Teledisaster…

[drgonzo1969]

I noticed my tele had intermittent signal so I started trying to pin down the problem. It turned out to be a crammed wiring in the cavity issue that I haven’t bothered to fix yet. However, I also noticed rust had taken over spots on the bridge plate and the bigsby is fully rusted over. Looks like some jackass spilled beer on it . Anybody got any rust removing tips?

 

[falco_femoralis]

Take it apart all the way and soak it in Evaporust for 24 hours, then rinse it with water. Repeat if it doesn't take all the rust off. Then pour the Evaporust back in its bucket as its reusable. You can find this product at places like Harbor freight and home depot

 

[tegendemuur]

Dunk it in white vinegar for a few hours and rub it with a a squeezed ball of tin foil. It's how I cleaned a 70 year old coffee grinder back into business.

 

[Erik S]

+1 on the evaporust. It’s the best.

 

[jessenator]

another +1 for Evaporust

 

[SpringReverbFan1234]

Evaporust is probably the "correct" thing to use on guitar hardware, but for less important stuff I've used Deoxit, citric acid solution, or PB Blaster.
Deoxit would the most likely thing to already have. It shouldn't hurt anything as long as you keep it away from wood and fabric, but will need a toothbrush and some elbow grease to get the crud off. The Bigsby nut looks like something I'd use the Blaster for but that stuff is kinda stinky. Probably best to just get Evaporust.
Also I tried the coca cola method once but don't recommend it. Active ingredient is just phosphoric acid which didn't seem to work any better than citric, and the stickyness was annoying.

 

[Gordo]

another +1 for Evaporust

 

[leadfoot]

Remove the rust?! You're removing the vintage toan!

If you want to lose the toan, another +1 for Evaporust

 

[tegendemuur]

Not here on the shelves of DIY stores, but available online. I'll buy myself some evaporust next time!

 

[HamishR]

That's a LOT of corrosion!! Bloody hell - do you live in the ocean?

FWIW Elderly Instruments used (maybe still do?) to sell a lot of Bigsby stuff including all sorts of parts. I would suggest getting some new parts.

 

[giovanni]

I successfully used white vinegar for rust in the past but I suspect Evaporust is better!

 

[swelchy]

Take it apart all the way and soak it in Evaporust for 24 hours, then rinse it with water. Repeat if it doesn't take all the rust off. Then pour the Evaporust back in its bucket as its reusable. You can find this product at places like Harbor freight and home depot

I second the evaporust... That stuff has performed many miracles on my VW bus when I was resurrecting it from the dead.