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< Music Gear ~ Guitar pot/hardwarde corrosion |
| *The Dead* |
 Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2011 12:18 pm |
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Joined: 12 Oct 2005
Posts: 1883
Location: Corcaigh
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Anyone else experience this frequently?
I sweat a lot, tone/volume pots slowly turn green/blue and crackle through mild negligence and over-use... even my frets need a regular cleaning....
My pickups are constantly speckled with blue/green spots...makes for tedious maintenance
Changed a pick up recently and the screws were so bad, they turned to dust (guitar is less than two years old, screws less than a year, have had this problem with all my guitars)
Anyone have a remedy or solution for pot and hardware preservation/maintenance? |
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| Vomit Nest |
| Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2011 12:25 pm |
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Joined: 25 Nov 2008
Posts: 261
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| Do you leave the guitar down in the cans a lot? Or somewhere else damp? Stick a massive bag of silica jel into the case with it maybe. |
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| *The Dead* |
| Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2011 1:31 pm |
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Joined: 12 Oct 2005
Posts: 1883
Location: Corcaigh
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Vomit Nest wrote: Do you leave the guitar down in the cans a lot? Or somewhere else damp? Stick a massive bag of silica jel into the case with it maybe.
No, never did really, I generally look after my gear pretty well, just the odd drunken scramble into the hardcase. We're up in Blackpool the last while anyhow. I convinced its to do with sweat... I tried the silica gel on a small scale, might up the dose  |
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| demeyes |
| Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2011 3:33 pm |
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Joined: 10 Oct 2005
Posts: 525
Location: Limerick
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| Some people have it worse than others, depends n your sweat really and how much you get on the guitar. I'd say you might get a bit more life out of it if you give the guitar a good wipe down with a cloth every time you gig or practice, spend a good minute giving it a good wipe so the moisture is cleared off it. Every now and again it might be worth taking the bridge apart and giving it a really in depth clean and going over your pots and pickups with some fine wire wool to clear off the oxidisation. That could be a pain with the pickups being magnetic and all though. |
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| Tonytonytony |
| Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 2:00 pm |
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Joined: 16 Aug 2010
Posts: 38
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I'm the same, corrosive sweat! I am pretty active on stage so my guitar gets a lot of damage.
As said, bring a towel and wipe it down afterwards. Your strings will last longer too (I think) when you wipe down after playing. Also when changing strings it's a good idea to give it some attention.
I first did this after about a year playing my v, gigging regularly. Pulled off the pick guard as screws were rusty. The inside was riddled with that black sweat gunk that build up on the fret board, and as soon as I disturbed it it stank like something dead. All screws were corroded, and the bridge too, put a new one on recently, it's my third (second replacement).
Regualr attention saves a lot of money and a beautiful instrument! |
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| Tonytonytony |
| Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 2:01 pm |
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Joined: 16 Aug 2010
Posts: 38
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Oh yeah, one I forgot.
Wear wrist bands to absorb sweat.
It works a charm |
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| *The Dead* |
| Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 5:47 pm |
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Joined: 12 Oct 2005
Posts: 1883
Location: Corcaigh
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Yeah, sounds like a similar thing...its a pain in the hole
I'm convinced its down to corrosive sweat at this stage, which is a cunt coz its just unavoidable not to do so when playing, particularly live.
I've had a lifetime problem of string breaking too, always in the same point at the bridge. A combination of poor technique & corrosive sweat I guess. I've changed the bridge a fair few times, even filed the grooves for a softer edge.
Wristband seems the obvious solution really. I'm all for maintenance with wiping down and so on, but its difficult when you've 8 shows on the trot and living out of the back of a van
Pulled it apart to clean it up earlier...the input just fell apart when I got rough with it 
Anyone know if there is a lubricant or something that would help? WD40? |
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| skadk666 |
| Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 7:36 pm |
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Joined: 13 Jul 2006
Posts: 2723
Location: Ah hayer, leave it bleedin ouh!
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WD40 will stop any other liquids settling on surfaces but I dont know if its good to use on pots and inputs?
Honestly it is all down to keeping the guitar clean, I know its been said already but wiping down after practices and gigs is great for the guitar. Also FastFret for the strings, keeps them going twice as long as normal. |
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| moose |
| Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 9:00 pm |
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Joined: 10 Jan 2007
Posts: 910
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You could do a Greg Ginn and just wire a pickup direct to a lead and tape over every gap around the pickup.
Other than that I'd say a good spray of switch/contact cleaner regularly. You could also coat the screws and that in Vaseline, dunno how that wouldn't get messy though. It's the trick used by divers to stop knives getting rusted. |
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| *The Dead* |
| Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2011 12:38 am |
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Joined: 12 Oct 2005
Posts: 1883
Location: Corcaigh
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Sound,
I think I'll give the vaseline thing a shot.
I actually tried the tape thing before on an old guitar, it really didn't work for me. The mess left when I eventually removed the tape was a nightmare... pretty sure it was mostly down to negligence with that guitar though. |
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| Helvte |
| Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 3:43 pm |
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Joined: 22 Jun 2005
Posts: 1583
Location: Into the Jesus of Hell
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| moose |
| Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 8:05 pm |
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Joined: 10 Jan 2007
Posts: 910
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| Yeah forgot to mention that, WD40 is not a good idea in pots, it'll leave a layer of oil behind which will fuck up all the contacts destroying the pots. De oxit or any other switch/contact cleaner will work. |
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