Old guitar needs cleaning (pics)

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cincy_kid

cincy_kid

Active member
Hello All,

I have a Godin electric guitar that I used when I was in a band 7-8 years ago. After shows I never wiped it down and pretty much just put it back in the hardshell case and packed it up. Now years later when I get it out to start messing with some home recording I find that the pickups and screws are all rusty. Also the gold thing at the bottom where the strings go through (dont know its name sorry :o ) is rusty AND seems like its oxidized or something (green and brown rust). Also on the neck there are places on the frets that are discolored. I dont know if its dirt or if some sort of outer enamel covering rubbed off or what.

Here are some pics to see what I am talking about:

pickup_strings.jpg


bottom_string.jpg


bottom_nostring.jpg


neck_sc.jpg


bottom_closeup.jpg



So I was wondering if these were all problems that I can fix myself or do I need to bring to a local guita tech that can detail this puppy and bring it back to life :)

Also, I remember reading on the forums many months ago about an excellent pickup you could buy (I think in the $50-$100 range) that would make almost any guitar sound like a gem. Does anyone know which one that is or have a link? I guess if I get this cleaned up I will replace pickup(s) instead of buying a new guitar like I originally thought I would have to.

Thanks in advance for any comments/advice.


**(On a side note how come my pictures are showing up as links instead of in the thread itself like my other threads?...wierd)**
 
Dude..... thats the flavor.... THATS THE TONE!!!! LOL!!!! I say restring it as is, buff up the frets w/ OOOO steel wool(cover youp PuPs w/ tape first) and see how it sounds.
 
hehe, steel wool huh? I can try that but I still think it needs detailed and some new pickups :)

anyone else?
 
also, if i use steel wool on the neck, wont it scrape away the wood?
 
0000 steel wool is pretty fine stuff. it won't remove a noticeable amount of wood on an unfinished fingerboard. i use it for lots of things. since you have a maple fingerboard, take it easy! it will remove the fingerboard finish so you'll have to be watchful of what you're doing. i'd remove the saddles from the bridge, remove the bridge plate, and go over them with the steel wool too. it can't hurt anything but i don't think it's going to take all that rust off. if you're planning to ditch the pickups, you might as well give the tops of those pole pieces a try with it too, although it might be a pain getting the steel wool fibers off of the pole pieces. i've cleaned up some nasty looking stuff with steel wool. if there's any pitting from the rust, it's probably not going any where. you can try some rougher grades of steel wool though. 0000 is the finest and 00 is probably about as rough as you want to go and follow up with 000, and 0000. check out guitarfetish and guitarpartsusa for some new parts at reasonable prices. check out the two point tremolo at guitarfetish. it's cheap and probably an improvement over what's on the guitar now. you'll need to measure for fit.

if you want to give the steel wool a shot, start with the 0000 and put your elbow into it. if that doesn't get it, go rougher and work your way back to the finer stuff. it'll probably cost $5 for a few grades of steel wool. if the pickups suck any way (do they?), you might be better off changing them. the 0000 will definitely shine up those frets and clean the fingerboard. you'll want to take a magnet back and forth over each fret after wiping the fingerboard to get the remaining steel wool fibers. keep the magnet away from the pickups. i'd try some tape for tacking up any left over fibers on the pole pieces.

you can do it, put your back into it. :p
 
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It looks like a nice solid guitar, the 2 single coils & humbucker give lots of tonal variations, and the non trem bridge will make the tuning more stable than a Fender style tremelo. With the rust on the pickups, I think it would be a good idea to unscrew the pickguard to see how well the switch, pots and wiring look.

I think the guitar is worth any work you or a guitar tech would put into it-if for no other reason than the older wood is surely better than the green wood that a new guitar would be made from. Sending it to a tech may be better as the bridge is rusty and a screw may strip when adjusting it-hopefully a tech would take it easy and not let that happen.

