Official Luthiers Forum!

I am getting ready to install my first clear pickguard. I guess the challenge with this is making sure you don't get any air bubbles or dirt underneath which will show through.

I stopped by Frank Ford's site and he has a nice tutorial where he suggests flowing water under the pickguard as it goes down and squeezing it out to help avoid trapping air underneath. This seems a little counter-intuitive - it might weaken the adhesive and I don't think anyone likes the idea of spreading water on a guitar.

Has anyone used this method? Any comments?

_________________
David White, Toronto

"All my favourite singers can't sing."

I've always used water for clear pickguards, tap plates, golpeadores or
whatever you prefer to call them and it works wonderfully. The reason it
works so well is that liquids do not compress. If air bubbles are trapped
under the guard, they will compress as you squeeze over them and
expand to reappear as you pass. Liquids do not compress, so it will
actually be forced out as you squeegee along.

I did however find some clear pickguard material that I believe came from
LMI some time ago in which the adhesive reacted with water. I have no
idea what they were using, as I have never seen a contact adhesive that
had any reaction to water. Normally it is totally indifferent to moisture. I
don't know if they are still selling the same material with the same
adhesive, but it was quite a mess. That was the only exception I've ever
encountered, and most pickguard adhesives will not have any problems
with water. You could soak them before putting them on if you wanted
and it would still stick just fine.

_________________
Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.

I do them dry, but then again the Flying Walendas USED to work without a net, too.

Here's a write up How-to-do-it from a long time back:

Just some notes of advice... Practice cutting out a template first.
When satisfied, use it to guide your cutting of the plastic. Cut out
with real sharp hair scissors to avoid a funky edge that won't want to
lie flat. Have a scrupulously clean area...guitar top, your hands, no
wind currents, etc. You'll be amazed what a little spec can do under
that plastic. Once cut to shape, position it as you want it. With
masking tape, (2 pieces is usually enough) tape it down to the top near
the waist area so as to make a "hinge". Having removed the strings
before all this, fold the guard back (on the "hinge") so that the white
backing paper is now facing up. With sharp finger nails, start to
separate the lower edge( by the hinge) of the backing paper from the
clear plastic. DON'T TOUCH THE GLUE SURFACE WITH YOUR FINGERS. It will
pick up your fingerprint and they will show up once it is laid in
position. Now, carefully lift the backing paper from the guard as you
press up from the outside (face side) of the plastic. As you peel the
backing with one hand, gently press the face side down onto the guitar
top, working up toward the sound hole avoiding bubbles. The masking
tape hinge holds the plastic in place as you work up and is removed when
plastic is finally in place. When it is all down, rub over it with a
soft towel to help it stay down. It may look a little hazy at first,
but after a day or two, it will conform to any of the minute
irregularities on the top surface and practically disappear.


Hope this helps!

_________________
Hank Mauel

Great, thanks for the tips. I think I'll try it with water.

_________________
David White, Toronto

"All my favourite singers can't sing."

Hey everyone, it's Hank!

Hi Hank.

_________________
http://www.dickeyguitars.com

In a prior life, I was shown how to install lettering on cars and vans.  The same air bubble problem could occur.  We used water with a little dishwashing soap in.  We could place the lettering on the van without any adhesive touching the finish and slide it around to the desired position.  Then, we gently manually pressed on a corner to compress the water out, thus adhering that corner on the finish and finally squegee the rest of the soapy water out.

I haven't tried that on a guitar since, like Therry, I do not like clear pick-guards very much.  If I ever "have" to install one, I'll do it this way.

Marc

[QUOTE=drwhite] Great, thanks for the tips. I think I'll try it with water.[/QUOTE]

Same "lay down" procedure will work with water.
Cleanliness is still the watchword for either procedure.
Good luck!

_________________
Hank Mauel

[QUOTE=Bruce Dickey] Hey everyone, it's Hank!

Hi Hank.[/QUOTE]

Hi Bruce.
Yes, It's me...the rumors of my demise having been greatly exagerated!

_________________
Hank Mauel

I've only done two so far, but, like Hank, I've done them dry with no problems whatsoever.

_________________
Todd Rose
Ithaca, NY

https://www.dreamingrosesecobnb.com/todds-art-music

https://www.facebook.com/ToddRoseGuitars/

I thought I'd report back after trying this out on Sunday. It works like a charm. I think the water helps quite a bit to get the air out. I didn't get water in until I had about 1/2" of the pick guard down and the dry 1/2" was definitely harder to get the air out of than the rest.

Thanks for the help.

_________________
David White, Toronto

"All my favourite singers can't sing."

Gases compress, liquids don't. That's why it's easier to squeeze water
pockets out than air pockets.

_________________
Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.

As I said, I've only done two of these so far (dry), but by rolling the pickguard down carefully, I found that air bubbles never formed at all. It just wasn't an issue.

_________________
Todd Rose
Ithaca, NY

https://www.dreamingrosesecobnb.com/todds-art-music

https://www.facebook.com/ToddRoseGuitars/

I'd like to hear from anyone who has figured out a way to make the edges of that clear pickguard material (the .011" self-adhesive stuff) become invisible.    I haven't been able to get sanding and buffing to work.

_________________
Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

[QUOTE=Howard Klepper] I'd like to hear from anyone who has figured out a way to make the edges of that clear pickguard material (the .011" self-adhesive stuff) become invisible.    I haven't been able to get sanding and buffing to work.[/QUOTE]

The LMI stuff I use is about .006 thick. Cut out with a REALLY SHARP hair cutting scissor it leaves virtually no "line", although visible if you really look hard. At the Festival last weekend more than a few people asked if I put pick guards on my instruments (all of which had clear units) so they certainly are not jumping off the guitar top, visibility-wise.
The sharp scissor helps keep the cut line transparent vs the possibility of a "white-ish opaqueness" on the edges with a less sharp instrument. Don't ask me how I know.

_________________
Hank Mauel

I've been using the thicker stuff. My fear about the thin stuff is that it is too flexible to prevent pick strokes from marring the top right through it.

_________________
Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

I didn't know so many of you disliked clear pickguards. My thinking is that it won't cover up beautiful wood. Then again, I play the ukulele. Here is a clear pickguard on two sides.

Philip

_________________
aka konacat

If you think my playing is bad you should hear me sing!
Practice breeds confidence and confidence breeds competence. Unfortunately, I'm stuck in practice.

[QUOTE=Howard Klepper] I've been using the thicker stuff. My fear about the thin stuff is that it is too flexible to prevent pick strokes from marring the top right through it.[/QUOTE]

I've used it from the beginning and so far (10 years) no one has complained about pick strokes through the (actually) .005 stuff. But maybe my players are a kinder, gentler lot.

_________________
Hank Mauel