[krissovo]

My strat is only 9 months old and it is starting to age a little bit already. I know what is causing it....... i have acidic sweat and it has already rusted the screws on my pick guard and on the bridge the allen heads are rusty as well.

Should I do something about it before it disintegrates?

[X4StringDrive]

Just on your guitar or do other things around you rust up as well, may be the humidity where your at...sorry don't have any thing to offer as to a solution.

[Ellenback1]

LOL Kriss, not trying to make light of your problem, but ummm acidic sweat? Have you tried a glass of baking soda per day? Sounds like your PH is off...and no, I don't recommend drinking baking soda, but my older sister, who is a naturopath and midwife, swears by the fact that altering our PH can fix almost anything, from impacting on whether you become pregnant with either a boy or a girl, to infections, etc., and that's what your posting reminded me of...

Elle

[allthumbs]

All I can think of is to wipe off the metal after you have played for a while. You must go through strings very fast. You could buy some driving gloves with the cut out fingers if it is really bugging you. That would look pretty cool actually.

[SprayTech]

change the screws to Stainless steel , and change out the bridge to a stainless steel unit ( if its made ) .
Maybe wear a wrist sweat band like tennis players wear .

[Stratrat]

Keep playing it hard, let it rust up good, then sell it as a "relic" for five times what you paid for it!

Seriously - no big deal. Lots of people actually like that look, and people pay big money for brand new "relic'd" guitars with rust, dings, fretboard wear, finish worn off the neck, etc. It isn't going to hurt anything - if you don't like the look, you might want to try replacing the rusted hardware and covering it with a thin coat of clear nail polish or some such thing. But no, it's really nothing to worry about, unless it's just bugging you so much that you can't stand it.

[Teddy Madison]

Originally Posted by Ellenback1

LOL Kriss, not trying to make light of your problem, but ummm acidic sweat? Have you tried a glass of baking soda per day? Sounds like your PH is off...and no, I don't recommend drinking baking soda, but my older sister, who is a naturopath and midwife, swears by the fact that altering our PH can fix almost anything, from impacting on whether you become pregnant with either a boy or a girl, to infections, etc., and that's what your posting reminded me of...

Elle

Interesting, how would one check their pH?

Possible aging solution, if you oil your strings, give all of the metal parts a swipe, it should slow down if not stop the rusting.

Wayne

[krissovo]

Originally Posted by allthumbs

You must go through strings very fast. You could buy some driving gloves with the cut out fingers if it is really bugging you. That would look pretty cool actually.

Strings last less than a week with 2 hours a day, my acoustic strings go green within a day.

The glove.....its a bit justin timberlake but maybe worth a shot

[krissovo]

Originally Posted by Ellenback1

LOL Kriss, not trying to make light of your problem, but ummm acidic sweat? Have you tried a glass of baking soda per day? Sounds like your PH is off...and no, I don't recommend drinking baking soda, but my older sister, who is a naturopath and midwife, swears by the fact that altering our PH can fix almost anything, from impacting on whether you become pregnant with either a boy or a girl, to infections, etc., and that's what your posting reminded me of...

Elle

I think its more the salt you lose through sweat that causes the issue, i might find some litmus paper to see if it is acidic

[krissovo]

Originally Posted by SprayTech

change the screws to Stainless steel , and change out the bridge to a stainless steel unit ( if its made ) .
Maybe wear a wrist sweat band like tennis players wear .

Its a delux model so all the metal is stainless already....

The bridge is starting age a lot, sweat band is a great idea thanks

[krissovo]

Originally Posted by X4StringDrive

Just on your guitar or do other things around you rust up as well, may be the humidity where your at...sorry don't have any thing to offer as to a solution.

Zero humidity i am afraid, but thanks anyway

[krissovo]

Originally Posted by Stratrat

Keep playing it hard, let it rust up good, then sell it as a "relic" for five times what you paid for it!

I think this is way forward, thanks for putting my head at ease

[Stratrat]

Originally Posted by krissovo

Strings last less than a week with 2 hours a day, my acoustic strings go green within a day....

Dude - you're sweatin' BATTERY ACID!!! That's pretty wild, eating up strings like that. I've seen others say the same thing, so you're obviously not alone.

When people intentionally "relic" guitars, one of the methods is to put the screws, bridge plate, etc. in a closed container with a little hydrochloric acid - it causes accelerated oxidization (i.e. rust) on the parts. Same principle as what's happening to yours, just using a stronger solution than sweat.

[SprayTech]

Originally Posted by krissovo

Its a delux model so all the metal is stainless already....

The bridge is starting age a lot, sweat band is a great idea thanks

Must be stainless coated as real stainless does not rust .

[eddiez152]

Kriss,

Remind me never to let you in our macine shop.
You can coat them with clear lacquer. That will help.
Hey SprayTech should be able to wonders there.