Anybody paint their pickguards?

[Daniel Kurtz]

I asked my GF what color she thought I should go with on a couple of already colored strat-style bods I've picked up. She says: "This one should be dark blue." Ummm, that's not really a choice, I replied. The question was more like 'given that the guitar is blue, and the pickups are black, which would be nicer: black on white on blue, or black on black on blue? Or perhaps white pearloid?' since those seem to about the only choices you see (besides tortoise an mint [why mint?] and I think those would be yuck). Then it occurs to me, why SHOULDN'T it be black on blue on blue? I start with a white pickguard and paint it.

The only issues I see would be finding paint that will stick to the type of plastic used and which won't wear right off. There's that stuff they make for painting plastic lawn furniture, right? Not a real wide selection of colors, but more than white or black!

But I don't know if I've ever seen it done (or seen it widely done) so wondering what people think.

rabbit

[John Sonksen]

I think the only way you can do this is to get a clear pick guard and paint the back side of it. I think anything you get out of a rattle can is just going to scratch off eventually through playing. Don't know if they make clear strat pick guards, but you could always get a normal one and use it for a template on a piece of lexan. Just be careful mounting the screws, lexan likes to split when you put countersinks real close to the edge

[Daniel Kurtz]

I've just seen that WD Music does pickgaurds in blue, as well as some other solid colors, pearloids and patterns (some of which are pretty stupid).

[Paul Rhoney]

Look up plastic sheets available from many online plastics companies. There's a ton of color options, and who says pickguards have to made from the same plastics all the time?

[John Catto]

Pickguard plastic (and binding plastic for that matter) is just plastic, there's nothing special about the stuff you get from guitar supply shops other than perhaps restricted selection. For instance if you need white or black there's nothing to stop you using the styrene sheet sold by crafts shops, either the white stuff (as used by Fender for all their 50's single layer guards) or the black stuff which is sort of a fibre/styrene composite and used on blackguard Teles lightly lacquered (and some Les Paul Juniors and no it's NOT really Bakelite). As long as I've been building guitars I've used clear crafts shop perspex and lacquered the back just as Gretsch always did (looks great in metallics, gold, copper etc.). Most people might not use the milky white stuff but Rickenbacker did to unique effect on almost every guitar they built, they also used the spray painted clear stuff on the early basses. I've used black perspex a lot for back covers and pickguards, in a couple of cases on a guitar with a curved back, fitting the plates then sanding them to match the curve then re-buffing them out. Looks really nice when polish out the edges (just like you would a paint finish).

You can also sandwich fabric/foil/printed matter/sign makers vinyl etc. under clear
If you're looking for real exotics marble plastics, tortoise, swirl pearls, etc. etc. look up suppliers to knife makers on the web. They carry a VAST range of materials and can usually supply a larger piece suitable for turning into a pickguard. A little more expensive but far more interesting than anything you'll get from a guitar place and probably no worse cost-wise than that dopey layered stuff they sell. The only reason large guitar companies don't use this stuff is not suitability but rather cost (though Gibson have used the swirly pearl acrylic for fingerboard inlays).

[John Catto]

I once fabricated a Charlie Christian style pickup cover from a scrap of black styrene sheet, a bit of creme binding and lacking a thin black ... bits of chopped up cassette case! Worked great still doing sterling service many years later .

[Eric Schmitt]

I was on warmoth's site yesterday and saw they have strat pickguards and sheets of pickguard material in all sorts of colors.

[Art Davila]

I think the only way you can do this is to get a clear pick guard and paint the back side of it. I think anything you get out of a rattle can is just going to scratch off eventually through playing. Don't know if they make clear strat pick guards, but you could always get a normal one and use it for a template on a piece of lexan. Just be careful mounting the screws, lexan likes to split when you put countersinks real close to the edge

I have seen both strat pickguards in clear from perleguitars on ebay. they also sell several color mirror pickguards including blue. I have purchased from them many times if you don't see what you want shoot them an e mail and ask.

[Chris Thomasi]

I have used clear Lexan for Strat pickguards, 'backpainting' artwork including Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' and 'Dark Side Of The Moon' on the reverse side. This is protected by a full foil screen covering, glued on with spray-mount adhesive. Plastic sheet available from model/hobby shops is just the right size to make a Strat 'plate.

[Mark Swanson]

Cool, and offering a ton of possibilities.

[Chuck Piper]

Late to the party here. When I rebuilt the Teisco bass I have, there was no pickguard. I used clear plexi and painted the back, as John Sonksen posted. It's been eight years and no problems, here.