Removing the Floyd Rose Plating
A pretty cool thing I've been doing lately is removing the plating (chrome, black, and gold) from the Floyd Rose base plate. In early 2017, I found on eBay an old 1980s Floyd with serious pitting and rust. Although I like the relic'd and aged look, I wanted to do something about it. So I thought, why not remove the chrome plating and get down to the bare steel? Well, remember that the plating process uses an electric current to get the chrome to adhere to steel, so it would take weeks to sand it off. And I didn't feel like buying acid, so...
NOTE: I also remove the black and gold plating off old trem arms by soaking them in vinegar and then using steel wool to remove the plating to a beautiful steel matte shine. Only chrome or steel arms for me!
I used my Dremel and removed the chrome plating from the top and sides of the base plate. Sandwiched in between the chrome and the steel is a thin layer of nickel, which appears as a metallic pink-orange color. Well, I went right through that, too. And having that thin layer of nickel is a good thing, so you know to keep going and when to stop. Once that nickel color is gone - you're at the steel. Warning - I went through about 3-4 of those mini Dremel sandpaper rolls, but I was able to achieve the look I wanted in less than an hour. And I used a little toothpaste (rubbing compound will also work) on the Dremel roll to polish it up, too. Minty fresh. I then did the same thing to the tops of the chrome saddles, but only to the square section after the pivot pin. And yes, I would totally do this again to another pitted, rusted Floyd - I love the matte look of an unplated Floyd Rose. I ended up using this one on my Kramer 5150 Tele guitar, which led to more "unplating" projects...
Pictured above is my Unplated Floyd Rose Project #2 for my Kramer EVH 78 Frankenstein guitar. This is actually the Floyd that was on my Kramer 5150 Tele guitar and it had some major pitting and rust on it; I think it cleaned up pretty well by taking all the chrome off.
Above is my Unplated Floyd Rose Project #3 for my Kramer 5150 83 Prototype guitar - before and after pictures. This one was originally a black 1980s model, and it had some flaking and minor pitting - especially on the saddles. I picked it up cheap and thought it would make a good candidate for an "unplating project" - and because I wanted to try all of this on a black one. I started this one by soaking it in degreaser for about a day and that really loosened the plating - to the point it began peeling off on its own! And you can see that both the black plating and the thin nickel layer came right off, exposing the bare steel. Made the job much easier... easier than a chrome one, and I like the look of the Floyd Rose embossed logo in black.
Unplated Floyd Rose Project #4! There was some chips and dings in the chrome Floyd base plate on my EVH Striped Series Frankenstein Road Worn guitar, so I went ahead and Dremel'd off the plating (see before and after pics above). The aged black saddles look great with the bare steel base plate, and it didn't take too long to accomplish. We'll see how it ages now.
Unplated Floyd Rose Project #5! Kramer EVH 5150 Baretta (see before and after pics above). Titanium block inserts and sustain block
Unplated Floyd Rose Project #6! TBD (see before and after pics above).
Unplated Floyd Rose Project #7! TBD (see before and after pics above).
Unplated Floyd Rose Project #8! This old black Floyd was worked on and used on my Kramer 5150 Pacer (see before and after pics above).
Unplated Floyd Rose Project #9! TBD (see before and after pics above).
Unplated Floyd Rose Project #10! removed the plating off a gold base plate and a set off chrome saddles TBD (see before and after pics above).
Unplated Floyd Rose Project #11 - the worst one yet! TBD (see before and after pics above).
Unplated Floyd Rose Project #12 - classic 1983 model with no fine tuners! TBD (see before and after pics above).
Unplated Floyd Rose Project #13 - black 1987 model that took A LOT of effort to just take it apart - stripped and rusted so bad it was fused together! TBD (see before and after pics above).
Unplated Floyd Rose Project #14 - gold 1980s model - removed plating from base, sanded down saddles, and added brass fine tuners. Looks great on my Charvel EVH 1980 Natural Strat (see final result pic above).
Unplated Floyd Rose Project #15 - 1985 chrome thin base plate - removed plating from base (most of it was gone already!) and a set of old 1980s chrome saddles I pieced together from spare parts TBD (see before and after pics above).
Unplated Floyd Rose Project #16 - a Special one! Removed plating from tarnished black nickel Special base and combined that with a set of Kaish stainless steel saddles. The Special has A LOT of plating and the steel is not as tough - probably would not do this again TBD (see before and after pics above).
Unplated Floyd Rose Project #17 - how about a 1000? Removed plating from tarnished black nickel 1000 base and combined that with a set of Kaish stainless steel saddles. As with the Special, the 1000 has a good amount of plating, but the steel is tougher TBD (see before and after pics above).
Unplated Floyd Rose Project #18 from two different 1983 NFT Floyds! Removed the plating from one NFT base plate and from a set of NFT saddles on another TBD (see before and after pics above).
Unplated Floyd Rose Project #19! Rusted and pitted 1990s gold Floyd that was 100% unused, but seemed like it was stored outside by the ocean! TBD (see before and after pics above).
Unplated Floyd Rose Project #20! 1983 NFT with some rust, pitting, and wavy plating TBD (see before and after pics above).
Unplated Floyd Rose Project #21 - 1988 black Original plate with some chips, dents, and scratches - restored with an old worn set of chrome saddles with the plating removed TBD (see before and after pics above).
Unplated Floyd Rose Project #22! Super-rusty 1984 chrome Original. Two of the three M5 screws holding the stock sustain block were locked and stripped so I had to drill them out - never had that happen before! TBD (see before and after pics above).
Unplated Floyd Rose Project #23! Chipped, flaking, and rusty 1985 black Original. TBD (see before and after pics above).
Unplated Floyd Rose Project #24! 2000s black base plate with gold saddles. The black plate almost looks satin black? TBD (see before and after pics above).
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