Exhibit A: Ratty looking Cosmo Black Ibanez Edge Pro bridge

Guitar hardware can get quite ratty and corroded over time. Climate, humidity, and sweat can eat away at your nice bridge locking nut and tuners, etc. Some hardware finishes are more robust than others, but they don’t always hold up.

I’ve noticed that the cosmo chrome and cosmo black finishes used particularly on a number of Ibanez guitar hardware parts have a particular penchant for finish wear and corrosion. Gold is particularly bad for this problem as well. So many nice Ibanez guitars have hardware that looks so much older than they really are due to the finish just being eaten away. (more…)