Brushed nickel/aluminium finish on chrome?

Hey gang, I'm playing around with an idea that may require me to make a couple of control plates from sheet aluminium. What I'm wondering is if there is a way that anyone has found to get that brushed nickel/aluminium finish on chrome - from bridges to pickup covers to tuners - as I think it might look weird if some bits are shiny chrome and others are brushed aluminium. I've played around with various grades of wetndry with limited success.

I guess the flip side of that is how successful people have been with polishing aluminium to a true shine? I'm guessing the "colour" would still be a bit different though.

Cheers
Chuck

Green scotch brite pads do a good job - I've done watch cases this way.
"Sand" in one direction only, dont scrub back and forth. This will give a more consistent brushed look.
If there appears to be a "grain" with the metal, sand with it

Thanks Stan, I'll give it a crack. I've got a couple of old neck plates that I can trial it with. I'm still a little concerned about how I'd tackle things like tuners, but again I've got a couple of random spares I can try with.

Aluminium polish does exist, we sell a product at work called Bonderite C-MC 1495 X (formerly known as Turco 1495X) It's probably overkill as an aviation grade aluminium polish. No idea on colour difference though.

Metal does have a grain, it can be hard to pick out though. Any markings on the sheet are probably along the grain direction

Make sure you clear coat it once you have the finish you want because it will start to oxidize and go dull pretty much immediately

Because I'm an impatient sod I just knocked this up from a piece of 2mm thick aluminium I had in the workshop. This is just with 600/800/1200 wet and dry sanding and a quick polish. There's potential here me thinks as I did this pretty quickly. A bit more time on the sanding and polishing, and then sealing as you suggest Dave and it could look okay. Now cutting the slot for a 5-way switch? THAT could be interesting!!

Attachment 20679

Sorry, that's 3mm aluminium. The only frustrating thing is the largest size I can get from the Green Shed is 50mm wide. Fine for a switch or telecaster control plate, but you'd need closer to 70mm for the plates used on a Jaguar (which is what I'm essentially looking at). I guess there must be more specific suppliers where I could get larger dimensions, but hopefully without needing to order metres of the stuff.

looks good Chuck. So will you incorporate the switch plate with the new pickguard ?

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Originally Posted by wokkaboy

looks good Chuck. So will you incorporate the switch plate with the new pickguard ?

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That's the plan - I guess it's more like a Jaguar setup than the Jazzmaster. Ideally I'd make plates for the vol/tone controls, the lower bout 5-way switch (above) and another for a toggle on the upper bout. All three plates would ideally look like the ones on a Jag. As I said before, my only concern is how these aluminium plates would look with the regular chrome of the bridge/trem and even the chrome pickups.

Carpal Aluminium will sell sheets down to a minimum of 1/3 of a sheet which will do a hell of a lot of pickguards.

Also have a Google and find any local sheet metal shops and have a chat with them about offcuts

Good call Dave - I've just found a place in Brookvale that might be the go.

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Originally Posted by Chuck

Sorry, that's 3mm aluminium. The only frustrating thing is the largest size I can get from the Green Shed is 50mm wide. Fine for a switch or telecaster control plate, but you'd need closer to 70mm for the plates used on a Jaguar (which is what I'm essentially looking at). I guess there must be more specific suppliers where I could get larger dimensions, but hopefully without needing to order metres of the stuff.

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standard aluminium sheet is 1200mm x 3600mm (4' x 12') so the 1/3 of a sheet that Dave mentioned is still 1200 x 1200

oh well Madddog, Chuck will have enough ally for about 50 guitar control covers hahah

He better get building then!


Might it not be better to maybe cut the control plates from something like brass and then get them chromed? Or did you want a brushed finish look?

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Originally Posted by Simon Barden

Might it not be better to maybe cut the control plates from something like brass and then get them chromed? Or did you want a brushed finish look?

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I really want something I actually do myself from start to finish - and getting a chroming machine might be a little beyond my budget!!

As it happens I went to the local aluminium place this arvo and got a 570 x 490 offcut sheet for $8!!!

Marine industry is full of aluminium bits and pieces too plus lots of really shiny and expensive stainless steel. All highly polished of course.