Removing rust from Tele bridge

scarry67

What's the best way to remove rust/corrosion from Tele bridge? Wet n dry or something else? It's only bad on the upper lip where sweat must have taken its toll...

WezV

Sell it as "naturally aged" 

scarry67

It's certainly got Custom Shop heavy relic feel...(and it's 20 odd years old...)

Gagaryn

Dremel with a small wire brush is what I used to remove rust from my jazzmaster vibrato plate - worked perfectly and left no scratches

streethawk

Make sure to thoroughly tape off the pickups if you're going to remove any metal, and especially when using wire wool with the bridge still attached. Vacuum the area and use the tape to dab around when finished.

Maybe add a smidgen of clear paste wax to the affected area when you're done?

prowla

Soak it in coca-cola.

scarry67

Someone else said white vinegar. I've drunk plenty of coke over the years so I dread to think what it's done to my innards...

prowla

scarry67 said:

Someone else said white vinegar. I've drunk plenty of coke over the years so I dread to think what it's done to my innards...

It really works! I had some old rusty jack sockets and bunged them in a cup of Coke - they came up with a nice flat metal finish.

As for drinking Coke - it helps clean the rust off your innards!

Pete_B

Ethanoic acid(vinegar) will remove rust quite well, but better at it is Ethanedioic acid, this is also known as Oxalic acid. You probably get this from ebay, but the easiest way of getting it is from your greengrocer.
Pop to the shops, buy some rhubarb, stick it in a blender, then pop your rusty item in the mush, leave it a while then wash it off.

scarry67

Now that's a creative solution. (And eco-friendly.)

ICBM

This is 2017. No-one takes rust *off* anything now. They pay to have it put on!

streethawk

And it's killing rhubarb sales!