pole piece tarnish

[metaltime]

Hi

I tried a search but couldnt find anything.

The pole pieces on my stingray pickup have started to tarnish or rust. is there anything i can do to remedy this? i dont like they way it looks and its only a 2000 bass.

One person said you can remove it with wire wool but i thought id ask here and make sure.

Thanks
Andrew

 

[oli@bass]

There are a couple of threads about this issue here. AFAIR, someone proposed stencil erasure, and then there were some other ideas floating around...

 

[daangroen]

yes u can try wire wool, with some caution ofcourse, but i have heard of this earlier on this forum and i have tryed this aswell. u also can coat the pole pieces to stop further oxidation with clearcoat nail polish ,if i am not wrong.

 

[MrMusashi]

anything metal on/around the pickup is probably not a good idea.. any "leftovers" from steel wool will be attached to the magnetic materials, and will most likely start to rust on its own after a while.

MrM

 

[Ken Baker]

Using abrasives can be kind of a hazard to the pickup because tiny pieces of the material could possibly work through potting over time and get into the windings. Steel wool is ferrous & conductive and will be miserable to clean off the pickups. Brass wool has possibilities if you can control the "dust", but it's still conductive if it gets into the windings. Sandpaper; just don't.

Having said all that...

Some folks use a hard rubber eraser to clean less-than-stubborn deposits.

I have used one of these to clean pole pieces:

The white stuff you see on the left end of it is a very tight bundle of glass fibers. This stuff if very abrasive and will clean rust and corrosion from pole pieces. Here's a closeup of the penny:

You use the thing like an eraser - just rub the fibers on the surface you want to clean. I also used a shop vac to suck up the dust as I was rubbing. I bought mine at a good electronics shop, and I think they can be found is craft shops that cater to metal working.

Whatever you might use, dust control is key. You need to keep it out of the windings, which should be do-able if the material you use is non-ferrous.

Good luck!

Ken...

 

[RobertB]

This may sound a little ... "radical", but done with caution, there's no cause for concern & it works very well. I've done this once in the past with great success & had no problems, even years down the road. But if you're hesitant at all, or don't consider yourself "handy", don't do it. This goes a tad beyond the "musician with a wrench" concern.

1> Get yourself a dremel tool and a stainless steel polishing brush to use with it. Make sure it's a stainless steel brush, because it does the job very well, but is soft enough to not damage the pole pieces at all.

2> Note your pickup height, if it's where you like it.

3> Remove the pickup cover & set it aside, so you can get at the coil.

4> Use masking tape to seal off the coil, to protect it from any metallic dust resulting from this procedure. *** Take special care with this part, and make sure the coil is completely sealed off, for the reasons others have mentioned above. ***

5> Hit each pole piece with the dremel/stainless steel brush. In my case, the rust was VERY bad, but it only took a few seconds to polish each pole piece right up; nice, clean & shiny. And unlike when you try using steel-wool, there was no metallic dust adhering magnetically to the pole pieces - maybe because the force of the spin of the dremel ejects it sufficiently beyond the magnetic field ... I dunno. I just know no cleanup was necessary.

6> Put it all back together & re-set your pickup height.

7> As a preventive measure, as someone else said, you can use clear nail polish to prevent it from occurring again. Or, you can just wipe the pole pieces down with string cleaner from time to time - especially when your hands have become sweaty/moist from playing.

 

[Frankie5Angels]

If you can still find them, get a pen eraser. You know, those little white, hard, rectangular thingies. They work great. The pink pencil erasers work too, but not as well.

 

[Bass Control]

I've used lighter fluid before, but it really doesn't do that much. The white eraser works wonders!

I'll have to try that nail polish idea though... that is interesting...

 

[daangroen]

if you are still afraid of having stuff in at your poles, try holding the vaccuum cleaner near it.

 

[Moondog]

let it be . . . pickups with wear look so much cooler

Mine are not to this degree but gettting there

 

[carpedebass]

let it be . . . pickups with wear look so much cooler

Mine are not to this degree but gettting there

HOLY PITTED PUPS, Batman!

 

[bovinehost]

One person said you can remove it with wire wool

Bring me that person. We need to have a talk.

Just keep in mind that those are magnets in there. (Bongo magnets are particularly powerful, to no one's surprise.)

WIRE WOOL? And does this person think you can keep the debris away from the magnets?

No.

No, no, no, no, no.

Nothing metal. Let me repeat. NOTHING METAL.

Erasers work okay, scotchbrite are plastic, but the corrosion from sweat really doesn't make any difference.

 

[Moondog]

The lucky ones in the motorcycle community have discovered
"Boms Away". I tried too many chrome/metal polishes and
this stuff, albeit expensive, is the absolute best. Google it!

Have been using it on everything, including tuners, bridges,
control plates, and swear by it. It cleans (removes rust,
oxidization, etc.) and protects.

Use a clean microfiber cloth and light pressure on chrome so
you don't scratch; a paper towel on pole pieces is fine.

 

[Moondog]

"Boms Away" results.

These tuners were badly oxidized and had haze/scratches I thought
would never come out. They look almost new now!

 

[mynan]

"Boms Away" results.

These tuners were badly oxidized and had haze/scratches I thought
would never come out. They look almost new now!

Uh, you missed a spot...

 

[NorM]

Rust never sleeps

Pencil eraser = good

To coat the pole after you clean it may I recommend Remington teflon spray. This is also my choice for lubricating all parts that need it from saddles to nuts to machine heads.
Gun owners have been pretty serious about protecting and lubricating metal for some time now.

Also like my dad said
This stuff is slicker than greased owl sh!t that's been boiled with okra.

 

[carpedebass]

Wow! Now that's perty slick!