Conference napalm::guitar

    This happens to the black hardware on Ibanez guitars.  It can be rubbed
    back to normal...I guess it's just normal oxidation...

     yeah it happens to all Of 'em......I pulled mine out and
    sprayed them w/ polyurethane and it stopped happening.
    -KrOnMeIsTeR
    

    It's probably related to the climate there in the NE United States,
    I've never had that problem on any of my guitars here in Colorado.  But
    it's very dry here.
    
    Greg

    
    	The curse of Kron, again.. this is becoming more and more like that
    Madagascar incident... more and more... hmmm.. in that instance I used
    Double-U-D-Fawty to protect the parts from rust, successfully!  Has
    anyone else thwarted KRON's curse using this method...
    
    	What's this: "I took mine out and sprayed it with Polyurethane"? 
    Isn't that dangerous??
    
    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHA (yes, Igor, Yes, the brain of a chicken,hurry!)
    
    Dr. Grave...

    
    
    Yeah, and sometimes it's so nice out, I just want to leave it
    out.
    
    You guys will get a kick out of this:  I mentioned my rusty screws
    to a music store employee.  He asked if I had the "nice" Gibson
    case and I said that I did.
    
    He nodded and said that this was a problem with those cases. Quoth
    he, "Yeah, those Gibson cases are practically air-tight and they
    will trap and hold humidity.  From time to time, open the case
    and let it air out before closing it again."
    
    I should have asked him, "Up to how many atmospheres will this case
    be effective?"
    
    Brian, prop.
    
    New England Hermetically-Sealed Guitar Cases, Inc.

    I've had my Gibson bass stored in it's Gibson case for nigh on 20
    years now. No rust.
    
    Edd

    
    Or put some of those silica gel thingies in your case.  We don't have
    that problem here is So CA - in fact, about the only place drier than
    here is that place in Arizona where they park the moth-balled
    warbirds.
    
    My Les Paul had some grungy stuff on the hardware, too.  After I
    scrubbed that stuff off I put a thin coat of filter oil (for motorcycle
    air cleaners, the only light weight oil I had in quantity) on the
    pieces and wiped them down until they no longer felt totally lubed. 
    Haven't seen any recurrance of the problem, yet.
    
    Question - does silica gel's thirst ever get satisfied?  What happens
    to the moisture it absorbs?
    

    re: .-1
    
    The light coating of oil seems like a good idea.  Works for tools, I
    don't see why it wouldn't work for guitar hardware.
    
>    Question - does silica gel's thirst ever get satisfied?  What happens
>    to the moisture it absorbs?
    
    Yes, it does get saturated at a certain point.  You can heat the stuff
    up like in an oven and drive the moisture back out of it and reuse it. 
    My parents used to use it for drying flowers.  It just absorbs the
    mosture.  
    
    Grab a bag or two the next time you get computer equipment, they always
    seem to include liberal numbers of them in just about everything.
    
    Greg                                                             

    SILICA GEL!! That's what that stuff is in the shipping crates!!!
    A workmate here has been taking those bags of crystal home,crushing it
    up,and snorting it,thinking we had some very good friends stateside.
    	I was wondering why he drinks three gallons of soda each tea
    break.........8-)
    

	You can do all sorts of things with silica gel. Just make sure
	you DO NOT EAT it.

	

    
    I would be a little concerned about silica gel absorbing too much
    moisture and drying out the instrument.  I certainly wouldn't put
    any in the case of an acoustic instrument.  In fact, there are
    guitar humidifiers specifically designed to increase the humidity
    inside the guitar case.  Silica gel might be OK for solid body 
    electrics, though.  It seems to me, however, that it might increase 
    the likelyhood of cracking in an ebony fretboard.
    
    Jim

    I have a G&L ASAT and the pickup pole pieces started rusting on me...
    BIG TIME! The bridge looks slightly oxidized and a few pickguard
    screws have also started rusting! This New England weather is killing
    this guitar. Maybe clear nail polish, or clear laquer on the pole
    pieces, but I don't want to hit the covers with laquer...  do the
    pickup covers come off? Hmmmmm...  maybe I'll try that this weekend.
    
    Any suggestions besides moving to a dryer climate. Hey, I heard that
    parts of Arizona had 60% humidity yesterday! 
    
    	Fred

    Navel jelly?  A little touch with the scotchbrite?
    

re: .13

>    Navel jelly?  

I wouldn't recommend naval jelly (I assume you didn't really mean "navel"
jelly :-).

> A little touch with the scotchbrite?
    
Scotchbrite would be good for removing the rust.  But make sure you don't
use steel wool.  Steel wool and magnets don't play well together.

-Hal

   re: Scotchbrite

   There are two types, or levels of abrasiveness.  The standard green cloths
   are the courser of the two, and will scratch chromed metal.  The white 
   Scotchbrite cloths are the milder/gentler/smoother of the two, and can be
   used without worry on chrome.

   -- Sam (Harley Davidson owner, and therefore well experienced in keeping 
   	   chrome shiney :-))

    Seems like the title shouldn't be used in the same note containing
    "Harley".  :-)
    
    (Dough!  Sorry!!   ;-)