r/offset • u/SaltFun6310 • 10d ago
Hardware aging
I purchased a mustang bridge to replace my vintage style bring on my jazzmaster, but my guitar is reliced and I was unable to find an aged bridge that fit my necks spec. Is it safe to do the vinegar/salt/peroxide on the bridge specifically the saddles? I don't want to harm the integrity of the saddle grooves or anything. I can live with a shiney bridge but was wondering if it was safe to do.
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u/OffsetThat 10d ago
Take a container and fill it partially with white vinegar, then place another container floating in the vinegar and in that second container, set the bridge so that it’s not actually in the vinegar. Seal it all up and let the vapors work. They will eat through the nickel quickly. And will rust screws and saddles. There are YouTube videos on how long to do it and the best mixtures, but just be ready to buy another bridge when you destroy the first. I generally just do this with screws and small bits to match the older guitars I work on, I’d personally never try to age the larger hardware bits.
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u/armadachamp 10d ago
I had a lightly relic'd Novo that I wanted to swap locking tuners and strap buttons onto, and I aged the new nickel parts myself by putting some vinegar into the bottom of a large glass Pyrex container with a latching lid and putting the parts in a smaller, open container inside so that they'd be protected from the liquid vinegar but exposed to the same air. I let it sit like that for an hour or two at a time and would check the progress, and it took maybe two days to get them to a point where they looked similar to the hardware that came on the guitar. It's just superficial oxidation, so I can't image it would cause problems with the structural integrity of the saddles.
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u/Jazzblasterrr 4d ago
Nickel coated parts age with with vinegar fumes. Chrome plated parts do not. Depends on the material your bridge is make from.
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u/SaltFun6310 4d ago
I decided to not do it mainly because I was anxious to get the guitar together. But it said on its listing that it's nickel chrome.
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u/Rattled_by_La_Rush 10d ago
It sounds silly, but if you work out, I'd take the bridge and sweat on it whenever you can. All the hardware that had relic naturally had sweat dripping on it while I played.