Ageing Kluson Tuners?

stickyfiddle

(ageing? age-ing? aging? anyway...) 

I wasn't planning on changing the tuners on my CS336, but Stewmac had some Tonepros Klusons for $35, so I've just bought a set, having had them on my SG for years. Obviously the new ones are super-shiny and new, whereas the rest of the guitar is not so shiny & new (!), so I'm wondering how people have made these look a bit less sparkly. 

Any kind of acid beyond vinegar or lemon juice will be tricky because of geography, but I have full stocks of wire wool & micromesh, which I've used to good effect on stuff like neck plates, but might be harder to use on a set of machineheads. All I want is to take the shine off and make them not look new.

Any tips?

Old machineheads:

gpw5150

I used liquid drain cleaner containing sulphuric acid.  I put the liquid in a plastic tray and laid a plastic mesh over with the tuners balanced on top.  Exposing the tuners to the fumes for about a minute.

Bridgehouse

It does work with vinegar, but can take some time. Patio cleaner as well (a lot less time) 

Two tupperwares - one big and one small. Liquid into the big one (about 1 cm depth) tuners into the small one and then let it float on top - lid on and then check back every half hour or so until you get some tarnishing.

Wear some good protective gloves and be careful!

streethawk

Do not use muriatic acid etc in an enclosed space! Nasty fumes. 

If you do knock back the shine with wire wool, be careful using acid at a later stage as you'll risk going through to the copper layer underneath, which might be a bit too much ageing for your tastes. 

Gagaryn

I aged klusons recently - just used vinegar. Didn't take long - couple of hours and they were as I wanted them. I think the fact that it is slower is an advantage - less chance of being left with grey lumps of metal!

stickyfiddle

Gagaryn said:

I aged klusons recently - just used vinegar. Didn't take long - couple of hours and they were as I wanted them. I think the fact that it is slower is an advantage - less chance of being left with grey lumps of metal!

That sounds promising. Did you get rusting or just tarnish? All the guides i've seen end up with partly-brown hardware, which I'm keen to avoid.  

All I want is "not shiny" in places. 

Gagaryn

Yip - just took the shine off.

Teyeplayer

Pcb etching solution (ferric chloride) is good for this. Just wipe it on using a cotton bud, let sit on the surface for a little while if you want more tarnishing or even rust and then rinse off under cold water. Just be careful not to get it through the casing onto the workings of the tuner.