Whitening 61 Jazzmaster Parts

[edwardskim]

Hey all!

I’m in the process of refinishing a 61 Jazzmaster to Shoreline Gold with the wonderful guys at Chicago Fret Works.

But the original pickup covers and knobs are way too dirty and yellowed, so much so that it clashes too much with the body and Spitfire mint pickguard. I’m attaching a photo of the reference I want to model the finished product after. Notice how on the 63 example, the covers and knobs are NOT aged very much. Pretty close to white.

I’m also considering going the route of covering them in 30% peroxide and letting it sit in the sun for a day (saw a thread about this on here somewhere). It seems like people have had luck in clearing up the yellow on old knobs and plastic parts with this method.

I understand most of the aftermarket ones are going to be too aged. I would rather have it closer to bone white and then age it lightly if necessary.
Anyone have suggestions on where I can source a matching set? For the knobs, I am NOT looking for the witch hats. Thanks!

[edwardskim]

Here's my 61, with the original pickups and knobs on it. Not liking the stark contrast.

I guess it's also worth mentioning the lighting at CFW skews the photo, and the guys told me it wasn't as weird looking in person. Still, I think hitting the parts with 30% peroxide or trying to get good white replacements would be ideals. Let me know your guys' thoughts!

[marqueemoon]

I would just get new plastics and age as desired or age the guard a bit.

Honestly it doesn’t look that bad to me.

[edwardskim]

I would just get new plastics and age as desired or age the guard a bit.

Honestly it doesn’t look that bad to me.

Yeah, that's probably the easier method here. Any recommendations on bone-white pickup covers and correct style knobs? Would the 61 JM be split shaft?

[PorkyPrimeCut]

Yeah, just save the parts you remove in a re-sealable plastic bag. One day, if you ever choose to sell the guitar, you can put them all back on & probably make more money as it'll be "all-original".

It's relatively easy to relic new parts & most of the off-white/aged/whatever-you-wanna-call-it parts I've seen look great.

I'll let those with actual experience recommend a good source for replacements but you'll see there's a lot of choice. I'd go for something described as off-white or parchment myself.

[MattK]

Bleach/peroxide will also weaken the plastic and may cause it to crumble.

[edwardskim]

Thanks for chiming in, everyone.

Looks like not much in the way of "all white" covers except the ones from Mojotone?

And if anyone can direct/clarify if I should be looking for split-shaft Strat/JM knobs, I'll look for them as well.

[DeathJag]

I’ve got some extra Novak pup covers, including white. Also off-white, and even yellow. You are welcome to them, I ain’t gonna use em. Just send postage!

[August]

Those old ones actually look pretty gross haha. A clean vintage guitar/part is not a ruined or devalued vintage guitar/part IMO. I've always used h peroxide with satisfactory results. The drug store variety is gentle enough to easily control the process, and I've never experienced any kind of weakening or damage to plastic parts using HP.

[edwardskim]

I’ve got some extra Novak pup covers, including white. Also off-white, and even yellow. You are welcome to them, I ain’t gonna use em. Just send postage!

That is so kind of you. Thank you. Chicago Fret Works was able to find some white covers they had with some matching knobs. So they're going to age it as light as possible so it's not so bright. But if it doesn't work out, I'll definitely take the off-white/white ones off you!

[edwardskim]

Those old ones actually look pretty gross haha. A clean vintage guitar/part is not a ruined or devalued vintage guitar/part IMO. I've always used h peroxide with satisfactory results. The drug store variety is gentle enough to easily control the process, and I've never experienced any kind of weakening or damage to plastic parts using HP.

Agreed! Haha.

Vintage = not always good. Working at Chicago Music Exchange opened my eyes to that.

Check out what CFW just sent me, with some white covers they found.

[Embenny]

The people on this forum are so fucking cool.

Nothing constructive to add to the conversation, sorry. Just one of those moments that reminds me why this is the only internet forum I actively participate in.

What an unusually good-natured and helpful group of folks we have on here.

[johnbob]

I think you should whiten your original pick up covers and knobs and here's how you do it....

I use this stuff called Salon Care 40. Here's a video explaining how it works, https://www.youtube.com/watch/VU7vXMezW_I

First, I clean the parts thoroughly, then apply a very wet, heavy coat of Salon Care 40 on the parts that I want to whiten, put them in a ziplock bag and leave it in the sun for a few hours or however long it takes to get the results I need and then wash them off. In the video, the guy leaves his in the bag and then under a UV light but I didn't have a UV light so I left it out in the sun and it worked great. It literally could not be easier. It's super cheap too. I think a giant bottle of Salon Care 40 was around $4.00 and I found it at a haircare store less than two miles from my house. The stuff works great and it did not make the parts brittle or damage them whatsoever. Give it a shot, I know it will work.