my oldest guitar, I've had it for 7 years. I bought the Mayson in November.

I don't know what the frets would be composed of, and there's no pickup covers between them, so maybe there isn't a relative comparison.
As for me, while I have dryer hands than most people, I've also smudged magazines in the past by holding them for long enough.

What's odd though is the uniformity of the tarnishing, It's consitstent across the each fret, and gets stronger up the neck.
If it's my hands, I'd expect it to be localized in some hotspots, like especially around the 2nd & 3rd fret.

 

[CakeEater]

Thanks everyone for all your advice.

So it sounds like for both frets and covers I could use:

• Blue Magic
• Renaissance wax
• Gorgomyte

I'll keep fret erasers in mind too.

Or any of the above complementary with each other? Or should they be used in isolation?

Thanks again.

 

[markintime]

A very good point about the tarnishing extending all over the fretboard, like you said. It does seem to point to the case. I wouldn't think that the material the frets are made of would be of any particular significance. Especially since this is such an isolated incident.

Can't seem to see any harm in trying all of those solutions, or whichever ones will get the clean up job done. Once the frets are clean, I think I would then NOT put it back in the case for however long, and see if the tarnishing comes back. My hands are much like yours, in that they don't sweat, plus the fact that all of the frets were affected would seem to rule that out. So it does seem like an atmospheric issue, and quite likely the case. I think the dessication treatment of the case, without the guitar in it, for however long you think appropriate would be a good place to start.