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I'm not really going for the relic look. I just prefer dull hardware. I can't keep shiny chrome clean for the life of me. My question is what are some good ways to make it dull? I tried very fine sand paper on some spare parts i had but it just looked all scratched up.

1) take the chrome parts off the guitar
2) lay them on the ground, preferably outside amp; in a private area
3) pee all over them

please note that there is no 4) wash them and your hands

I think I will avoid the peeing on it method a friend of mine got drunk and tried it. Didnt work out too good for him. haha

Maybe being drunk affected his aim?

it was that or because being drunk made him forget to take the parts off his guitar. It was pretty funny and sad at the same time. heres this nice new 3 day old 61 reissue sg that smelled like piss.

Steel wool

how abt sandblasting?

5) Never let it engage in witty banter...


Originally Posted by man-in-moonit was that or because being drunk made him forget to take the parts off his guitar. It was pretty funny and sad at the same time. heres this nice new 3 day old 61 reissue sg that smelled like piss.

If you have a '61 RI, you should have nickel hardware, not chrome. Nickel hardware will tarnish over time, chrome will not. Give it some time, let it sit outside or something. You need to oxidize the hardware somehow. I would not recommend steel wool, you will ruin perfectly good nickel (more desireable overall compared to chrome).

my guitar has chrome hardware my buddy had the 61 reissue


Originally Posted by pac112how abt sandblasting?

good call, but who has access to a sandblaster.... besides me, i work at PCC Structurals
that would work good though, you would need to turn the pressure WAY down though...

How fine was the sandpaper you were using? I've seen it all the way up to 12,000 grit, though that's probably too fine.

Ask a hot rodder what to do if they want new hedders, but don't want shiny ones. So rat rodders really. They will tell you that they leave the brand new chrome headers out in the rain for a while and then just leave them outside for a few days.

Try something along those lines, just not too long, because the rat rodders want rust, guitarists don't.

Just leave it alone, or you'll make it look like scratched up junk.

If you want it to look tarnished, you'll need to buy all nickel parts, and recoup half your money by selling the chrome stuff. Not all mods turn out good, and trying to make chrome look like old nickel will turn out to be a disaster.

You can't really Make Chrome Ever Look like Old aged Nickle hardware, Its just not ever gonna look the same.....

That said. If you just want it to be Less shiney, without totally ****ing it up and ruining the plateing. Heres what I've done in the past (on a guitar I wanted to look semi beatup, but was actully fairly new). Get yourself some of those dish sponges with the green scratchy stuff on the back. Take all the hardware off your guitar (or all the stuff you want to de-shine), And Just Lightly rubb it down with the green side of the sponge. Keep at it till you get it the desired amount of un-shined. It shouldn't take much. And if you work in a circular pattern, and then go over that vertically, then horizontially. It won't just look quot;scratchedquot; it'll just look Not shiney. (I also suggest drawing a little face on the yellow side of the sponge so you can have a conversation with sponge bob while your working. For best results, make sure your mentally unstable and actully Believe he's talking back to you.)

I always do this to the tops of chrome knobs. Simply so I can write V or T on the tops of them with a marker, without it rubbing off over time. It looks fine, and is deffinately less shiney.

good luck
-edward