Brand new gold Gold Gotohs need some dulling up..

[Kerry Krishna]

 So the long shaft on my D  string on my Monteleone broke at the  worm gear.  I ordered and got a set of them from LMI for 93 bucks US. These new machines are SO glaring and shiny, I need to knock some of that off. 

Please  with some ideas to help me in this minor project? Thanks folks!

[Mike Kolb]

Who knows if this works, but it couldn't hurt to try it on, say, the underside of one of the tuner bodies that sits flush to the rear of the headstock?

http://www.ehow.com/how_8319143_dull-shiny-gold.html

[Kerry Krishna]

Thanks Mike! You always have great ideas! I have several drops of bleach doing possibly something to the underside of the machines  right now. I will let you know how that goes OK?

[Doc Rathwell]

Muriotic acid will dull it. It will also age other metals. If choosing this route, use extreme caution as it is very harsh stuff. I always do this procedure outdoors with a ventilator mask and protective gloves.

Put a small amount of MA in a container, and place the machine heads in a separate container that will sit in the first containing the MA. Leave the container with the machine heads uncovered. After placing the uncovered container into the MA container, place a lid over the MA container. I generally leave the container for about 15mins to oxidate but to be safe, one should check every 5mins or so. Rinse the machines with water once completed the process.

Best wishes,

Doc

[Kerry Krishna]

Mike, the bleach did not work. It just left permanent ( it seems) black edged dots..  

Thanks Doc.I already have that acid, and have used it for this in the past,but I did not think that it did anything to gold. Thanks!

[Thomas James]

I do a similar method as Doc. Lately, I have been doing a run of Telecasters, and 'aging' the parts. I am finding 45 to 60 minutes in the acid gas tupperware chamber is working for me. This creates a fog coating on the parts. I lift the parts out with a wire hook (bent a big paper clip). Allow that to sit for another hour-ish. Final wash in water. I also tumble and shake the parts in a five pound coffee can half-filled with rusty bolts and screws. It works on nickel, chrome, and brass. I have not tried Gold plated parts. Photo is before and after: