Post by olddogPost by Joeis there a way to prevent further disintegration of 60 year old tuning
buttons that are shriveling up?
you can get buttons replaced but if it was me i'd chuck the originals in the
case and get OEM. save the old one's for resale.
I replaced mine with "Ping" tuners and they are about 1k times better than
the org.
Olddog
Keith Adams has suggested that coating them in superglue will reduce
the rate of further deterioration. I also would replace the tuners
rather than just the buttons, and maybe keep the old ones airtight in
kitchen foil or something like that:
http://elderly.com/accessories/items/WD90NPP.htm
or
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tuners/Guitar,_solid_peghead_tuners/Vintage-style_3-on-Plate_Tuners.html
Tony D