Rusted parts

[RazorbackDad]

Another vote here for Kroil, used it for years on firearms. But my experience with rust and stuck parts is to find your own favorites, and then increase treatment... Ill usually start with the solvent of choice and a toothbrush, then work up to the soaking....

 

[Hankenstein]

Try the little known but VERY effective Ospho. Removes rust like a charm:

Ospho Rust Treatment - Since 1947

 

[sxaxsx]

Evapo-rust ate some cast iron parts on me. It will attack some metals.

The products mentioned like kroil and PB blaster are penetrating oils that work their way in-between the parts to help break them free. Nothing was said to suggest they remove rust.
As far as removing material,....the rust IS the metal that's oxidized. If you remove the rust, you're removing material. I've soaked rusty metal parts in vinegar and CLR many times in my life. I don't recall ever soaking a 10/32 screw a little too long and pulling out a 6/32 screw, or a screw with all the threads melted off.
I don't think those 2 methods are a concern. And the vinegar is cheap and can be found anywhere. Not to mention that it's fairly harmless.
How many people reading this thread would actually expend any of the effort being suggested on this bridge?
I'm thinking most of us would order a new bridge, or at least new saddles, springs and screws.
If the OP is asking how to keep this bridge and get it functional again, then I have to assume a simple and cheap solution is the way to go. Unless this is a rare collectable bass that's extremely difficult to get parts for and we're talking about restoring this bridge, I don't see the point in doing much more than a vinegar bath or penetrating oil soak to get it back to functional.

Yep you guys are right, the OP should just buy a new bridge. I wasn't thinking of what the bridge might actually be made of. Bridges can be made of cheap nickel plated alloys which really aren't worth saving. I made that suggestion based on others suggesting soaking the parts in CLR, Coke,vinegar and other acids, if I was going to soak it in anything it would be Evapo-rust but really none of these are worth doing or will have good results in my experience.

 

[Rabidhamster]

Besides the great pb blaster recomendation, if the goal is to salvage the baseplate instead of replace everything:

You could take it outside in a very well vented area and put a soldering iron on high and hold that on the saddle, while holding a can of compressed air upside down and blasting the screw (without hitting your skin) then give it another try using pliers to hold the saddle side

Or you could just use some heavy duty end nippers or bolt cutters and clip the screws behind the ruined saddles and they’ll all slide apart easily. Since the screws are already stuck in the saddles we know the threads have seen better days and they’d be better off replaced. If it’s not some kind of valuable vintage piece that’s definitely the route I’d take. .

 

[Root 5]

I use Evapo Rust. Leave it soaking for 24-48hrs and rust will be gone. My grandfathers hand plane was rusted solid with 60-yrs of rust. Evapo Rust took care of that.

 

[dwizum]

Basically all the screws on the bridge are stuck and not turning. Almost broke a screw driver. In any case - for me it is important for the screws to operate

Once you've soaked in whatever you've chosen, consider a manual impact driver to actually free the screws:

Manila impact drivers are basically racheting screwdrivers with a spring loaded rachet mechanism. You hold the driver against the screw with one hand and tap on the other end with a hammer in your other hand. The tapping action forces the rachet mechanism to turn the screw, and the taps also help keep the bit down tight in the head of the screw so you won't accidentally skip the driver out of the fastener or damage anything.

Drivers like this are maybe $10-20 and can be real life savers if you're trying to free a small stuck fastener without damaging anything.

 

[RichterScale]

Yep you guys are right, the OP should just buy a new bridge. I wasn't thinking of what the bridge might actually be made of. Bridges can be made of cheap nickel plated alloys which really aren't worth saving. I made that suggestion based on others suggesting soaking the parts in CLR, Coke,vinegar and other acids, if I was going to soak it in anything it would be Evapo-rust but really none of these are worth doing or will have good results in my experience.

I wish the OP would give a little more info and backstory. People ask how to get the feathers off a chicken and there's 100 ways to do it. Sure, explosives are a bit excessive, but people need to clarify if the chicken is for dinner, or if you just want the feathers off.

 

[Spectrobassman]

I got the bridge and the knobs as it is second hand. I'm really curious myself what caused them to be stuck together and rust. My theory, that they were stored in a garage and something was spilled on the bridge and knobs - was kept for few years like that....

 

[RichterScale]

I got the bridge and the knobs as it is second hand. I'm really curious myself what caused them to be stuck together and rust. My theory, that they were stored in a garage and something was spilled on the bridge and knobs - was kept for few years like that....

Are you looking to eventually restore this bridge and keep the bass original?
Are you okay with replacing the bridge entirely at some point?
Do you just want the bridge functional for now and don't really care about how it looks?

 

[dwizum]

I dunno. On the one hand, my time is valuable. On the other hand, I can't see something like this bridge and ignore the chance to try to get the parts all free and working again, even if it does eventually get replaced. Spending 20 minutes on something that's broken and making it function again can be very therapeutic.

 

[RichterScale]

Spending 20 minutes on something that's broken and making it function again can be very therapeutic.

Absolutely. Although, I don't think I've ever wasted as little as 20 min on something that wasn't worth saving. It's usually a minimum of a few hours.
Not sure it helps any of my disorders, but it definitely keeps them occupied.

 

[Spectrobassman]

Are you looking to eventually restore this bridge and keep the bass original?
Are you okay with replacing the bridge entirely at some point?
Do you just want the bridge functional for now and don't really care about how it looks?

