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Post subject: Cleaniing chrome parts
Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2015 5:25 pm
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Hobbyist
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Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2010 12:33 pm
Posts: 2
Location: Sturgeon Bay, WI USA
Hello all - I've acquired a '99 - '00 Mexican-built Tele (per the S/N) and want to remove the grime on the chrome parts. Can anyone suggest the best way to clean my parts so I don't have to replace with new?
Any other helpful maintenance suggestions appreciated, too.
Thanks,
Babio


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Post subject: Re: Cleaniing chrome parts
Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2015 1:28 am
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Rock Star
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Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2007 1:53 am
Posts: 4240
Ahm... Any commercial chrome cleaner/polish product..? :wink:

But seriously: the old school universal cleaner is a combination of cotton rags (+Q-tips, toothbrush etc.) , Zippo fluid and elbow grease. Those were always available, cheap and suitable for any finish.
They work on metal parts, too - although remember to lube all string/other contact points after cleaning.

Nowadays, stores are full of special products for every single part on the guitar - even many guitar manufacturers have their own product line; Fender Care & Cleaning.
If you want to go hi-tech, use those.

On your question about other maintenance: have the guitar set up regularly - maybe once a year. By a pro, or DIY if you know how.


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Post subject: Re: Cleaniing chrome parts
Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2015 1:27 pm
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Professional Musician
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Joined: Sat Aug 23, 2008 2:01 pm
Posts: 1598
I'm gonna expand on this just as bit as I tend to feel that what you use and how you go about it tends to depend on the individual guitar and situation. Since we're only talkin' a '99 here, I would think things shouldn't be too bad, but ya never know...

For light tarnish, dirt/grim and general crud, as jmartis said, a little lighter fluid (Naptha) and a tub of elbow greese usually does the trick. I've also used acetone (generic nail polish remover) for cleaning up heavier goo (like some recent sticker removal). For heavier tarnish and particularly light rust, you may want to use some kind of polishing compound...I've used Turtle Wax chrome polish and Brasso before and I've even used some rubbing compound on occasion. Since we're talkin' Tele here, if you're using any chemicals, lighter fluid, acetone, chrome polish, etc., I would recommend at least taping off your bridge pickup to keep it clean.

If we are by chance talking heavy rust/corrosion, I usually find it best to remove the bridge (and with a Tele, remove the pickup from the bridge) and give it a good once over with some steel wool and/or some navel jelly. If you need to use navel jelly, keep it well away from the rest of the guitar as that stuff can be nasty and if you use steel wool, KEEP IT AWAY from your pickups...the magnets in your pickups will grab the dust from the steel wool!

Always clean and lube everyone once you're done...usually a tich of graphite does the trick for lubrication.


As far as other maintenance tips go, as jmartis said, regular setups are a must (with any electric). Change your strings regularly. Check your intonation with every string change. Also, I usually give my guitars a pretty good cleaning with each string change...you can get high end guitar polish and such, but personally I prefer a good quality furniture polish such as Old English (although I gotta admit I like the smell of that generic orange scented stuff I got at Family Dollar, LOL!). For an unfinished freboard (ala rosewood or ebony), I'll usually use a little linseed oil from time to time for heavy cleaning and I'll use a bit of lemon oil to condition the wood (for finished maple, I just use the furniture polish). Also, I gotta admit that I do very much like that Dunlap 65 string cleaner. I use it after gigs and heavy practices and such and it really seems like I'm getting better longevity out of my strings...and so far, the one bottle has lasted for 2 years now, so it was well worth the $7.

Last but not least, remember this; sh_t happens. There's a lot of folks out there who get really bent out of shape if their guitar get's a scratch or a ding...there's even a recent thread here on Fender about the pro's and con's of fret polishing. While I try to keep my guitars looking as nice as possible for as long as possible, I do expect some degree of wear and tear on the guitars I play so if it's not something that really affects my playing, beyond basic routine maintenance, I don't usually get too worried about things. Just ask yourself "Does this really affect my playing or do I simply 'see it' and it bothers me?". In my mind, it just shows the guitar has been loved enough for someone to have played it.

Hope this helps!


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Post subject: Re: Cleaniing chrome parts
Posted: Sun Sep 20, 2015 4:12 am
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Hobbyist
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Joined: Tue Sep 15, 2015 1:53 am
Posts: 8
Now this may be an apocryphal story, but our old friend Coca Cola (or possibly ANY cola) can work wonders with dirty or even rusty chromed stuff.
Give it a whirl. If you can, dunk the item in a glassful, or just rub it on and wait.
By the way, I have used cola to clean a fly-infested car windscreen (and it worked really well), but I do not accept any liability for potential damage to your guitar.


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