How can you clean pickup covers?

[Bryan29]

I know this sounds crazy but a friend of mine has a MIM Strat. His pup covers have yellowed a bit and he wants them white again.

Normally I'd just replace them but apparently you can't get pup covers that fit MIM pups due to the different pole spacing.

So what can I do to try to get them white again?

[Drak]

You could try bleaching them, probably the easiest thing to start off with, or you could sand them with some fine sandpaper or a flexable sanding pad like an Abralon pad, maybe 2000 grit or such, and finish it off just like you would a real finish with a quick buff/polishing compound to bring back the shine/smoothness.

You can treat plastic similarly like you're finishing a finish, moving up in grits to a final quick buffout, which in your case you could do by hand.

I've sanded/buffed out scratched pickguards on old '60's guitars and had them shining and glowing like brand new scratch-free w/o too much trouble, the process is exactly the same as finishing a lacquer finish, but I wouldn't use any sandpaper under 1500/2000 grit.

[Bryan29]

Thanks!

I'll try the sandpaper route today.

[sunburst79]

I would sandpaper. Soaking them in bleach might make them brittle. Chlorine is extremely powerful chemical.

[jay42]

Originally Posted by Bryan29

I know this sounds crazy but a friend of mine has a MIM Strat. His pup covers have yellowed a bit and he wants them white again.

Normally I'd just replace them but apparently you can't get pup covers that fit MIM pups due to the different pole spacing.

So what can I do to try to get them white again?

No promises, but I would check with Chandler in San Francisco before giving up on replacments. They do all sorts of intersting parts. I have their white P90 covers. Some people will tell you that they don't exist.

[m-m-m]

I don't think this is a year difference thing, but the pole pieces on my '95 MIM standard were the same as a normal strat ... and yes, it has the narrow bridge too. I would measure the pole pieces and compare to US specs ... probably the same.

Guitarpartsresource sells just about every fender part including 2 different versions of the import bridge. I would have to believe that if it were any different from US spec that somebody would be selling it.

[Sweetfinger]

You won't be able to sand that off. The yellowing goes too deep. The MIM Squires and some of the early "budget" MIM Strats have pickups with a narrower pole spacing but the majority have standard spaced pickups.

[Bryan29]

Well I almost sanded but I just primed and painted them instead. It was easy and quick.