Guitar Pickguard Peeling?
Posted in August 10th, 2008 by admin | Filed under Instrument Tips | Comments (0)
The pickguard is used to help protect your guitar top from scratches that can be caused by picking and even your fingernails. Is it starting to peel? Do you just want to get a pickguard that has a different pattern or color? Is your guitar missing a pickguard? We will show you how to replace the one that is on there and give your guitar a new look.You can purchase a pickguard of all different shapes, sizes, colors and styles. You want to make sure that the one you choose is the same size as the one you are replacing. Here are the steps that you want to follow to replace the current pickguard:
Get rid of the old pickguard
You are going to want to peel the pickguard off, and you want to do it very carefully and slowly. The best way to do this is to take a hair dryer and heat the pickguard. You must be careful that you don’t heat it so much that you will hurt the guitar. Once it is warm enough that you can start at the tip and start to peel it, slowly peel it away from the top of the guitar. Make sure that you peel just the pickguard and not any of the wood part of the guitar.
Clean off the surface
Once you have completely peeled the pickguard away from the guitar top, make sure that there is no adhesive left. To remove any adhesive or any sticky residue, you can use some cigarette lighter fluid and a soft towel or washcloth. There is also a product called Goo-B-Gone that will remove anything left where the pickguard was.
Place new pickguard on guitar
Position the new pickguard where you will want it placed. When you position it, do not remove the protective paper yet. A little trick is to then place a piece of masking tape on the outside edge of the pickguard. Then pull the pickguard back and peel off the protective paper. Once removed, lower the pickguard back down into place.
Press down pickguard
Now that it is in place, you want to make sure that you press it down firmly rubbing it all over the surface. Be firm but also make sure that you press gently so that you don’t crack the top of the guitar.
Here is just a little tip for you. If you have an older guitar, made before the mid 80’s, you may want to have a luthier do the change. They use to place the pickguard on the guitar before they put the finish on. If this is true for your guitar, then when the pickguard is removed, the area will have to be finished and polished and then have the pickguard placed on the guitar top.
You have now changed your pickguard yourself. If you should decide at a later time that you want to change this one, all you have to do is to follow the same process. With the new pickguard on, it is time to pick up that guitar and start strumming.
Courtesy of Cyndie King
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