Clear pick guard attachment

[steve spearing]

I have just been reading Franks guide to attaching a clear pick guard using the water method. I have been asked to fit one onto a new guitar, but fear that the front surface is not perfectly glass smooth, 'oiled finish', and will show small air gaps due to the smooth but uneven surface. Has anyone got experience of doing this on a less than perfect sound board face, and got good results?

[Greg Mirken]

Oiled finish? What is this?

[steve spearing]

I use 7 coats of Rustins Danish Oil to finish my guitars, cut back with 0000 wire wool, as I'm not set up for spray/mirror finishes. It gives a soft sheen finish and still looks like wood. I know it would not suit everyone, but I like the effect I get.

[Ron Frazier]

I use Windex and spry all over the front where the clear will go then lay the clear down in the right place and squeegee all the water out from under, Look it over good and if it has shifted or you have more bubbles just lift it up and do it over. Once all the water is out and in time it will stick with the glue that is on the clear.

Ron

[steve spearing]

Thanks Ron, I'm giving it a try on an old guitar I made. It went on fine but has left a number of very small silvery areas scattered fairly evenly under the plastic which I guess is due to a less than perfectly flat smooth soundboard. Frank suggests that these will gradually go over a period of time, but I'm not seing that happen yet.

[Frank Ford]

Any time I'm asked to install a clear guard on a less than glass-smooth and perfect surface coating, I warn the owner that there WILL be those little silvery spots, maybe all over. Now, sometimes we both get a nice surprise and it looks pretty good, but I simply don't count on there being enough of that adhesive to "flow" into divots or even very shallow imperfections.

I don't recall seeing an oil finished instrument I thought would accept a clear pickguard without those spots.

[steve spearing]

Thanks for replying Frank, it's not just me then. I'm experimenting at the moment. I have tried waving a hair dryer on gentle heat setting across the plastic whilst rubbing with a firmer pressure than I used originally. It has improved the situation on my test piece quite a bit, I will experiment further before attacking the real instrument.

[Ry Charters]

Just a shot in the dark here.....but what if you used silicone gel to fill in the gaps and then squeezed out the excess? As long as the top is making contact with most of the PG adhesive, it seems like it would stay on alright. I've never tried this, just a shot in the dark. It might give you more bubbles for all I know. Silicone is often a bubble culprit under finish....

[steve spearing]

Thanks Ry, I'll give that some thought, and try your idea on a test piece, to see what happens. I'm also looking into getting a thicker adhesive 3M 468 comes in 10 microns as opposed to the 2 microns on the pick guard I buy. I plan on trying it with some plain Mylar. Theory being that it might flow more easily into the dips.