Again-it looks like a good guitar-hopefully it will soon be making some killer tracks in you're studio!! :)
 
Guitar fetis has everything you need for cheap. You can get a whole bag of pickguard screws for 6 bucks.

http://store.guitarfetish.com/guitarhardware.html

I've bought some parts from them. I got screws, a wilki vintage trem, tuners and stuff. I also got a prewired pickguard and aside from the fit, the stuff seems decent quality. And all this stuff is about as cheap as you can find it anywhere. You might think it's shitty if you're really picky, but I think it's all more than adequate.

I think unless the pickups were really kick ass back in the day, I wouldn't go through the trouble of cleaning them. That rust/dust shit gets everywhere and being magnetic makes it loads of fun. I'd take the bridge off and try and clean it up with the dremel. If the plating flakes off, shit can it. It'll always be shitty.
 
Sirnothingness - actually was thinking about a strat until my buddy said its kinda noisy in the studio so I thought about cleaning this one up ~

TravisinFlorida - Thanks a lot for the advice Travis, some good info there. I am thinking that I may just ditch the pickups and the gold thig (whats it called, the bridge?) if I am able to replace them, that will be the route I go. Seems those wool fibers are gonna be a pain. I will however try them on the fretboard unless theres a better solution.

Anfontan - Thanks man, it served me well for what I needed it for :) I do like the tonal variations it gives with the multiple pickups. Maybe a dumb question, but if i buy 2 new single coils, a double humbucker, and new bridge replacement can I get the same kind of non tremelo bridge and can they be swapped out? I think replacing them may be easier than trying to clean those suckers up.

cephus - thanks for the post and link man. I will for sure check them out. I cant be picky since I am pretty clueless on guitar part stuffs :o Yea, I think I agree with you on replacing them. I mean the pickups were "ok" but by no means irreplaceable. Like I asked anton, can I just buy new pieces and get them swapped out if I take it to a guitar tech?

Jouni - LOL ok Jouni as long as you buy it for 1 meeeeeeeeelion dollars! :p

oh, yea and also does anyone have any good recommendations for real nice sounding pickups?
 
both guitarfetish and guitarpartsusa carry that non-tremolo bridge. you'll need to check the spacing of the screws and saddles to see if it will directly replace your current bridge.

pickups, i'd put a fralin paf in the bridge and a pair of vintage hots in the middle and neck positions. on the cheap i'd look at the same style pickups from guitarfetish. pickups are a taste thing so yours will vary.
 
One thing u can try on the bridge is a burnishing brush. It's a little friendlier than the steel wool as it will not pull off the rest of the finish on the bridge. The brush can also be used on the screw heads. A quick shot of Rustoleum spray paint on the screw heads will prolong them from corroding again.

The hex head screws on the bridge, if you can get them out without damaging them, can be saved the same way. The brush is also great for getting corrosion off of the pickup posts.

Steel wool on the frets is the best option. tear off a small piece and rub them lightly. Use a fine tipped screwdriver to guide the wool along the edges. Any wood scuffing can be easily buffed out with a good guitar polish (like the MArtin Guitar Polish).

I just refurbed my friend's bass. It had been in storage for so long, two strings rusted in two and the frets had turned green.

Also, hit the inside of the pots with some DeOxit 5. 1 small squirt and then rotate them around, full deflection each way. Then do it again. Do the same with the input jack, but use a 1/4" plug and work it in and out.

The DeOxit 5 also works on the pots and jacks of your amp. Again, set it the can nozzle to the lowest setting. It doesn't take much.

Here's a link for the brush (They also have refills):

http://www.mcminone.com/product.asp...ts&category_name=3831846&product_id=SABU10191

Here's a link for the DeOxit:

http://www.mcminone.com/product.asp...ucts&category_name=3830479&product_id=200-230
 
