Chrome coming off in patches on an MSA XL Legend

[Barry Yasika]

I have 2020 MSA XL Legend D-10. It came with what I believe are aluminum legs and I guess the advantage of them is that they are lighter than the standard leg. I can't say I've gigged all that much with over the last almost two years that I've owned so it doesn't get set up and torn down right and left. It pretty much sits in my music room with another that has the standard type legs. It seems for no reason I can think of that the chrome plating is coming off in patches, looks like hell on an otherwise beautiful guitar. Anyone else going through that? I bought the guitar used so I don't expect it to be under warranty. I'm wondering if its because of the aluminum or some defect in the chroming process. Can the legs be re-chromed? At this point I hate to even look at it.

[Marco Schouten]

I would contact MSA first, just hear what they say.

[Jerry Overstreet]

What a shame your beautiful guitar is plagued by these leg blemishes.

I believe this condition needs to be addressed by a professional electroplater.

I have a set in the same condition, but I'm not going through that process.

What I'm reading online, is that the electroplating process need to be reversed to remove all the chrome plate and then re-plating.

I don't know what causes the chrome to lift, but it might be due to improper or not thorough etching process on the aluminum necessary to prepare it for plating.

I'm not going through the reverse/replate process as I knew about the condition when I bought these.

Removing chrome manually is not an easy process but I'm getting the bad spots smoothed out using an orbital sander and a surfacing tool. Not trying to remove it all, just want to smooth it down so I can black them out with some shrink tubing.

I'm sure you don't want to do that, so looks like a professional is in order to replate yours or replace them.

The sources I knew of for lightweight legs like ours though seem to have dried up though.

[Richard Sinkler]

I worked for a metal finishing company. Replating is a really involved process requiring stripping the old finish off, re-polishing, re-plating with copper, nickel, and chrome. Very labor intensive and would be more expensive than new legs.

[Dale Rottacker]

No issues with my 2021 MSA Legend XL, and hope none arise ... Sorry yours are doing that ... maybe a bad batch? A phone call might give you an answer.

[Jerry Overstreet]

I was just parroting what I read online. I am not a chemist nor a metallurgist so the info may be flawed.

MSA could possibly have some answers or direction for you, but they don't do the legs. I think they had a deal to purchase them from the supplier same as everyone else. Good luck.

[Greg Forsyth]

I think the metal wasn't cleaned properly before plating. Also, could be the metal being plated wasn't compatible with the plating process involved.

[Bobby D. Jones]

Is the problem on just the back legs, On the upper part of the legs?

If any type of strong grip metal clamps are applied to an aluminum leg, It could dent the aluminum under the chrome, Then the chrome will loosen its hold. And may start peeling.

I bought a GFI S12 Ultra with aluminum legs, The prior owner had a bad metal clamp on a control box, He attached to the rear leg. One leg has several Boo Boo's on it.
Call MSA, They may help you with this problem.

Good Luck getting the Boo Boo's off your babies legs, Happy Steelin.

[Barry Yasika]

It's a subtle thing that started off with one little chip flaking off. Now after two years the legs look like they have cancer. No matter how I try to just ignore it, I focus on it that much more,. I've have several brand streels and nave never seen anything close to this. You'd think that would have been better thought out during the design phases. For the kind of money you put into one of those guys you'd think a problem like that would have been addressed to begin with. I mean, how heavier are the normal legs that aluminum anyway? Anyway, something to think about for people considering MSA. I'm not saying it will happen but it happened to me. Makes me feel like taking the whole guitar and throwing it up against the wall. I can only guess the that the re-chroming cost would be at the very least, time consuming and expensive. Remember in all fairness it's the legs only I'm refering to, the rest of the looks and playes great on top of corroded legs that looked they were pulled out of a garbage can.

[Bobby D. Jones]

If you could find some proper size, And color heat shrink tubing. May be a cheap fix for the larger diameter tube of the legs. And be cheaper than re-chroming, That may peel off just like present chrome coating.

