Tone down gold finish on tuners?

[glebert]

I am replacing the tuners on a 1984 Ibanez Musician bass. The original hardware is gold but kind of a washed out color. Finding tuners that fit was a bit of a challenge. The Gotohs that I got seem like they will fit OK but the finish is much deeper gold than the original. Anyone have any tricks to tone it down a bit?

[Bloomfield]

Gold hardware varies quite a lot from one manufacturer to another. That being said, the original hardware on that bass is most likely Gotoh as well. Currently they offer regular gold and X-gold; I'm not sure how they compare side by side. I know the washed-out old gold hardware look you are talking about. It may just be caused by the plating wearing thin and revealing the (nickel?) plating beneath it. I'm not sure there is much you can do about it.

[Jazz P Bass]

Maybe try the finest grit emery cloth.

[glebert]

Maybe try the finest grit emery cloth.

Good idea. I am not planning on using the washers that came with the new tuners (they are much smaller than the original and leave exposed wood) so maybe I will try to scuff those and see if it gives the desired effect.

[Mick Bailey]

The gold plating is extremely thin and easily wears away in use revealing the base metal showing through, which often oxidizes to a pale grey if it's diecast. A fine polishing compound will buff away the gold without leaving scratches, but you'll be left with a bright finish that needs time to dull down. It may be difficult to exactly match the original hardware without a lot of trial and error. If you're using sheet abrasives start with something very fine first off and work down in grades if necessary as you don't want to leave scratches. If you start coarse and go finer then by the time you've got the scratches out you'll have removed too much. I have papers right up to 12,000 grit but I'm thinking slow and steady starting with maybe 1800 grit wet & dry or Micromesh and come down from there if that's not effective enough. Some plating is so thin that automotive chrome polish will remove it with vigorous rubbing.

[eschertron]

steel wool if fine enough grit is not at hand?

[g1]

Rock tumbler?

[Leo_Gnardo]

What are you doing with the old tuners? Are they worn out, malfunctioning? If they work OK, might put them on the market. Some folks like the used/distressed look.

[glebert]

What are you doing with the old tuners? Are they worn out, malfunctioning? If they work OK, might put them on the market. Some folks like the used/distressed look.

When I got the bass one tuner was already replaced with an ill fitting modern tuner. One of the remaining originals seems like it is starting to slip. I can probably sell one of the working originals for more than I paid for the new set. May do that at some point or just continue to hoard junk