MArtin HD-28 Pickguard

[MFamily]

Good morning folks,

I was hoping to get some feedback from you guys about a project I am working on. I have a new HD-28 and I'd like to remove the existing pickguard and replace it with a new one that has some custom inlay on it. The question I have is that the new pickguard looks great, but the finish is flat because it was sanded down during the inlay process. Any suggestions on how i might be able to get that glossy look back while maintaining the integrity of the inlay?

Thanks for your feedback!

-S

[Jim Bancroft]

You can polish it out with various grits of wet and dry sandpaper, with water lubrication with a touch of dish soap. I'd polish down to 1500 grit. Then from there use lacquer polishing compounds, with water again, to get a fine finish.

Jim

[MFamily]

Thanks for the advice Jim! I am completely green when it comes to all of this..can you explain a little more about the lacquer polishing compound piece...any brands that I should consider? The pickguard is very thin as is...i am a little nervous about sanding anymore at this point to be honest.


Thanks for your help!

-Seán

[Bob Webster]

Can you give us more info about the new pickguard? What is the base material and what is the material that it's inlayed with?

Bob

[MFamily]

Bob,

It is a Greven D-28 Black Tor-Tis Pickguard - so, plastic pick guard and pretty thin to boot. The inlay is mother of pearl, green sea snail, gold pearl, and red abalone. I think that the pickguard looks great as is, but feel that if it were glossy it would be complete. My primary concern though is making sure I don't do anything that might ruin the inlay. Because the pick guard is so thin, I was a little anxious about sanding anything. What do you think?
Thanks!

-Seán

[Bob Webster]

Yeah, I think that the biggest hazard is that the pickguard will be softer than the inlay so that sanding might leave the invertibrate material high, because it's harder. The only way to mitigate it is to start with the finest grit you think will do the job and use as hard a block as you can to back the sandpaper. Attach the sandpaper to the block with spray adhesive or double sided tape so that the sandpaper can't escape the face of the block. Finish out as Jim describes. Have fun.

Bob

[MFamily]

Bob,

Thank you very much for the feedback. I just read a note from the lutheir I worked with to do the inlay and he is suggesting not to sand because it is thin and because it is engraved - he suggests applying a finish over it and nothing more. I suppose the finishing would be the lacquer polishing compound that Jim referenced - any suggestions on brands of compound to use?

Thanks again, this has all been very helpful.

-Seán

[Bob Webster]

You might go back to the luthier to determine exactly what kind of finish he would recommend. What Jim is referring to are materials that would minimize the appearance of sanding scratches. However, they would not by themselves actually fill the scratches and create a glossy surface in the same fachion that a true finish would.

Bob

[MFamily]

I'll get back in touch with him and see if he has any addiional suggestions for finishing. The sanding that has already been done has left a very smooth finish...the appearance of sanding scratches is pretty minimal as is...the guard just looks somewhat dull at this point. I'll look into the colortone polishing compound that Jim referenced as well.

Thanks!

-Seán

[Bob Webster]

It sounds like Jim's buffing approach should be the best approach, then. BTW, that ka-bump you just heard was Jim falling off his chair. Get it polished off of the guitar and then put it on. There's a previous discussion in this forum on adhering pickguards that you might want to check out at http://fretsnet.ning.com/forum/topics/regluing-pickguard-over. Have fun.

Bob

[Jim Bancroft]

As far as sanding, I wouldn't go any courser than 800 grit. Maybe you can even start finer, like 1200 grit, then work to 2000 grit. Or, maybe you don't need to sand at all, maybe just polishing compounds will do it.

The polishing compounds I was referring to are sold by Stew Mac, called "colortone polishing compounds. You may not need to start with course, but the rest would probably be required.
Remember to always use a lubricant, like soapy water, when buffing and polishing.

Jim

[MFamily]

Jim, thanks again for the reply and for the tip about lubricant as well. I am going to look into the compound made by Stew Mac and go from there. The luthier who did the job really stressed not sanding at this point and simply going right to adding a finish coat to it - so, I am going to try and stick with that route as best as possible since he did all of the inlay.

Thanks again!

-Seán

[Jim Bancroft]

Did he mention spraying lacquer on the guard? If so, that is another approach that would work. Spray a few coats of lacquer, let it cure, then buff it out. No problem in doing that. But it's probably not a do it yourself project unless you know about spraying lacquer.

Jim