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Anyone ever done this and does it stay that way?

I have a black gloss guard and customer wants a matte one. I know I can order one but it's do for pickup in a few days. If I have to of course I will.

But I have some nice shiny black plastic and was thinking that wet sanding it might just do the trick. Anyone done that before?

I've used fine steel wool to make things matte, but I haven't used it on a pickguard. Steel wool is something that could be redone periodically on the finished guitar if necessary.

I recently did this with a new pickguard going on a '31 Martin. Glossy was out of place so I sanded the pickguard with 2000 grit Abralon pads. I think steel wool might be too aggressive for plastic.

I've used sanding and rubbing compound to good temporary effect. Trouble with those methods is that with use, the surface gets shiny again. That seems to look ok in some situations though.

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

I do it all the time with clear pickguards on a satin finish. Don't know if there is an uneven surface on your black guard but the clear stuff has it. So I use a hard sanding block to level the surface with 320 wet/dry paper first. Then I go through the grits and end with micro mesh to whatever sheen matches the finish. I've haven't experienced it glossing up in use over time.

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Ken Franklin
clumsy yet persistent
https://www.kenfranklinukulele.com

The micro mesh worked great thanks for the tips.