Stuck Tuning Machines

[mc2]

So....I have a 46-year-old guitar and the tuners feel bound up. They are nor really rusty, just some are not turning easily. Apparently one of the HC dumbasses broke off one of the buttons while I had it layaway and just tossed it into the case. Fortunately, I had a spare matching one.

So...QUESTION...What is the best way to free them up? WD40 safe for old finishes?

Also, if I end up living them and freeing them up....can I over lube them to the point that they would then possibly not hold tune and slip?

[hamerhead]

Try heat. Hold a lighter or soldering iron to one and see if anything happens. Don't go nuts and ruin the finish, but if there's grease inside there that's hardened up, it'll bind. A little heat may loosen it up.

I may be totally full of sh!t, but it can't hurt too much to try it.

[chromium]

On the few I've had like that the old grease inside the tuners had congealed and contributed to them binding up. In those cases, I pulled them off altogether, disassembled, and cleaned the parts (cogs, shafts) with naptha to get rid of the crud.

I used teflon/PTFE type lube on them during reassembly, but there are a lot of other options out there. I'd imagine you'd probably want to opt for a light grease, though, as opposed to WD-40, 3-in-1, etc... to get the best results.