how can i "age" my strat pickguard?
- Thread starter newking70
- Start date
kmcguitars
GuitarArtologist
Re: how can i "age" my strat pickguard?
1st thing to do is rub it down with some very fine 0000 steel wool. This will
take the shine off it and leave you with a matte like finish. Then if you want
to tint it? there's gotta be a 100 different ways?? Coffee,tea ,Shoepolish?
I can't comment on what works the best? (Never tried Um') But the steel
wool trick works good.
1st thing to do is rub it down with some very fine 0000 steel wool. This will
take the shine off it and leave you with a matte like finish. Then if you want
to tint it? there's gotta be a 100 different ways?? Coffee,tea ,Shoepolish?
I can't comment on what works the best? (Never tried Um') But the steel
wool trick works good.
Rich_S
HomeGrownToneBrewologist
Re: how can i "age" my strat pickguard?
They make a special tool for that, you can get them from Musician's Friend or you local music store.
Click here for a picture.
Use these to scrape sideways across the pickguard, contacting the strings in the process. Apply this technique 1-2 hours a day for 10 years and your Strat will look much older. Your playing will improve, too.
Sorry, sore subject. See my take on "relic-ing" in the recent thread on tribute guitars.
They make a special tool for that, you can get them from Musician's Friend or you local music store.
Click here for a picture.
Use these to scrape sideways across the pickguard, contacting the strings in the process. Apply this technique 1-2 hours a day for 10 years and your Strat will look much older. Your playing will improve, too.
Sorry, sore subject. See my take on "relic-ing" in the recent thread on tribute guitars.
Gearjoneser
Gear Ho
Re: how can i "age" my strat pickguard?
I tend to agree with the natural relicing idea, but the reality is that modern pickguards wouldn't look aged until about 25 years!
One time, I had accumulated a bunch of white strat pickguards in a drawer and decided to 'age' them, then sell them. Here's the method that worked the best...
KMC is right about the steel wool. You need to gently take all the glossy shine off the pickguard for any dye to adhere to it. Do it till the plastic is dull white.
In a big wok or pot, heat up a mixture of tea, coffee, tobacco, and a few spoonfuls of yellow curry. You can buy small bags of curry at the grocery store for $2. That's what helps to give it the nicotine look. Use a lot more brown in the mix than curry yellow. Use just a spoonful or two of curry, or the guard will turn canary yellow.
DO NOT SUBMERGE THE PICKGUARD IN HOT WATER or it will warp. Wait till the water has cooled off, then let the pickguard soak in it for a day. Don't worry about getting the pickguard TOO colored.
The final step is to tame the dye by wiping the pickguard with pure bleach to bring the shade of tan/yellow down to the desired shade. I like to make the pickguard just a bit overdone, because over time the dye fades from the light. What you end up with is a pickguard that actually looks 40 years old.
I tend to agree with the natural relicing idea, but the reality is that modern pickguards wouldn't look aged until about 25 years!
One time, I had accumulated a bunch of white strat pickguards in a drawer and decided to 'age' them, then sell them. Here's the method that worked the best...
KMC is right about the steel wool. You need to gently take all the glossy shine off the pickguard for any dye to adhere to it. Do it till the plastic is dull white.
In a big wok or pot, heat up a mixture of tea, coffee, tobacco, and a few spoonfuls of yellow curry. You can buy small bags of curry at the grocery store for $2. That's what helps to give it the nicotine look. Use a lot more brown in the mix than curry yellow. Use just a spoonful or two of curry, or the guard will turn canary yellow.
DO NOT SUBMERGE THE PICKGUARD IN HOT WATER or it will warp. Wait till the water has cooled off, then let the pickguard soak in it for a day. Don't worry about getting the pickguard TOO colored.
The final step is to tame the dye by wiping the pickguard with pure bleach to bring the shade of tan/yellow down to the desired shade. I like to make the pickguard just a bit overdone, because over time the dye fades from the light. What you end up with is a pickguard that actually looks 40 years old.
kmcguitars
GuitarArtologist
Re: how can i "age" my strat pickguard?
Good post GJer. I just wanna go on the record That I also dislike relic'in
a guitar. But some times you have to restore a guitar. My cousin recently
got his original 79' oly white Strat back in a trade. The body was well worn
and turned a nice bannana pudding. But the guy he sold it to had a 22 fret
ESP neck on it and a Stag-mag in the bridge. my cousin wanted back to the
way it use to be, Or atleast look like a 79' strat. So i had him order a USACG
large CBS headstock neck. When i took the ESP neck off I noticed the original
pickgaurd was hacked up for the extra fret? So I grabbed a white strat gaurd
from my parts bin. It looked stupid, all shiney on the well worn body? that's
why I hit it with the steel wool untill it looked close to the original.
I think it came out pretty good.
Good post GJer. I just wanna go on the record That I also dislike relic'in
a guitar. But some times you have to restore a guitar. My cousin recently
got his original 79' oly white Strat back in a trade. The body was well worn
and turned a nice bannana pudding. But the guy he sold it to had a 22 fret
ESP neck on it and a Stag-mag in the bridge. my cousin wanted back to the
way it use to be, Or atleast look like a 79' strat. So i had him order a USACG
large CBS headstock neck. When i took the ESP neck off I noticed the original
pickgaurd was hacked up for the extra fret? So I grabbed a white strat gaurd
from my parts bin. It looked stupid, all shiney on the well worn body? that's
why I hit it with the steel wool untill it looked close to the original.
I think it came out pretty good.
Bludave
New member
Re: how can i "age" my strat pickguard?
After you buff it with steel wool you can wipe it down with a stain. That will give it the color you are looking for. I think ReRanch sells the "vintage Yellow" in a spray can. But IMO don't bother..... any finish you put on the guard will wear off once you start beating on it a little. After all it is a Pickguard!!
After you buff it with steel wool you can wipe it down with a stain. That will give it the color you are looking for. I think ReRanch sells the "vintage Yellow" in a spray can. But IMO don't bother..... any finish you put on the guard will wear off once you start beating on it a little. After all it is a Pickguard!!
Gearjoneser
Gear Ho
Re: how can i "age" my strat pickguard?
Yeah, the natural light in your home actually fades the yellowing. It's best to make it look dramatically stained, then put it on your guitar. In about a month, the stain will fade, and the look will be more natural.
If you're brave enough to relic a shiny new body, the steel wool trick works for that too.
Yeah, the natural light in your home actually fades the yellowing. It's best to make it look dramatically stained, then put it on your guitar. In about a month, the stain will fade, and the look will be more natural.
If you're brave enough to relic a shiny new body, the steel wool trick works for that too.
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