Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

The bridge PU pole pieces on my 2004 4003 have got a little bit of rust on them.
Any techniques to clean 'em up. Doesn't seem to affect the tone, but I would like to keep them shiny if possible.

I have noticed the same problem on almost all hi-gains I've ever owned. Of course, I chalk it up to living in Florida, where it's so humid you SWIM to work everyday. I hope someone chimes in, this is a very deserving thread. Thanks for posting it, Mark.

Play acid rock?

just a wild idea since no one else posted any suggestions yet.

use some 0000 steel wool on the poles.
then use some tape to get off the metal fibers that have clung to the poles.

just an idea. so try at your own risk.

Thanks Zack. I'll give it a try. I think the problem is down to sweat and humidity that happen during a gig. I wipe down my baby religiously after every performance or practice. After the paint has worn off the pole pieces, they're exposed to moisture.
It's not a huge problem, as I said, if they are gonna be rusty, I'll have to live with it.

I wiped the rust off of mine with some electronics cleaner and a rag. I'm sure something like WD-40 would probably work as well.

I would think that steel wool fragments would make a mess with the magnetic poles and scratch the plastic (newer pickups) or paint (older pickups).

Another benefit of using the electronics cleaner is that it seems to have coated the poles enough that the rust hasn't come back.

I'd go with an electronic cleaner - but be careful not to get it on the chrome or paint. Some of them are not so nice to finishes (Q-tip?)

Back when I had my 360-6 the poles were getting a little bit grungy-looking, so I went over them with a tiny corner torn off of a Scotchbrite pad (leaves no metal bits behind). It shined them up and they looked a heck of a lot better. As long as you do it carefully, you won't hit the plastic. If you want them to be black again, you can buy a little bottle of blackening solution for metal from a hobby shop and apply it with a small brush. Considering that during a toaster-top conversion you can cut the whole button off without changing how the pickup sounds, the buttons seem to be able to tolerate a fair amount of fiddling.

Thanks all. Some good advice there. I'll see how things go. If the pole pieces get worse, I'll try one of them. At the moment it doesn't seem to be affecting the 'clank', so that's good.

You can seal your poles with a little clear nail polish.

And another excellent tip from Ted... Way to go...