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Has anyone powder coated or anodised hardware?


TimCook
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Hi there,

I’ve had a thought to colour the hardware on one of my basses for a bit of uniqueness and was wondering if anyone else has tried it and if so with what results? I’ve spotted a few Jerzy Drozd basses have coloured bridge and tuners so thought maybe a domestic powder coat company might be able to do the same thing.

Thoughts/problems?

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Edited by TimCook
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I had all the hardware on my black Gus G3 anodised. Original it was going to be black chrome after seeing what had been done on one of the sample basses, but by the time mine came to be built the company used had gone out of business and Simon Farmer couldn't find another who were prepared to take on the small volumes needed for a few guitars and basses at a price that made economical sense, hence the alternative was anodising.

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I've owned and played this bass from new for 18 years now, and apart from a couple of places on pickup covers the anodising has shown no wear at all.

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My understanding of powder-coating is that it can be problematic for small, fiddly parts (such as saddles in bridges) because the coating is relatively thick.

I know people who have had it done on things like bike frames, and it gummed up threads and put parts out of alignment because of the thickness of the coating, so it had to be cut back.  

If you're prepared to properly mask and/or ream out bits that have been coated, it might be okay, but I think spray painting  - or anodising if metal as suggested above - would potentially be better, depending on the finish you're looking for. 

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Thanks BigRedX and Jakester, I had overlooked anodising so will definitely look into that. Great points re trouble with the fine details with powder coating. Thankfully the bridge in mind has individual, removable brass saddles but I’ll look into anodising now over powder coating - the teeth in the tuners especially would need attention I guess.

That Gus is absolutely stunning btw and I can see the finish has stood up impeccably. Nice work.

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