I have an arch-top kit guitar I'm putting together and I had gotten this idea to do all sorts of embellishments of the knock-off Bigsby vibrato, the pickup covers, etc. My idea is to use electrolytic metal etching. If you're familiar with the process, (easiest, least toxic method). basically you make a concentrated salt water solution then take a battery charger and set it for 12v 2 amp output. You create a design and mask off what do or don't want to be etched with paint or something like a vinyl mask printed on a vinyl cutter. I've experimented around with this in the past and you take the negative cable and attach it to one part of what you want to etch,, then you take a piece of rag or cheescloth and dip that into your dissolved salt solution. That little wad of cloth then gets clipped into the positive clamp and you then touch the positive clamp with cloth to the exposed areas of metal that you want to etch. The reaction essentially rapidly corrodes/removes the upper layer of metal creating the etch. Keep doing it until you remove enough metal to get the level of depth of etch that you want. Now, my reason for asking this question here, especially in the Tech forum is that I figured asking where people are talking about electronics and pickups would be the best location. My main concern is on a pickup where the covers are already attached/soldered to the pickup, would this eletrolytic etching process in some way mess up the magnetism or other electrical properties of the pickup? I guess the best way to be sure you wouldn't ruin something with the pickup would be to desolder the joints holding the pickup cover to the underside of the pickup itself. I'd rather not have to do that if it isn't necessary, hence asking if anyone thinks this process would be electrically harmful to the pickups in some way. For the record, they're Gotoh HB Classic Alpha pickups with Chrome covers.