Easy way to relic new tuners

[lebrett]

Is there an easy way to give a relic-aged-vintage look to brand new Tuners?

[Diogenes]

Hydrochloric acid vapors. Take the tuners apart, clean/degrease them, put a few fluid ounces of acid in the bottom of a plastic bucket, suspend the tuners and seal the bucket with a lid. It can take a couple of days for the vapors to etch the chrome but once enough has been etched, rinse the tuners in water and let them rust.

[Pharmdoc]

...and make sure that plastic bucket isn't on an expensive floor or carpet. It won't take long for the HCl to eat through the bottom of the bucket. A glass container might work a bit better.

[rockstarbassist]

use them? lol

[bassgod76]

I had a problem doing this with chrome tuners. It's super easy with nickle plated hardware. Some etchant, and the metal clouds up nicely.

[Diogenes]

Originally Posted by Pharmdoc

...and make sure that plastic bucket isn't on an expensive floor or carpet. It won't take long for the HCl to eat through the bottom of the bucket. A glass container might work a bit better.

Not entirely true. In fact the readily available HCL used for etching concrete is shipped in plastic containers. You'd be safe using a #2 plastic container (HDPE) which is readily available at most home improvement stores. A used spackle bucket works great.

[Diogenes]

Originally Posted by bassgod76

I had a problem doing this with chrome tuners. It's super easy with nickle plated hardware. Some etchant, and the metal clouds up nicely.

Chrome is more durable than nickel which is why it's normally the final plating layer. However I do prefer the warm look of nickel compared to chrome.

FWIW - High quality decorative chrome plating involves a layer of copper, then nickel and then chromium... the copper and nickel act almost like a paint primer in that it allows the chromium to adhere better to the base metal. Cheap chrome plating forgoes the copper and nickel and as a result, the chrome is more likely to peel away from the base metal.

[bassgod76]

Originally Posted by Diogenes

Chrome is more durable than nickel which is why it's normally the final plating layer. However I do prefer the warm look of nickel compared to chrome.

FWIW - High quality decorative chrome plating involves a layer of copper, then nickel and then chromium... the copper and nickel act almost like a paint primer in that it allows the chromium to adhere better to the base metal. Cheap chrome plating forgoes the copper and nickel and as a result, the chrome is more likely to peel away from the base metal.

Good to know. I tred the hydrochloric acid bit on a set of MIM tuners, and it looked awful. The copper would not come off.