[davester1234]

I acquired an RG350EX for a steal! But the hardware obviously needs a lot of help. There’s quite a bit oxidization and the fine tuners are quite hard to turn. Also the pickups are kind of cruddy.

Can anyone recommend a method for cleaning this up? Something that will preserve the finish of the bridge as much as possible while getting out the crud?

 

[KennyV]

I've always used warm water and WD-40

Generous amounts of WD-40 and let it soak in a Tupper of that mixture for about 20 or 30 minutes.

Then with an old tooth brush, spray it again and brush it clean.

With screws if there was a rust issue you can spray them with a light coat of spray paint in black to protect them from rusting again, but don't spray the actual bridge again. The paint won't stick well and will rub off over time in a grimy pattern.

The screws you don't touch much so it works on them better.

As for the pickups, toothbrush dry gets Alot of it off.
You can dip the toothbrush into the Tupperware solution but you want to try and keep the pickup dry.

 

[davester1234]

I've always used warm water and WD-40

Generous amounts of WD-40 and let it soak in a Tupper of that mixture for about 20 or 30 minutes.

Then with an old tooth brush, spray it again and brush it clean.

With screws if there was a rust issue you can spray them with a light coat of spray paint in black to protect them from rusting again, but don't spray the actual bridge again. The paint won't stick well and will rub off over time in a grimy pattern.

The screws you don't touch much so it works on them better.

As for the pickups, toothbrush dry gets Alot of it off.
You can dip the toothbrush into the Tupperware solution but you want to try and keep the pickup dry.

Ok so WD40 mixed with some warm water in some tupperware. Let soak for 30 minutes and then spray again and use an old toothbrush. Got it!

Now for the pickup, can I just leave it in the guitar and use a dry toothbrush or the dipped wd40 brush right on the guitar?

 

[KennyV]

Correct.
Good luck!