Congruity between Hardware and body finishes

jaymenon

Just a thought… If I’m going for a guitar with chrome hardware (that does not tarnish/fade with age) then intuitively it would appear sensible to go with a polyurethane finish on the body so that over the years congruity is maintained between the finish and the hardware.

If on the other hand I’m going with nickel hardware then a nitrocellulose finish appears logical since both will age gracefully sort of in a simultaneous manner.

What do you guys think...?

WezV

chrome still tarnishes, it just does it in a different way and takes longer.

Fenders tend to be a mix of all depending on year, so I'm not sure it matters too much - just go for the look you want unless trying to recreate a specific year

Philly_Q

I tend to agree (with the OP).  But colour and the style of guitar comes into it too.  I think of chrome as "modern" and it can make a guitar with any kind of vintage styling look a bit cheap.  On the whole I prefer nickel, most of the time.

It does bug me when nickel and chrome are treated as if they're the same thing, so you'll see nickel-covered pickups on a guitar with a chrome bridge and tailpiece.  Looks awful.  But I've learned to live with it on vintage-styled Fenders, they are what they are.

merciful-evans

jaymenon said:

Just a thought… If I’m going for a guitar with chrome hardware (that does not tarnish/fade with age) then intuitively it would appear sensible to go with a polyurethane finish on the body so that over the years congruity is maintained between the finish and the hardware.

If on the other hand I’m going with nickel hardware then a nitrocellulose finish appears logical since both will age gracefully sort of in a simultaneous manner.

What do you guys think...?

I agree.

thegummy

jaymenon said:

Just a thought… If I’m going for a guitar with chrome hardware (that does not tarnish/fade with age) then intuitively it would appear sensible to go with a polyurethane finish on the body so that over the years congruity is maintained between the finish and the hardware.

If on the other hand I’m going with nickel hardware then a nitrocellulose finish appears logical since both will age gracefully sort of in a simultaneous manner.

What do you guys think...?

Good point, I've never thought about that before.

PonchoGreg

I think the different rate at which nitro and nickel age makes that a bit irrelevant? Assuming a "as new" nitro finish, it will literally take years for it to fade/check/etc while nickel hardware will usually tarnish much quicker.

Funkfingers

Often, chrome plating is just the topmost layer of a succession of electro-plated metal coatings.

Beneath the chrome is usually a layer of nickel. Thus, with patience and a mildly acidic bath, it possible to strip back to the nickel.