Good Luck in this project.

[J D Sauser]

I bought two "new" MSAs a couple of years ago. One went to a friend of my (a fellow Forumite) in return for a big favor he did for me. Gorgeous great sounding well built guitars.
His' legs have the chrome pitting and flake off. Mine's (they were ordered together but came a few months apart) legs are more perfect that Marilyn Monroe's.

Plating aluminum is a @&$*! and at a "competitive price anyways.

One would have to have a chrome-plating place "de-chrome" it all and re-chrome. A high end custom shop may do a better job, but it would be senselessly expensive.
Either live with it, paint'em pink or what have you, or just get new ones.

I still hope for someone to commercialize standard thread PSG legs in sold carbon fiber.

... J-D.

[Barry Yasika]

Fair to say it not just me. And like others have said, for the kind of money you fork out for one of the steels, you shouldn't even have to worry about chrome falling off the legs. It makes the whole guitar look like hell. Cancer Legs!! A problem that there is no economical fix to take care of, seems like a small detail but every time I look at it I wish I hadn't bought it.

[Richard Sinkler]

Plating aluminum is a @&$*! and at a "competitive price anyways.

Precisely the reason the company I worked for didn't plate aluminum. We had great anodizing departments, but plating aluminum was not something we offered.

[Dave Mudgett]

I see that you didn't buy the guitar new. But have you contacted MSA about this issue to see if there's something they can suggest or do? I understand that you can't necessarily expect them to send you new legs, but it strikes me that it never hurts to ask for help. They may not be crazy about seeing one of their strikingly beautiful guitars out there with totally messed up legs. I think this kind of stuff reflects on the guitar itself.

I agree with Richard and JD that chrome plating aluminum is pretty tough. Myself, I think I'd just get some standard chromed-steel legs, especially since you don't move the guitar a lot. What's a couple of pounds, and I think that's about all it is. I did have an MSA Legend and the only issue with getting new legs was that the front legs were a special MSA design that had a special (non-adjustable) slot for the pedal bar clamps, so I expect you'd have to get them from MSA. But the back legs were just standard legs, albeit chromed aluminum. BTW, I don't recall any peeling chrome on my legs.

[Douglas Schuch]

I have a 2006 Millennium 2, and the back legs, which are adjustable, are chrome-plated aluminum, I'm fairly certain, and those have lots of "chrome pox" spots. The Front legs are fixed length, with the MSA bottom fitting for securely mounting the pedal rack, and they look fine - I think they may be polished aluminum?

Maybe someone who knows more can tell me for sure.

My guess is the back legs are purchased from a supplier as they are a standard item. The others are, I'm guessing, made by MSA as they are unique to them, I think.

If indeed they are polished aluminum, that would be the way to go - not as shiny as chrome, but it doesn't flake off, and can be polished by hand for light touch-up, or on a buffing wheel if it needs more, and will look good as new again.

[Richard Sinkler]

If indeed they are polished aluminum, that would be the way to go - not as shiny as chrome, but it doesn't flake off, and can be polished by hand for light touch-up, or on a buffing wheel if it needs more, and will look good as new again.

That would be my preference.

[Jerry Overstreet]

Re polishing the aluminum, I'm working on some of these legs that had the plating lift. I have basically just smoothed out the blems with a sander and a surfacing too.

I have one where all the chrome had been removed. When time permits, I will attempt to polish it out. My concern is the aluminum had to have been etched before plating. I don't know how deep that etching goes. I will report back when results are in.

The big issue is removing all the chrome plate. The spots that have bubbled and lifted are a lot easier to remove than the areas where the plating is still intact.

If, OTOH, these aluminum legs can be acquired prior to being plated, polishing out to a mirror finish is an idea I like a lot.
Of course, the aluminum is softer and more subject to bumps, bruises and blems.

In Barry's case, I understand the frustration with this issue. I think it would be best to spend a couple hundred bucks on some new chrome plated steel legs, write it off as a bad experience and move on. There suppliers here on the forum where they can be purchased.