Yes, I'd like to keep the original bass parts on the bass or at least have the period correct replacement fender bridge. I'd be happy to restore the bridge - though cant get the screws out. The big screw in the saddles are just not moving at all, same as the tiny ones.

If I can't get the screws out I think I'd have to order a fender replacement bridge (51 tele bass). I found these: Telecaster Bass Saddles - '51 Precision Bass Saddles | eBay NEW Genuine Fender Bridge Plate For '51 P. Bass, CHROME, 009-6198-049 | eBay

I do care how the bass looks, don't want any modern type replacements on it (something like highmass or badaass), aesthetically just don't look right with modern bridge and saddles.

I've just took the parts out from plastic container with coke. It did clean up the saddles and rust around - still the screws are not turning, neither the screws on the knobs.

I've ordered PB Blaster, should arrive next week - will see how it will work.

Just putted everything in a plastic container with British vinegar lol- will see how it will work tomorrow.

 

[2saddleslab]

Yes, I'd like to keep the original bass parts on the bass or at least have the period correct replacement fender bridge. I'd be happy to restore the bridge - though cant get the screws out. The big screw in the saddles are just not moving at all, same as the tiny ones.

If I can't get the screws out I think I'd have to order a fender replacement bridge (51 tele bass). I found these: Telecaster Bass Saddles - '51 Precision Bass Saddles | eBay NEW Genuine Fender Bridge Plate For '51 P. Bass, CHROME, 009-6198-049 | eBay

I do care how the bass looks and don't want any modern type replacements on it (something like highmass or badaass, aesthetically just don't look right with modern bridge and saddles.

I've just took the parts out from plastic container with coke. It did clean up the saddles and rust around but still the screws are not turning, neither the screws on the knobs.

I've ordered PB Blaster, should arrive next week - will see how it will work.

Just putted everything in a plastic container with British vinegar lol- will see how it will work tomorrow.

Good on ya' for trying to use the original bridge. Hope you get a loose screw or two soon and get that bridge back to work.

 

[Spectrobassman]

I dunno. On the one hand, my time is valuable. On the other hand, I can't see something like this bridge and ignore the chance to try to get the parts all free and working again, even if it does eventually get replaced. Spending 20 minutes on something that's broken and making it function again can be very therapeutic.

Honestly I'm curious myself - how these methods will work. For me personally it's not a waste of time trying different methods, quite exciting actually. I like challenges. Probably I'm a bit of an activist.

I can click buy it now in 1 minuete and purchase the new replacement bridge with saddles on ebay, however I really want to see if I can fix it first before going for the other scenario

I might be completely wrong and just waisting time by trying different methods. Won't know - without trying.

 

[Tommy Sparks]

i hadn't heard of "PB blaster" until your post, beej, so i googled it --- and google also led me to this "kroil" stuff:
https://www.kroil.com/?gclid=CjwKCA...AIsHT5HW6fm2vCAIC5p9LiFw9IgYnxMBoCCCkQAvD_BwE

any good? TIA

Kroil is the best I’ve used. I’d definitely recommend it.

 

[Spectrobassman]

Kroil is the best I’ve used. I’d definitely recommend it.

Have you tried Blaster? They sell Blaster's in the UK, Kroil is kind of rare from what I can see on the internet. Kroil is not cheap, £30 for a small can in UK.

 

[40Hz]

A white vinegar bath works quite well. It’s cheap and safe to use. Put the item in a Rubbermaid container, cover it with white vinegar, snap the lid on, and just let it sit. Only drawback, if you want to call it that, is vinegar can take time to work. But I’ve used it to unfreeze supposedly “permanently” rusted up antique tools and it’s worked every time. Longest time needed was for a 1902 pipe wrench that took three days and one change of vinegar to loosen completely.

There’s also electrolysis. There’s several videos showing the complete process and steps up on YouTube. It seems to work well, but I’ve never tried it myself since a vinegar bath has worked on everything I’ve used it on so far. And most of what I have de-rusted are tools that were fairly small in size. If I were restoring something large like a shop vise I’d be inclined to give electrolysis a try.

 

[Max Bogosity]

Metal Rescue is also very effective for dissolving rust. Far more so than vinegar, based on having used both.

 

[T_Bone_TL]

Electrolysis works quite well (I've done a bunch of it in old-tool restoration.) Need to heat and dry and oil when it's done to stop new rust from forming. My worst test case when I was "checking the process out" was set of needlenose pliers I found at the side of the road, partly buried in the salty sand typical of Northeastern USA minor roadsides that are heavily salted in winter. Totally frozen, would not move. A day or two in the tank and they were completely free - a bit loose since the rust on the joint had been extensive enough that when removed it left a gap, but free and functional for uses where a somewhat sloppy joint does not matter much.

 

[sxaxsx]

The knobs and base plate are salvageable, I wouldn't bother trying to save the saddles. The plating is damaged. If you actually want to save the base plate just cut the screws and replace them and the saddles. If you soak the whole bridge in something acidic like vinegar you could end up destroying the plating on the baseplate which is the only salvageable part. PB Blaster which you said you ordered should be ok, I don't think that will necessarily ruin the plating, but honestly I don't think it will do much to loosen the screws either.
You could try pouring boiling water over the bridge and letting it soak for 15 minutes and then using an oven mit to hold the very hot bridge see if you can free the screws. Heat is usually better than any penetrating oil, but again you can't torch the thing without also effecting the plating.