2003 Epiphone Les Paul Custom | Part 3

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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

Dealing With Oxidation, Grime and Tarnish

Preamble

Ah, the inescapable perils Kuantan guitar players have to live with! Among these are salty sea air, monsoon-driven rain, floods, drought, and most recently; bauxite contamination. The resulting damage can range from tarnished tuner buttons to sodium chloride-encrusted pots, rusted wiring and total electronics failure. Looking at this 2003 Epiphone Les Paul Custom, one can say that it's got all the boxes ticked. Getting this black beauty back in fighting shape will definitely be a challenge, but one that I'm determined to overcome with the help of my old allies below. See that crumpled tube in the foreground? That's my main man, Autosol Metal Polish. 

Autosol Metal Polish and Friends

    

Tuners

The gold plating has worn off in places, but that's to be expected after years of continuous use. What's more serious is the blackish gunk embedded in the tuner buttons. This is a tell-tale sign of oxidation, followed by corrosion. Then there's this whitish powder coating the shafts, bushings and washers. Yes, that's sea salt. Thankfully, the tuners are still functioning. They should be in better shape after a bit of elbow grease, Autosol and Singer Machine Oil.

Grungy Tuners

Neck and Bridge Pickups

The pickups seem to have fared slightly better than the tuners, though their covers have lost almost all of their gold plating. As for the black plastic pickup rings, it's mostly sweat-induced crud, easily removed with the help of some plastic polish. Flip these guys over, and the fun begins. Just look at the grime, oxidation, discoloration, and patches of who knows what. By the way, the neck pickup is the one with the red cable and circled "F" on the bottom, while the one with the black cable and just "Epiphone" on the bottom is the bridge pickup. 

Neck Pickup - Top

Neck Pickup - Bottom

Bridge Pickup - Top

Bridge Pickup - Bottom

Folks, here are the neck and bridge pickups after a load of elbow grease, Autosol and Gibson Guitar Polish. Was it worth the effort? Yes, I do believe it was. It's hard to say how long the shininess will last, but for now, just looking at them warms the cockles of my heart.

Both Pickups After a Good Clean and Polish

Bridge and Tailpiece

The gold Sung Il BM003 bridge and stopbar tailpiece suffer from maladies very similar to that afflicting the tuners. However, it's rather difficult to say at this point which of these is in worse shape in terms of appearance. There's some good news, though, as the intonation screws are not "frozen" and can still rotate in both directions. I reckon a good cleaning, some lubrication, and a generous dollop of Autosol will do this bridge and tailpiece a world of good.

Bridge and Tailpiece - Top

Bridge and Tailpiece - Bottom

Bridge and Tailpiece - Front

Bridge and Tailpiece - Back

Ok then, we've examined the bridge and tailpiece, but what about the bridge thumbwheel posts and tailpiece mounting studs? Are they in any better shape? To answer the first part of the question, let's look at the image below. These are the bridge thumbwheel posts. The screwdriver slots on top are chewed up, and there's that whitish powder again. I barely managed to unscrew these posts from their bushings, thanks to all that salt encrusting the threads. I'm definitely in for a lot of filing, sanding, lubing and polishing.

Sung Il BM003 Thumbwheel Posts

And now, the second part of the question. See the two large slotted posts below? Those are the mounting studs for the tailpiece. The bridge thumbwheel posts have been unscrewed, but why are these two still in their bushings? Well, that's because I have not been able to fully unscrew either one, despite wicking in Singer Machine Oil and waiting for hours. As I have to remove the lower bushing to replace the bridge ground wire anyway, I'm just going to pull both bushings as is. That's the best I can do.

Stubborn Tailpiece Mounting Studs

Hardware Servicing in Progress

We're now down to the final image of this post. At this stage, hardware that requires attention has been disassembled for servicing. I'm taking a short break from scrubbing, sanding, filing, lubricating, polishing and other related tasks. This 2003 Epiphone Les Paul Custom is a seasoned battle axe that demands my respect. And so, out of this respect, I aim to retain as much of the original hardware as possible, right down to the smallest screw. Wish me luck!

Hardware Servicing in Progress