[Richard Sinkler]

If, OTOH, these aluminum legs can be acquired prior to being plated, polishing out to a mirror finish is an idea I like a lot.
Of course, the aluminum is softer and more subject to bumps, bruises and blems.

And fingerprints.

[Richard Sinkler]

I have one where all the chrome had been removed. When time permits, I will attempt to polish it out. My concern is the aluminum had to have been etched before plating. I don't know how deep that etching goes. I will report back when results are in.

It may have been etched if the plater received raw aluminum stock before polishing. But seeing as how the polisher would sand down the raw material as the first step in the polishing process, that would get past the raw aluminum face of the part. The bigger issue would be if it was anodized first, as it builds up an oxide coating that also penetrates an equal amount into the part. Plus, anodizing makes aluminum less conductive and would mess up, or not allow, the plating process.

[Jerry Overstreet]

Well, I have some preliminary findings on the surface of aluminum legs after the chrome has been manually removed.

I used an orbital sander then a pneumatic surfacing tool with pads as an experiment in polishing post chrome removal.

Now, I don't have a lot of time for this as I'm dealing with a family member's health, I do not want to spend a lot of money, nor is a perfect polished finish my goal. As I stated earlier, I'm going with shrink wrap after sanding and smoothing enough so that the chrome blems and imperfections don't show through the wrap.

Judging by my limited attention, it is my opinion that polishing these aluminum legs to an acceptable finish after they have been prepared, etched and plated would be a futile attempt.
So: some photos:

This is a comparison of 2 legs, one after sanding, the other after sanding and polishing attempt. [The last photo at the bottom of this paragraph is the best shot of this action.]

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IMG_20250521_144727544 - Copy.jpg

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Here is one of those legs and a pedal rod that I have shrink wrapped. I decided on black for this old Artist but it's available in various colors and sizes. For more details PM me.

IMG_20250521_151536869 - Copy.jpg

[Barry Yasika]

I like the way the shrink wrap came out. I've actually given thought to doing the same thing because, this problem isn't going to fix itself. It's a pretty clean answer for me since my guitar is Black and Orange.

[Jerry Overstreet]

Barry, and anyone else interested, I really like shiny chrome and polished aluminum a lot, but in the case of my old Fender Artist guitar, this black out of legs and rods is going to be just fine and it looks a helluva lot better than bubbled up, flaking chrome plate.

I didn't do the stubs where the pedal bar mounts for good reasons, plus I think the contrast between the metal leg clutches and the polished pedal bar against the black is nice.

FWIW, most legs are 7/8 so I bought 7/8 shrink tubing...it barely fits over the legs, but it takes a lot less heat shrinking. The first roll I bought was the orange you see there in the photo. It was 1" dia. and was taking too much time and heat to shrink down.

There is a slight witness mark at the edges where the tubing was folded and rolled that doesn't completely disappear with the final shrinking. It comes in a flat roll like this but no markings as seen in this photo.

shrink.jpg

I purchased the tubing from amazon. 2:1 ratio 25 ft. roll: LINKY here:

My sho~bud pedal rods are just under 3/16 so that's the size tubing I got for those. I'm not sure if the same size will fit over a true 3/16 rod or not.

I also sprung for a $25 Wagner heat gun at Lowes which makes the job a snap.

So for about $50 in materials, sanding sheets for the B&D Mouse, pads for the Harbor Freight surfacing tool already on hand and a fair amount of time, I pretty much have the job done.

I couldn't really decide between the orange or black 'cause I like orange a lot. I'll wait until I have it all assembled and if I don't like the black it can be peeled off and the orange applied for about another $15.

There might be other better sources for this stuff and maybe even some carbon fiber looks and other exotic patterns but I didn't really look any further than this for my project. This is just basic industrial heat shrink tubing for capturing electrical wiring and not for cosmetic purposes as it were.

Good luck with however you handle the issue with your very nice MSA guitar.