I've pulled the strats (2 late '90s American Standards) out of storage and am trying to get them back into shape. Since I'm replacing the switch tips for the umpteenth time, anyone have any suggestions as to how to keep them on permanently?

Hi Ron,
Not sure why the tips are coming off. Maybe it's the storage space? Guitars don't like swinging temps. Were the guitars in cases? Was there extreme heat and cold going on at storage?

In any case. I'd buy new tips and keep the guitars in cases and put them where you'd be comfortable yourself.

Welcome to the forum. Maybe some details about this tip-coming-off issue is needed before we can help.

_________________
-Kirk

GUITARS
'12 Sonoran Acoustic - black (dated 10/31/12)
'13 Standard Strat
AMP
Vox ac4c1-bl
PEDALS
Compressor
Big Muff
Vox Stomplab 1G
Carbon Copy Delay

Welcome to the forum and nice to see you are back in the woodshed.

Another welcome. I was trying to think of an alternative to gldfshkpr's thoughts but I can't. Other than direct exposure to strong sunlight frequently, his answer seems exactly right. Temperature extremes will be causing a lot of expansion and contraction and it may also be making the tip material brittle.

I've had one guitar for over 40 years and still has the original tip on the pup selector. My oldest Strat is 11 and no problems so far. Even if you don't have extreme cold, extreme heat alone could be doing it by super-stretching the tip when the metal expands. I know that my storage shed here can go over 110 degrees on a super hot summer day.

I put a drop of superglue on the side of the switch blade. It is just a spot though. I put the superglue onto a piece of card, dip the tip of a matchstick into the puddle. Then dab it onto one side of the blade.
When you need to take the tip off it can still break the glue seal without doing any damage.

I'd ask myself why the tips keep coming off. Are/were you like me and a bit rough on em.

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No no and no

Good idea that; I'm sick of the PU selector switch tip flying across the room when I change between PUs 'enthusiastically'!

I've found this to work: use a small piece of Scotch Tape (Cellotape) and wrap it once around the tip of the switch blade. This seems to add just enough to the profile of the blade to keep the plastic tip on snugly. If one wrap around isn't enough, just add another until it does the job. Totally noninvasive and undoable.

a very tiny amount of glue... super-glue or gorilla glue... you don't need much !!

Thanks for the reply. Should have made it a bit clearer, this isn't heat or storage releated. Both guitars are the same vintage and I was having this problem before I packed them away. I think this is something that's peculiar to that model/production era.

Edited to add: It's both guitars and this isn't the first time (or second, or third...) that this is happened.

I had thought of that, but didn't know how the plastic would react to the glue.



No, handling hasn't been an issue. They've been that way since I bought them new. I'm guessing that it's a production lot issue. The knobs have been prone to coming of in the past as well. And I had, at one time, a CBS era hardtail that I got new and never had any sort of problem with the knobs/switch.

This is the way I've done it. Works great. One drop only.

I dont think the plastic on 90's strats was especialy susceptable to household chemicals. It's not the same stuff as on the old 51 Broadcasters or 54 strats.

I think you'll be ok, I've never had a problem. It could well be a production problem of the time. In my experience once they come off, they keep doing it. I think fender use something to seal em onto the blade.

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No no and no