Does gold wear off Agile AL 3100 quick?

[Duffy]

I'm thinking about getting a black AL-3100 double bound LP copy and want to get the gold plated hardware version; however, I have heard that the gold comes right off very quickly. If this is the case I will get the chrome or nickel plated hardware version of the same guitar.

I heard that only the American made Fenders and Gibsons have gold plating that will actually stay on when polished with guitar polish. I imagine there are other guitars that have good gold plating as well so I'm asking you guys for your input on this subject with the Agile AL 3100.

Thanks for the feedback.

[Katastrophe]

I dunno, Duffy, but I imagine the gold plating on these guitars (Gibby and Fender included, too) is very thin, and bound to wear off with any rubbing at all.

That's one of the things that I like about LP Customs... I think the worn gold just looks way cool on a gracefully aged instrument. Most probably wouldn't think so, though.

If you're into keeping the guitar pristine for as long as possible, I'd just go for the chrome or nickel look. The AL3000 with chrome and abalone inlays looks killer! I've been drooling over the wide neck version ever since they came out.

Revolving door GAS is a b*tch!

[wingsdad]

Unless your hands don't sweat, or you wipe the gold off religiously after any use, or the gold plating is heavy, like 24 Karat, which is far too pricey for the Everyman guitar market, the typical thin-grade factory gold plating on Asian imports is gonna wear off. The more you touch it, the faster it will go.

[otaypanky]

I dunno, Duffy, but I imagine the gold plating on these guitars (Gibby and Fender included, too) is very thin, and bound to wear off with any rubbing at all.

That's one of the things that I like about LP Customs... I think the worn gold just looks way cool on a gracefully aged instrument. Most probably wouldn't think so, though.

If you're into keeping the guitar pristine for as long as possible, I'd just go for the chrome or nickel look. The AL3000 with chrome and abalone inlays looks killer! I've been drooling over the wide neck version ever since they came out.

Revolving door GAS is a b*tch!

Yup, like Kat said. Oh, and a Happy Thanksgiving to the USA Fretters
I'm already sitting in a puddle of drool because of the delicious smells coming from the kitchen :hungry

[bigG]

Yep. The gold plating will wear off, for sure, on ANY guitar so equipped.

The combo of sweat, acid and constant rubbing will get the best of 'em.

[ZMAN]

As we discussed, the Asian guitars will tarnish much faster than the US instruments. I personally have owned 4 or five guitars with gold hardware.
The Epi Custom came right off. The Gibson Studio that I owned for 3 years never tarnished one bit. Also the Fender Deluxe player Strat and the Fender 50th Anniversary Strat never lost any of their gold at all. I have an Epiphone Elitist and the pickups are still perfect because they are the Gibson gold plated units. The stop bar is a little tarnished after 4 years.
With that in mind I would go with the nickel or chrome, in an Asian guitar. The gold looks good when new but will tarnish to an almost brass like finish, and eventually with cleaning to a nickel finish anyway.
Oh and I forgot my Epi Sheraton. It is a 2001 and the gold still looks really good. There is some tarnish on the pickups as others have mentioned from sweat and oxidation over the years. But 9 years and it is still good. Just DO NOT use any type of metal polish on them. It will take it right off. Been there done that and have the T shirt.

[Heywood Jablomie]

Considering the non-tarnished condition of my 14k gold wedding band, I suspect that the plating on cheap (or maybe most) guitar hardware has little or no gold at all. Pure gold doesn't tarnish - when they pull the gold out of ancient shipwrecks, it's as pretty as the day it was made. It's a fair bet that the "gold" on the Asian guitars will not last, and is really gold-colored as opposed to gold, and should be specified as such.

[Ch0jin]

Considering the non-tarnished condition of my 14k gold wedding band, I suspect that the plating on cheap (or maybe most) guitar hardware has little or no gold at all. Pure gold doesn't tarnish - when they pull the gold out of ancient shipwrecks, it's as pretty as the day it was made. It's a fair bet that the "gold" on the Asian guitars will not last, and is really gold-colored as opposed to gold, and should be specified as such.

Excellent point! If gold doesn't oxidize, and we know it doesn't as Heywood says, then how can it tarnish?

I'm no metallurgist, but perhaps it's not gold oxidization we are seeing, maybe just good old fashion abrasive wear. Again, I know very little of electroplating, but surely a thin plating of even 24K gold would wear down quite quickly with abrasion. Gold is after all, quite soft.

Then again, because gold is so soft, perhaps even the "gold" plating is actually an alloy of gold and another metal...

BINGO!

Just found THIS... (http://jewelrymaking.allinfoabout.com/features/goldalloys.html)

Seems in jewelery at least, pure gold is mixed with a variety of metals to give the desired colouration. Metals like Copper for example which do oxidise.

Perhaps the ratio of pure gold to another metal actually dictates whether the resultant alloy tarnishes or wears through quicker.

Well I guess I still have no idea why some gold parts wear sooner than others, but I did discover theres a thing called "Purple Gold" which is gold+aluminium :)