Severe Rust on my PRS Silver Sky Core USA Model

[Rod/]

The titanium saddles definitely seem to be a possible solution, I appreciate the suggestion.

That’s a great solution. John Mann also might have some brass saddles, and they don’t rust.. it will change the tone a bit. Rounder highs and fuller mids, which for a Strat, imho, is a good thing….

 

[Sybo]

First thing I do is get any chunks out with a screwdriver. Then I'll use a bench grinder and some metal compound on a buffing wheel. It'll take the brass Tele saddles up to mirror finish.

My strat(s) I didn't play enough for it to interfere with the point of contact on the string but they're pretty nasty and my neck plates are hazy on all those guitars.

That was back when I was playing between 8 and 20+ hours a week on stage excluding any practice. I also got in the habit of running all the hardware adjustment screws completely through the holes and threading them in from the opposite side to clean the threads every string change just to keep them from freezing in place.




I'm worried that might have a negative impact on the collector value. Now if someone famous did the same, it might be a different story.

Lolololol

 

[Sybo]

As a retired Knifemaker, perhaps I can help. Very acidic solutions like Coffee,Vinegar, Ferric Chloride, etc, will not do your parts any service. Once you “ etch” ( in your incidence, initially you took it as just a cleaning) , you eat away the surface and change the appearance , you actually create MORE surface area that will continue to oxidize at an accelerated rate. I would replace the parts with new plating. Once it starts its “on“ baby…

i wonder if diet can help?

 

[masonstark18]

As a retired Knifemaker, perhaps I can help. Very acidic solutions like Coffee,Vinegar, Ferric Chloride, etc, will not do your parts any service. Once you “ etch” ( in your incidence, initially you took it as just a cleaning) , you eat away the surface and change the appearance , you actually create MORE surface area that will continue to oxidize at an accelerated rate. I would replace the parts with new plating. Once it starts its “on“ baby…

i wonder if diet can help?

Interesting. I appreciate the perspective as a knifemaker. If not vinegar, ferric chloride, or anything else similar, what would you recommend just to remove some of that rust?

 

[masonstark18]

First thing I do is get any chunks out with a screwdriver. Then I'll use a bench grinder and some metal compound on a buffing wheel. It'll take the brass Tele saddles up to mirror finish.

My strat(s) I didn't play enough for it to interfere with the point of contact on the string but they're pretty nasty and my neck plates are hazy on all those guitars.

That was back when I was playing between 8 and 20+ hours a week on stage excluding any practice. I also got in the habit of running all the hardware adjustment screws completely through the holes and threading them in from the opposite side to clean the threads every string change just to keep them from freezing in place.




I'm worried that might have a negative impact on the collector value. Now if someone famous did the same, it might be a different story.

Interesting. I really appreciate the response I will definitely try that. 20+ hours a week on stage with that much sweat and humidity will definitely do them in.

 

[masonstark18]

That’s a great solution. John Mann also might have some brass saddles, and they don’t rust.. it will change the tone a bit. Rounder highs and fuller mids, which for a Strat, imho, is a good thing….

Definitely going to be my next move... Probably try to use these until they seriously become unplayable and make the upgrade to Brass/Titanium saddles.

 

[jak3af3r]

Interesting. I really appreciate the response I will definitely try that. 20+ hours a week on stage with that much sweat and humidity will definitely do them in.

I took pictures of one of the road Teles and strat in their current state. I'll post them up later and probably the two saddles on the PRS I needed to replace as well.

 

[jak3af3r]

Alright I took a small sample of guitars and took pictures of what my hardware looks like. If you don't like rusted parts, look away now.

We'll start with something simple...

https://imgur.com/r00a6Ed

Small rant on relic teles here. Most of them, if they have aged hardware, the saddles tend to be too evenly cruddy. This is what hours of actual play wear looks like.

https://imgur.com/LXd3P3A

Here's a strat I bought new in 2016. I'm the only one who ever played this guitar and it went out on the road a few times but not as often as a tele. This one I'm 100% certain without trying is frozen in its setup but it's stable and I'm too lazy to mess with new saddles. This one is admittedly dirty.

https://imgur.com/6WlCNx8

 

[jak3af3r]

Now we get to PRS content. Overall, their stuff seems to hold up considerably better than other brands. These came off my 25th anniversary SAS. I am not the original owner but when I got this guitar in March, all the screws were functioning. I have played MAYBE 6-7 shows no longer than 3 hours each with this one and they froze.

https://imgur.com/BqpuoHt

Shoutout to John Mann for coming through on some super high-quality saddles. I opted for the plated screws here to hopefully buy a little more time before they eventually freeze. Notice under the strings all the green spots. That's where the vibrating strings grab the sweat off my hands and throw it in little droplets everywhere.

https://imgur.com/HuRu7nz

 

[jak3af3r]

If you made it this far, here's a bonus picture of my cat, who loves when I play guitar. You can see a reflection of his ear in the picture above because he was excited I opened a case.

https://imgur.com/8mWAq9N

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Yep this is familiar. My MIJ Strat had new bridge pieces a couple of times. The boy who changed them couldn’t believe how eaten they were!

 

[Simon Says]

Both of you need to see a doctor right now


Edit: or start ageing guitars for living

 

[Ovibos]

Both of you need to see a doctor right now


Edit: or start ageing guitars for living

 

[dogrocketp]

Google using hydrogen peroxide for cleaning rust. I have 2 used toothbrushes. I use a stiff one for liberally putting Meguiar’s cleaner/ car wax on the guitar Hardware. After an hour or more, I wipe most of it off with a baby diaper. Then I go to work with the other toothbrush and clean out the crevices. Sometimes I leave it on overnight. It also works really well on the back of guitar necks. I use it every time I change the strings.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Both of you need to see a doctor right now


Edit: or start ageing guitars for living

jak3AR refurbs!

 

[jak3af3r]

jak3AR refurbs!

I thought about advertising "honest hardware ageing" where for a small fee I'd play your guitar for a week or two and give it back.

I do remember my dad, who is a machinist, would bring home material samples and tell me to handle it for a few days and let it sit to see what it would do.