Velcelt

I watched a couple videos and it looks like removing/installing a Humbucker cover is pretty simple so I'll just do that and remove any issue with potentially messing with the actual electronic guts of the pickup.

One way of doing electrolytic etching is to completely submerge a part, but that's not really necessary. A decent etch can be achieved just by applying the solution with the anode (or is it cathode - can never remember which is which), directly to the area being etched. With proper taping I'm pretty sure I could prevent getting any saline solution into/under the pickup cover and onto the windings. I'm just more concerned about whether hooking up the current can somehow mess up the electrical field of the pickup. I do have some cheap, crappy Humbuckers that I could experiment with. I guess the thing to do would be etch the cover then just hook test leads up to the pickup and see if the coils still respond when touched with a something like a screwdriver.

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.