Pickup covers

suspiciousminds

Anyone know how i can artificially age strat pickup covers?
They're white, whereas the knobs are a nice aged cream look.

octatonic

It is hard to do right. Drop them in weak tea overnight is one way to do it.

Van_Hayden

Find a smoker and hang them over the ash tray. Or rub some humbrol model paint in.

Or just buy some cream ones. Much easier and less messy.

[Deleted User]

octatonic;36529" said:

It is hard to do right.



Drop them in weak tea overnight is one way to do it.

I've heard this too. Proper old ones have an unevenness of colour which new cream ones don't.

When I took my old Strat apart when I first got it, the covers beneath the scratch plate were bright white but the visable parts were very yellow. I suspect cigarette smoke was a significant factor.....

ESchap

The cigarette smoke thing is a bit of a myth.

Big enemy of plastics and polymers in general is oxidation (by contact with air) of the long chains which ultimately leads to the plastic going brittle and breaking down.   To delay the effect of this, phenols are added which slow the oxidation down.  However, Phenols will discolour in UV light and go yellow, hence the plastic yellows but stays pliable.

If you look at mid 50's Fender Tele's and Strats, the white pickguards and pickup covers stay noticeably white, even after all this time.  However, they go brittle and break easily.  This is because the routine addition of phenols to plastics didn't start until the late 50's. (they are not Bakelite as many think)

More expensive plastics have UV inhibitors added to prevent yellowing.  However, guitar manufacturers are unlikely to soak this cost, so the white parts yellow where they are exposed to UV light.

Van_Hayden

ESchap;36585" said:

The cigarette smoke thing is a bit of a myth.

That comment was a bit tongue in cheek but it does work, quite quickly actually if you know someone who chain smokes all day....

Have a knowledge though!

OilCityPickups

I use coffee rather than tea ... and tea or coffee doesn't work on all plastics.
Firstly I 'bust' the glaze of the plastic with some very fine Scotchbrite .... NEVER use wire wool anywhere near where pickups will go!!!
Next I'll put in any wear, corner rounding, nicks or cracks ... depending if it's a full relic job or not.
Then I make up a really strong instant coffee solution ... a couple of table spoons in a half pint of water usually does the trick. Let it cool to body heat or you'll warp the covers. Soak till colour looks right (usually overnight).
Dry the covers then, if you are doing a relic job ... a little pencil lead can be rubbed into any nicks and cracks ... and a few sparse dabs (with a dry brush) of Humbrol 'matt rust' model paint around the pole piece holes for that gunky look.

suspiciousminds

Well,i lightly sanded the covers - i tried the tea overnight but it didnt do much so i then added some coffee and gravy browning and soaked them all day - got a reasonable result which i'm happy with - certainly got rid of the bright white.
That'll do for me!:)