Further Cleaning and Servicing
The smaller hardware components, which are even cruddier than their larger counterparts, have been put in an ultrasonic bath at 60˚C for two sessions, each lasting 15 minutes. They've since been taken out of the bath and left to dry overnight. Do take a look at what's left behind in the bath water. Can you see all that dirt? It's a nasty mix of rust, grime, and dried sweat. Oh yes, this Digital Ultrasonic Cleaner does work wonders.
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| Digital Ultrasonic Cleaner |
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| Hardware Immersed in Ultrasonic Bath |
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| Hardware Taken Out/Left to Dry Overnight |
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| Rust, Crud and Other Unmentionables |
It's the morning after, and the cleaned hardware is now sufficiently dry. All components have been transferred into a plastic container for a good long soak in MultiLube. I believe 24 hours should be sufficient for the lube to penetrate every nook and cranny.
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| A Good Soak in MultiLube |
Yes, another day has since gone by, and the hardware has been taken out of the plastic container. After some gentle scrubbing with a toothbrush, I realize that both tremolo claw screws still look terrible, and worse still, one of them is bent. Guess I have no choice but to replace both screws.
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| A Trem Claw Screw is Bent |
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| Replacement Trem Claw Screws |
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| Replacement Screws Installed |
With all these hardware-related matters taking precedence, I've almost forgotten to tell you about the rosewood fretboard. You might remember from
Part 1 that it was awfully grimy, and the frets dull and tarnished. Thankfully, there's been no need for scraping, as a good going over with shop towels and isopropyl alcohol has worked wonders. The frets, meanwhile, look a whole lot better after a thorough scrubbing with 3M Scotch-Brite Pads and Softback Sanding Sponges. The finishing touch? A healthy dose of lemon oil for the fretboard, of course.
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| Fretboard Cleaned/Frets Polished |
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| Fretboard Conditioned With Lemon Oil |
The Final Stretch
It's been a long and arduous journey, but the finish line is finally in sight. All the hardware has been reassembled and reinstalled, and a few more components replaced. The aforementioned components are the two locking nut mounting screws, and three tremolo springs. This Ibanez GIO has just been set up with D'Addario EXL120s, put through its paces, and passed muster. All's well that ends well, thank goodness.
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| Tremolo Bridge Reassembled - Front View |
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| Tremolo Bridge Reassembled - Back View |
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| Locking Nut Reinstalled/Replacement Screws |
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| Tuners Reinstalled |
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| D'Addario EXL120 Strings |
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| Ibanez GIO After Final Setup |
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| Tremolo Cavity/Replacement Springs |
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| Rosewood Fretboard Looking Much Better |
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| Locking Nut/Truss Rod Cover/String Retainer Bar |
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