Travis - how can i meaure for screws and spacing when the websites dont give me dimensions? I mean I can measure my own but how do I know the one to buy with no measurements from them? Thanks for the pickup recommendations I will take a look at them ~

alien - thanks for chiming in! I think I am going to replace the pickups and bridge, but that brush sounds like something i may get anyways for other uses, thanks. When you say a fine tip screwdrive along the edges, do you mean the side of neck? or you mean in between the nickel frets? I will be getting the guitar polish too, sweet ;) Sorry for my noobness, but what is pots? the volume knob thingy? Not sure I understand the concept of the 1/4" goin in and out either...you mean spray it up in there and just in and out with 1/4' guitar cable? Wont that mess the electronoics up, hehe? When I plug into my amp and turn it on, the volume knob make a static sound everytime i turn it so maybe that deOx will help that ;)

thanks again to both of you
 
so I got bored and took off the pickguard to see what it looked like in there. here are some pics:

took the guard off (what are those little thin wires for where the bridge was?):
pickguard_off.jpg


notice in this pic, the insdie bottom looks all wet, but i touched it and none of it is wet! Its like some sort of glaze or something I dont know...
pickguard_off2.jpg


this one shows a shot of the wiring (the only thing i see that "may" be bad is the little brown spot on the silver thing, I dont know if that means it was fried or if thats just where it was soldered.)
wiring.jpg


another of the wiring
wiring2.jpg


a close up of the inside under the wiring. Those white dots dont wipe off. IS that a bad thing or is this typical to see?
blotter.jpg
 
those thin wires under the bridge are how the bridge is being grounded. it looks like they were just wedged between the bridge and body.
 
cincy_kid said:
so I got bored and took off the pickguard to see what it looked like in there. here are some pics:

took the guard off (what are those little thin wires for where the bridge was?):
pickguard_off.jpg


notice in this pic, the insdie bottom looks all wet, but i touched it and none of it is wet! Its like some sort of glaze or something I dont know...
pickguard_off2.jpg


this one shows a shot of the wiring (the only thing i see that "may" be bad is the little brown spot on the silver thing, I dont know if that means it was fried or if thats just where it was soldered.)
wiring.jpg


another of the wiring
wiring2.jpg


a close up of the inside under the wiring. Those white dots dont wipe off. IS that a bad thing or is this typical to see?
blotter.jpg
Click to expand...

I bet the brown spot is nothing more than solder flux-it is used to make the metal in the pots make a better stronger solder connection..nothing at all to be concerned about if thats what it is.

Like Travis said, the strands of wire under the bridge is the ground connection-its held in place by the tension of the bridge when its screwed down tightly. I've seen plenty of Telecasters that do the same thing for the ground.

When you open up a guitar there are lots of things like the white spots that they don't cleanup-they figured it would never show when it was on the sales rack-no problem, its hidden~ :rolleyes:
 
hehe thanks to both of you...

So I have been browsing the pickups and bridges and guitar repair places. I guess my only conern now is, if I but pickups x 3, a new bridge, shipping and then pay the guitar repair shop to do all the work...woudl it be better if I just spent $300 on a new guitar :confused:
 
alien - thanks for chiming in! I think I am going to replace the pickups and bridge, but that brush sounds like something i may get anyways for other uses, thanks. [/quote]

It's a very handy tool :)

When you say a fine tip screwdrive along the edges, do you mean the side of neck? or you mean in between the nickel frets?
Click to expand...

Along the edge of the frets where they meets the neck. Use a small piece of steel wool about the size of a pea or smaller. You'll gently move it along the fret edge with the screw driver :)

I will be getting the guitar polish too, sweet ;)
Click to expand...

Always a good thing to have. Rub it on, let it dry, and buff it off with a dry, lint free cloth :)

Sorry for my noobness, but what is pots? the volume knob thingy?
Click to expand...

Yep. The knobs on top of your guitar ar attached to the shafts of pontentiometers. Pots for short. There's an opening in the pot at the solder tabs (where the wires sodler to) that you can give it a littel squirt.

Not sure I understand the concept of the 1/4" goin in and out either...you mean spray it up in there and just in and out with 1/4' guitar cable?
Click to expand...

yep

[/quote]Wont that mess the electronoics up, hehe?[/quote]

Nope


When I plug into my amp and turn it on, the volume knob make a static sound everytime i turn it so maybe that deOx will help that ;)
Click to expand...

Yep

And with that little bit, you just saved $100 or more in service on your amp and guitar. :)
 
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