Here are photos of the completed hardware, other that cutting down the screws that adjust intonation. I’m very happy with results. The level of crime and corruption is well beyond most of the vintage instruments I’ve seen. After I had completed my first round of etching and rusting I think I did a pretty good job of creating an accurate amount of deterioration, given the type of chrome on the saga (reference the photo on my 4.3 post).

I showed the results to my wife and she couldn’t tell I’d done anything at all. Granted shes not technical and cant tell the difference between a Les Paul from a Strat, but it made me rethink the effect I was going for. Ultimately I want “stage makeup” not tiny the nuances that only a vintage buff will really understand, I’ll save that effect for another guitar. So it was back to the etching bath for another round. I ended up with the “wrapped in an army blanket and left in the corner of the garage behind old wooden shutters and forgotten for 50 years” look.

A few note on process: After re-etching I did a short rust bath (about 2 hrs) I ended buffing most of that effect off with the exception of the tuner covers, I liked the green cast they picked up. I rubbed black shoe polish into the chrome, it caught in the corners and pitted areas and added a slight layer of grime. Before I reassembly I hit the parts with a layer of clear coat.

For the pickup a used an exacto and carefully scuffed the edges and took a few small bites out the edges with end cutters and then back to the exacto to soften the cut edges. I also used a little brown oil pastel near the magnets to simulate rust.