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Topic: Finger picks tarnishing |
Brint Hannay
From:
Maryland, USA
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Posted 24 Jul 2018 2:43 pm |
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When I started on steel in 1983 I bought several pairs of National finger picks, which I used for the next 20 years or so. They are different from any of the ones on the Hoffmeyer site, in that the name, patent number, and U.S.A. are very shallowly etched, nowhere near as deeply as in the various vintage examples he shows. I still have 5 of them, and they look as shiny as the day I bought them. I think they must be made of stainless steel, because:
Getting to the subject of my post, in more recent years I have acquired National NP2's, Kysers, and JF's, all of which I understand are made of "nickel silver". I tend to keep them in the plastic packages from string sets. And just lately I have been noticing that they all are getting tarnished, even ones I am not using, maybe haven't used. And I mean really tarnished--they get a dull gray, even pretty dark gray. Doesn't seem it can be my body chemistry, because though some of them have been shaped, they have only been stored, not actually used.
Is it just me, or do others have this experience, and if so, how do you restore their original appearance? Silver polish? Other metal polish? Vinegar? I wouldn't want to affect the surface of the pick negatively. |
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Jim Bob Sedgwick
From:
Clinton, Missouri USA
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Posted 24 Jul 2018 4:41 pm
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| Mothers Mag and Aluminum polish. Wal-Mart and several other stores have it in the automotive department. GREAT stuff. |
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Jim Bob Sedgwick
From:
Clinton, Missouri USA
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Posted 24 Jul 2018 4:42 pm
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| Mothers Mag and Aluminum polish. Wal-Mart and several other stores have it in the automotive department. GREAT stuff. |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 25 Jul 2018 8:15 am
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There's also "Never Dull" wadding polish by Eagle One.
Erv |
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Bobby D. Jones
From:
West Virginia, USA
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Posted 25 Jul 2018 8:48 am Finger picks tarnishing
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When polishing German Silver, Nickel, Brass, even steel the best product I have found is METAL GLO. It is a product sold and used by many knife collectors and knife stores to polish the different metals used in knives.
If you have some real bad tarnish, Use the METAL GLO on a small piece of Brown Paper shopping bag. It will make the polish real aggressive removing scratches and bad tarnish.
I use "Never Dull" too, It adds a coating that is great to use on items polished and going to be stored for long period of time.
METAL GLO is even listed on Amazon for sale. |
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Rich Upright
From:
Florida, USA
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Posted 28 Jul 2018 6:44 pm
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I wish I had your problems!
_________________
A couple D-10s,some vintage guitars & amps, & lotsa junk in the gig bag. |
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Brint Hannay
From:
Maryland, USA
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Posted 28 Jul 2018 8:28 pm
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Thanks for the ideas, guys.
Another Forumite, in a PM, suggested that if they were kept in a bag with something like celluloid thumb picks, off-gassing from the thumb picks could be the culprit. I think this is very likely the explanation in my case, as the finger picks have in fact been stored in plastic string-set packages with celluloid (tortoise-shell) thumb picks. Who knew?  |
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