Two-Part Pickguard Question

[Humbucker]

First - I am looking for a carved leather pick guard for my new Guild F250e Deluxe jumbo. I am considering one option but the guy is in Serbia (Bodniz@Etsy) but I would like to deal with someone in the US - any and all references very much appreciated.

Part Two - What is the best way to remove a factory pick guard? I did it once years ago and I believe I used a hair blow dryer to soften the adhesive and pulled on it slightly as it warmed. Is this the best way?

Again, thanks in advance.

[frankmcr]

El Dorado Guitar Accessories make beautiful tooled guitar straps and also real nice leather pickguards. As you can see,

https://eldoradostraps.com/shop/prod...ar-pickguards/

their basic designs are for strat & tele style electrics. But maybe they could do a custom order for you.

Plus they're in Pasadena, which is closer to you than Serbia.

[Wade Hampton]

Part one: I’ve never encountered a leather pickguard that didn’t muffle some acoustic tone, so be aware of that going in. The leather deadens some top vibrations in a way that a normal thin plastic pickguard will not.

They’re more practical for electric guitars as a result, frankly.

Part two: I’ve removed many pickguards over the years, some twenty five or thirty at least, and in all those cases I’ve only ever encountered ONE pickguard that was so stubbornly attached that I needed to resort to using a blow dryer to persuade it to come loose.

Let me repeat that for emphasis: only ONE pickguard needed heat directed its way to loosen.

Quite frankly, I’m appalled when the first thing that gets posted when someone asks about removing a pickguard is often the suggestion of using a blow dryer. Why does that appall me? Because you’re directing a considerable amount of heat at the top, and there are braces directly beneath the pickguard that can be affected.

If they popped loose instantly more people would be wary of using blow dryers for this, but the damage that can be done is invisible and can take quite some time to manifest itself. The glue joints holding the braces to the underside of the top can be weakened by the heat but not fail immediately.

Most of the time pickguards can be removed by working an edge loose, then slowly and patiently pulling upwards on it while going diagonally across the grain. (Pulling up the pickguard with the grain can pull up some finish and wood fibers from the top, and pulling it at a 90 degree angle to the grain can do the same thing. Diagonally is safest.) If you get to a stubborn spot where it won’t let go, squirt a little bit of naphtha or Ronsonol lighter fluid in there - both are safe to use with nitrocellulose lacquer finishes, and the various polyester-based finishes are impervious, as well.

Of course, I recognize that many people have successfully used blow dryers to remove pickguards, and they do not automatically cause damage. Blow dryers definitely speed up the process, there’s no denying that.

But it’s way too easy to hold one just a little too close to the top, and to keep it pointed at the same spot for longer than advisable without even realizing that that’s what you’ve done, and the damage caused by it can take a long time to show up.

But as I mentioned at the start of my post, blow dryers are truly unnecessary for removing pickguards the vast majority of the time, and are significantly more hazardous for the long term stability of your guitar than most players realize.

It’ll take a few minutes longer to remove a pickguard without using a blow dryer, true enough, but what’s the hurry? Just take your time and squirt in a little lighter fluid now and then while you’re persuading the pickguard to let go, and you can remove it without focusing heat on the top.

Hope that makes sense.


Wade Hampton Miller

[Humbucker]

Wade Hampton Miller - thanks for that great reply. It seems most people (guitarists) you ask about this, they will automatically reply with the blow dryer technique, which is why I asked in here with much more knowledgeable folks. Yes, your reply makes a lot of sense. I have often wondered if the direct heat, applied too long in the right place, can have detrimental effects to the woods of an acoustic guitar.

As for the leather p/g that makes a lot of sense, too. (dampening the resonance) Thanks much for the reply!

frankmcr - I have looked at Eldorado leather goods and they are handsome, indeed. My mindset might have just changed after reading WHMs reply as to putting a leather p/g on an acoustic guitar. The jury is out on that one. Thanks much for your reply!

[Stevien]

+1 for the things Wade said. The forum should be unanimous here.
Steve

[Wade Hampton]

Originally Posted by Stevien

+1 for the things Wade said. The forum should be unanimous here.

Well, thanks, Steve, but when is this forum ever unanimous about ANYTHING?!?

For one thing, for every person who read this thread and agreed with my post there are probably three others who’ve used blow dryers to remove pickguards and think doing so is a great idea!

So it’s by no means unanimous...


whm

[JayBee1404]

I’m with Wade on the leather PG. If that were my guitar, I’d talk to Taylor Mullins at [email protected] about one of his beautiful celluloid products.

Check out the Holter Pickguards FB Page for more info.

The usual disclaimers apply......IMHO, YMMV etc.

[Humbucker]

Hey thanks for the link, I will check that out!