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Gunky Historic Pickup Covers

Bruce R

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Mar 2, 2007
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I am getting tired of the gunky brownish, greenish "verdigris" on the pickup covers of my '06 VOS R8. Even the cover on my Duncan Antiquity in the bridge position is doing the same thing now. When I first got the R8 in '07 the covers looked great, and the cover of the unused BB 2 bridge pickup, sitting in my parts box, still looks fine.

A few months ago I thought I had remedied the problem by removing the covers, and by using a light solution of Ajax (after I made sure it wouldn't scratch the finish) rubbed the gunk off. They looked great, just like a well used vintage guitar's covers, but now the brown, rusty-looking gunk and the verdigris is back. I just read that salt & vinegar will perhaps solve the verdigris problem, but don't know for how long.

I don't sweat much at all and always keep my guitars polished & clean, carefully wiping them down after each use. Never put a ridden horse away wet, and all that stuff. Anybody else out there have this problem? Any permanent solutions?



P.S. I just got finished using the Virtuoso cleaner & polish products and it did miracles with the finish. I could never really get a decent cleaning or shine on the top, but now it looks fantastic.
 
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duaneflowers

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Aug 13, 2013
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If I'm reading the situation correctly it is not so much to restore the already damaged plating, but it might help to stop further spread. It is what I used to neutralize the acids eating away at the '09 SD PG covers I have, which I believe was a result of the VOS treatment of the covers more than anything Seymour and Co. did. Barring that the only way may be to just replace the covers.
 

Bruce R

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Yes, I believe that the process done to age the pickup covers in the beginning is what is causing the problem. I'll try cleaning them again and apply some WD40 to see if it keeps the rust & verdigris away. Like I mentioned, the covers looked fine after I cleaned them a couple of months ago.
 

duaneflowers

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That gunk is pure mojo...

40377616_10216231449595503_4647922004668710912_o.jpg
 

Bruce R

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Mar 2, 2007
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Yup, that's the stuff I was talking about! Yes, it has a certain "mojo" to it, but I don't recall seeing any of the older ones looking like this.

The gold has completely worn off the covers on my '69 Custom and they sure don't look like this. I guess it's not a problem for anybody else. To quote Peter Green.. "Oh, well"
 

duaneflowers

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Yup, that's the stuff I was talking about! Yes, it has a certain "mojo" to it, but I don't recall seeing any of the older ones looking like this.

The gold has completely worn off the covers on my '69 Custom and they sure don't look like this. I guess it's not a problem for anybody else. To quote Peter Green.. "Oh, well"

It seems to be limited to the pickup aging process on certain VOS models from the early days of VOS... perhaps they were experimenting with different techniques, but my guess is they didn't wipe off the gunk (or otherwise neutralize it) on these models. Little late to do anything about it now...
 

Bruce R

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Mar 2, 2007
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It seems to be limited to the pickup aging process on certain VOS models from the early days of VOS... ...Little late to do anything about it now...

Yup, my thoughts, too. I posted the same thread on Seymour's site and didn't get much feedback from anyone there, so this must not be as common a thing as I thought. I'm glad it doesn't seem to be happening much.

Don't know what I'll do from here on. I don't relish the idea of having to do the amount of work that it took to clean them the first time, but having to pay more money just for covers seems funny. Ah, the price of vanity!
 

duaneflowers

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Mary Jane at Duncan Custom winds some mighty fine pups... if you're happy with the 'tiquities you can have her wind you another set or try out some of the other aftermarket offerings, many of which are also mighty fine. I'm working with Wizz on a Billy G Sig set to replace my gunky Pearlies, but I also have a new set from Duncan Custom that's been sitting on the shelf for awhile. One or the other will be the 'permanent' replacement and the original ones will sit on the shelf until the guitar's patina matches the verdigris on the originals... :rofl
 

Bruce R

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Mar 2, 2007
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Yes, I know SD and MJ quite well. In fact, she custom-made the Antiquity for me. It's a zebra and I had her reverse the magnet to enable the out-of-phase tone I was looking for at the time. I was in the middle of my Peter Green "phase!" When I had the pickup out to clean the cover I went ahead and reversed the magnet to its "natural" position because I don't play blues all that much anymore and I missed having the normal middle selector sound available. It still sounds fantastic, I love it.

Heck, maybe I should just pop the covers back off and go for the early EC look again!
 

Bruce R

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Mar 2, 2007
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These are the pickups after cleaning a few months ago. Bridge is Duncan Antiquity (it sounds amazing!) and neck is stock Burstbucker (a BB 1, I think) which I really like. At least both are consistent and look the same.

Humbucking Gunk 1 (800x600).jpg

Humbucking Gunk 2 (800x600).jpg
 

El Gringo

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I would get some covers from ThroBak , which has shiny gold and shiny nickel or aged gold and aged nickel . Well worth the cost and have the correct accurate look with the dimples and more rounded covers . I love ThroBak pickups and covers as I have had ThroBak install new gold covers on my Patent # sticker T-Tops and have purchased several sets of the ThroBak SLE-101 Plus pickups which I think are the best out there !!!!!!!!!
 

Bruce R

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Mar 2, 2007
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1,029
I would get some covers from ThroBak , which has shiny gold and shiny nickel or aged gold and aged nickel . Well worth the cost and have the correct accurate look with the dimples and more rounded covers . I love ThroBak pickups and covers as I have had ThroBak install new gold covers on my Patent # sticker T-Tops and have purchased several sets of the ThroBak SLE-101 Plus pickups which I think are the best out there !!!!!!!!!

Good recommendation, thanks. They make outstanding products, no doubt.

If this guitar was a 1958 Les Paul I would throw that kind of money at it, but it is a 2006 and for $150 (the cost of their pickup covers) I am not that concerned about how close it looks like a vintage one. It sounds fantastic as it is, and that's what it is for. I'll clean them every couple of months and call it good!
 
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