rusty pickups - how to solve?

[rylche]

like the title says, my pickups are getting a little rusty on them, and i would like to know how you pros normally fix these or prevent these sorta problems.

much thanks in advance!

 

[Ken]

I would clean them with a lil bit of an oil based cleaning solution. But its hard to keep anything bloody rust free in this damn weather. Hope that helps.

 

[rylche]

thanks very much indeed. which brand would you particularly recommend, though ?

 

[Ken]

Wah, tht's a tuff question...considering i have only bothered to clean the rust fr me basses like twice in me life. I used like Singer oil, just a bit and scrubbed like mad....... wanted to try Autosol... its a metal cleaning paste that worked very well on me old clarinet when i was a lil kid.

Any brighter ideas out there?

 

[Phil]

Sand if off? Steel wool would do the trick, slightly coarser ones. I think, :wink:

 

[exin]

changed to covered pickups lah .. =P .. i think sand off with steel wool or oil-based cleaner .. i haven't had problems of rusty pickups ... after that apply a thin layer of singer oil over the pickups and it'll be protected from there on ...

 

[rylche]

thanks man. i will go buy steel wool and sand it off right away. heh. anw, is there any diff in tone between covered pickups and non-covered pickups?

 

[unsane]

steel wool? on whats essentially 6 magnets? *smacks head*
prevention is better than cure really..oil will attract dust and dirt. paint over your polepieces with a thin layer of clear nail polish if you're that concerned about keeping it shiny and new looking...

 

[almondx]

you can try bronze wool, works like steel wool but non magnetic..

 

[jbarks]

what unsane said... steel wool + pickups = no. if it gets into the windings you're in for a pretty fun time... never tried the bronze wool route but it looks like it makes sense. i usually use the finest sandpaper i can find, a moist cloth and nail polish.

rylche- there shouldn't be any difference; magnetic waves go right through pieces of plastic that small. if you switch to covered pickups make sure the pups are epoxied in to the covers, or else moisture may still affect the pole pieces.

 

[shinobi]

these kinds of threads make me damn paranoid