Pickguard Screws

  • Thread starter Thread starter 32-20-Blues
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32-20-Blues

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Okay, it's a very minor issue, and one that is easily solved, but...

I have had my Strat for three years, and the pickguard and pick-up screws are rusted really bad. The pickguard is black, so it's no big deal, but I was wondering...is this normal?

I'm gonna change them out soon.
 
After three years? Your at the low end of the bell curve, but yeah, Fender pickguard screws tend to rust out. It probably just means you are playing your guitar a lot! :) I mean, that is what it is there for, you know?

Seriously, I wouldn't worry too much about it. You may have a body chemistry which just reacts to metals. It is prefectly normal, if not exactly common. I bet you wear out strings pretty quick too, right?


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
As long as the you can get a driver bit on em your ok. If you do swap em out, rub a little candle wax on the thread, just a bit. Helps em come out and stops em rusting on the thread. Also brass replacements are just as likely to corrode on you.
 
Light said:
After three years? Your at the low end of the bell curve, but yeah, Fender pickguard screws tend to rust out. It probably just means you are playing your guitar a lot! :) I mean, that is what it is there for, you know?

Seriously, I wouldn't worry too much about it. You may have a body chemistry which just reacts to metals. It is prefectly normal, if not exactly common. I bet you wear out strings pretty quick too, right?


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
Click to expand...

Light whattya think of Fast Fret or lubricants like that? I picked up my Tele (also about 3 years old) and restrung it, but the neck just feels a little...i dunno...grimy. I always clean it with a cloth when i change the strings
but do ya think a solveent would help?
 
TelePaul said:
Light whattya think of Fast Fret or lubricants like that? I picked up my Tele (also about 3 years old) and restrung it, but the neck just feels a little...i dunno...grimy. I always clean it with a cloth when i change the strings
but do ya think a solveent would help?
Click to expand...



I answered in your other thread.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Light said:
After three years? Your at the low end of the bell curve, but yeah, Fender pickguard screws tend to rust out. It probably just means you are playing your guitar a lot! :) I mean, that is what it is there for, you know?

Seriously, I wouldn't worry too much about it. You may have a body chemistry which just reacts to metals. It is prefectly normal, if not exactly common. I bet you wear out strings pretty quick too, right?


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
Click to expand...

Yeah, my strings wear out very quickly. 'Body Chemistry' is a polite way of saying sweaty hands, right? :)

And I agree with you entirely, the guitar is there to be used. I was once quite concerned about it getting a few signs of wear, but now i realise that it's all just part and parcel of playing the thing regularly. Don't get me wrong, i take great care of the instrument, but it would be unrealistic for it to appear pristine for ever.

Thanks for the help.
 
32-20-Blues said:
Yeah, my strings wear out very quickly. 'Body Chemistry' is a polite way of saying sweaty hands, right? :)

And I agree with you entirely, the guitar is there to be used. I was once quite concerned about it getting a few signs of wear, but now i realise that it's all just part and parcel of playing the thing regularly. Don't get me wrong, i take great care of the instrument, but it would be unrealistic for it to appear pristine for ever.
Click to expand...

Think of it as doing a relicing job the right way.
 
32-20-Blues said:
Yeah, my strings wear out very quickly. 'Body Chemistry' is a polite way of saying sweaty hands, right? :)
Click to expand...


Not quite. I have sweaty hands, but my strings last a fairly normal amount of time. It is just that some people have a very acidic sweat, which causes things to oxidize and rust much faster. I have a friend who I will not allow to touch my guitar because if he plays them for just a couple of minutes, the strings are toast. No shit. It is just a matter of body chemistry.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Light said:
Not quite. I have sweaty hands, but my strings last a fairly normal amount of time. It is just that some people have a very acidic sweat, which causes things to oxidize and rust much faster. I have a friend who I will not allow to touch my guitar because if he plays them for just a couple of minutes, the strings are toast. No shit. It is just a matter of body chemistry.
Click to expand...

Yikes! I'd hate to be his girlfriend! ;^)
 
True statement: Body chem makes a difference. I too have a friend who I will not allow to play my axe as his "sweat" just destroys my strings. Go figure that when I play his guitar my ph/acid "sweat" eats up his strings. We now have a tacit agreement to avoid one anothers guitars. I have observed the aforementioned phenom over many years.
 
So weird...I looked at a couple of Fender CustomShop strat's last week. Both had rusted PG screws. I asked the clerk about it. He sez " yeah...aint it cool ??Got a real 60's vibe don't it??


Go figure!

chazba
 
Thurgood said:
True statement: Body chem makes a difference. I too have a friend who I will not allow to play my axe as his "sweat" just destroys my strings. Go figure that when I play his guitar my ph/acid "sweat" eats up his strings.
Click to expand...
I played with a bass player years ago who was what is referred to in the metalworking trades as a "ruster." His acidic skin oils and sweat would oxidize damn near any metal almost immediately.

"Hey, Tom, can I play your guitar?"

"NO!" :D
 
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