Pickguard install- Carpet Tape?

[John Arnold]

Here are shots of the material I have. The back photo shows the white adhesive after peeling the protective sheet. The front photo is laying on unfinished spruce, with the white adhesive removed.

[Fathand]

Originally Posted by John Arnold

Here are shots of the material I have. The back photo shows the white adhesive after peeling the protective sheet. The front photo is laying on unfinished spruce, with the white adhesive removed.

That looks similar to what I have, what are you now going to use to adhere it.
I measured my carpet tape to .0015, compared to the 3M 467 at .002 or 2 mils

[GCWaters]

Originally Posted by Fathand

The tortoise pickguard is transparent to different degrees in different parts of the pattern. Old style real celluloid pickguards showed the woodgrain through the pattern as do some of the newer high end ones like "Tortoloid". When I see the opaque adhesive through the pattern, it looks like a printed pattern and not very attractive.



Ultimately, it is a cosmetic choice and I may have to go to a black pickguard or invest in a Tortoloid guard to match my tortoise binding.

Ah, got it—thanks!!

[Zigeuner]

Contact cement works quite well for securing pickguards when the original peel-off cement is compromised or white as mentioned. Once the unwanted cement is removed with naptha, contact cement is good for applying pickguards. A thin coating of contact cement on each surface (guitar and underside of the pickguard) will dry clear and will hold very nicely. Cleanup with naptha does nicely.

[John Arnold]

Originally Posted by Fathand

That looks similar to what I have, what are you now going to use to adhere it.

I measured my carpet tape to .0015, compared to the 3M 467 at .002 or 2 mils

I currently use 3M 465. Over the years, I have used rolls of 465 or 467, in widths from 4" to 12".
I would be very hesitant to use contact cement for celluloid pickguards.......especially ones as thin as these are. Some contact cements contain solvents that will damage celluloid.

[Zigeuner]

Originally Posted by John Arnold

I currently use 3M 465. Over the years, I have used rolls of 465 or 467, in widths from 4" to 12".
I would be very hesitant to use contact cement for celluloid pickguards.......especially ones as thin as these are. Some contact cements contain solvents that will damage celluloid.

i don't use celluloid (cellulose nitrate) pickguards. They eventually shrink. Contact cement works fine on Vinyl.

[Fathand]

Originally Posted by Zigeuner

i don't use celluloid (cellulose nitrate) pickguards. They eventually shrink. Contact cement works fine on Vinyl.

Thanks, I don't enjoy the messiness of contact cement but I do have a can of aerosol for gluing plans to mdf for templates.
I am not sure what my pickguard material is, maybe I'll light up a small bit to see if it's celluloid.
I was able to order some 3M 467 reasonable from a distant asian country. Long wait usually, I'll have it for next guitar probably.

[Zigeuner]

Originally Posted by Fathand

Thanks, I don't enjoy the messiness of contact cement but I do have a can of aerosol for gluing plans to mdf for templates.
I am not sure what my pickguard material is, maybe I'll light up a small bit to see if it's celluloid.
I was able to order some 3M 467 reasonable from a distant asian country. Long wait usually, I'll have it for next guitar probably.

Celluloid pickguards are rare these days unless they come from a custom manufacturer. The ones that I've purchased through the years from Martin, StewMac, LMI and so on were vinyl.

3M adhesive spray is an alternative to the contact cement that comes in a bottle like DAP. It works very well and comes in several different strengths. You must allow time for the material to dry to the touch before installing your pickguard.

[Fathand]

For anyone still interested my pickguard is now installed. I recently received 3 more pieces in the mail from another supplier. Red and Brown Tortoise and Black. The red and brown again came with white backing, strangely the black came with clear. I decided the red tortoise (pepperoni) looked best. Made a template, cut out the guard, removed the white adhesive and lined it up on the guitar. Could see a bit of the rosette and grain through it and very happy with the colour. I decided to try the 3M carpet tape since it is similar thickness to the 3M 467. I applied 3 strips to the back and trimmed it best I could. It stuck very nicely but the adhesive balled up in a couple spots where I trimmed, not happy, it removed easily enough. I sprayed with Lepages contact cement, let dry 10 minutes and it stuck nicely. Found a drop of cement on the front, removed with goo gone and paper towel. Paper towel leaves tiny scratches. Buffing wheel, Bob's your uncle.

I think the carpet tape would work better if attached to the guard material before cutting it out with the router/template. I'll try that next time.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/194462...posted-public/

[mattwood]

I bought these off the bay and they were much cheaper and worked fine on installing a pickguard.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/174084399678

[rdeane]

Originally Posted by JayBee1404

That’s something I’ve never heard of before! Do you have a photo you can show us?

I ordered a sheet of faux tortoise pickguard material and got exactly the same thing, with a thick white backing, adhesive on the outside of the white backing. The effect was quite ugly

I was going to return it but ended up peeling the white backing sheet off the plastic. I'll use the tortoise printed sheet with the clear adhesive backing from StewMac. The pattern and colors are pretty nice so it should work out okay with the 3M clear backing sheet.

[John Arnold]

Celluloid pickguards are rare these days unless they come from a custom manufacturer.

Celluloid is readily available from China and from Axinc in sheet form.

I am not sure what my pickguard material is, maybe I'll light up a small bit to see if it's celluloid.

Most celluloid will have a strong camphor smell when it is sanded or scraped. Nothing looks quite the same as tortoise celluloid, particularly under magnification. The translucent coloring is through the material, creating a three-dimensional effect. Vinyl guards are printed, and have no dimension or translucence. Depending on the resolution of the printer, printed vinyl can have visible pixel dots.

[Fathand]

Originally Posted by rdeane

I was going to return it but ended up peeling the white backing sheet off the plastic. I'll use the tortoise printed sheet with the clear adhesive backing from StewMac. The pattern and colors are pretty nice so it should work out okay with the 3M clear backing sheet.

The Stew Mac adhesive is 3M 467. It can be had elsewhere like Amazon but small qtys are out of stock in Canada. I guess if you only needed 1 sheet and were placing an order with SM anyway it wouldn't be too bad.

[Fathand]

Originally Posted by John Arnold

Celluloid is readily available from China and from Axinc in sheet form.



Most celluloid will have a strong camphor smell when it is sanded or scraped. Nothing looks quite the same as tortoise celluloid, particularly under magnification. The translucent coloring is through the material, creating a three-dimensional effect. Vinyl guards are printed, and have no dimension or translucence. Depending on the resolution of the printer, printed vinyl can have visible pixel dots.

I have seen those printed guards. Did you see the pic of my guard? You can see the rosette through it. It feels soft and floppy like vinyl. Do you think thats celluloid or vinyl?

[John Arnold]

Depending on the formulation, celluloid can be quite soft. How thick is it? Your photo looks like celluloid, but the resolution is not great.
For identification, I always defer to the camphor smell, or striking a match to it, if you like drama.