Martin d28 pick guard removal and prep by Randy Schartiger
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- Опубліковано 6 вер 2024
- Just another tip on removing a pick guard from an acoustic guitar, it's surprising to know many people try to yank them off, that usually brings finish and even wood fibers off with it, this is a much safer way! Q-ball attacks in short form of bird hunting.
1. Loosen the tension on the strings. 2. Pick an edge you can get your fingernail under...pick pick pick. 3. Pull up while heating the guard with the blowdryer.....focus the heat on the area coming off. 4. Pull pull pull slowly.
If you heat everything extensively first....you will leave the adhesive on the guitar just as you did. Pull while heating.....the sticky stuff stays on the guard and you might not even have to use goo gone to clean up the guitar after. Cheers!
Nice job Randy. Have you seen many of the old acetate pick guards? They often crack and crumble. Word to the wise... They are highly flammable. They can actually burst into flame from the slightest heat. If you haven't done it, touch a match to an old acetate pick. They literally disappear into a flash of flame. Looks like a magic trick.
+Rosa String Works lol yes I have seen them, the first few times was a pick, I was looking up the specs on some guitar I can't remember what it was but I was shocked to see a guitar with a acetate pick guard, I would be afraid to try to heat one of them very much! lol Those kind of picks almost burn up faster than you can let go of it! :) Thanks for tuning in Jerry!
Thanks again Randy, I save alot of $$$ learning and doing it myself, many thanks sir :). Love your dog by the way 😀👍
great to hear my videos helped! thank you Jimmy for checking them out! :)
Randy older Martins did have the celluloid pick guard glued directly to bare wood and here's what happens - the two materials.shrink at different rates but the glue holds on so ...What ive seen are severe cracks open up in the top that have to be surgically filled with slivers of similar spruce, finish touched up etc . A real mess. I think they started applying the guard over the finish to create a slippage membrane of sorts to try to avoid that but celluloid still shrinks over time. It's not like modern plastic. Finally a tip - steel spatula will dig up the finish u want to save - I found an old hard rubber spatula that is almost as stiff and is still thin - but won't scratch. I think it was an old screen printing tool. I search flea markets for stuff like thwt. Thx for the vids bro keep 'em coming.
Subscribed! I have a Takamini Dreadnought and it's a 1996 model. Still in good shape but I need to start learning this stuff and as far as I can tell, you're the best guitar repairman on youtube.
Sees cute dog - presses like button instantly
thanks my friend! appreciated!
My vintage Martin's black pg was lifting up and I was able to remove it before any damage to the top. I cleaned off the area and applied an exact size, self-adhesive pg from Stew-Mac. EZ PZ.
yep they shrink so bad they will damage the guitar top, you were smart in changing it now. thanks for watching!
Good tip to use heat to soften the glue under the pick guard. That works on many other applications like removing labels and stickers.
+Dale Palmer Yep it does, a good dryer that really pumps ut some heat is a plus too. Thanks for checking it out man!
Another great video, Randy :-) Thumbs up again :-) And thank you for the Q-ball sequences :-)
lol she seems to know every time I point the camera at her. Thank you Jenny for watching! :)
The Naptha fluid should clean it up good, you can see the age it shows. Nice guitar and repair work.
Thank you my friend for viewing! :)
you got the cutest dog ever
Thanks mate! Yeah shes definitely a special gal! :)
Great tip masterRandy,snatch the pebble from my handLOl!!maybe you can use that special camera and show us that mess with the bridgepins inside!!thank's for the Q-ball fix!!Hold!!Onn!!Have a great weekend my friend!!
+blkjckgtrnut It's a pitty how these bridge pins fit in this guitar! When I loosened the stings the pins just fell out! This baby needs a lot of work but you know how that goes lol hold on! :)
Great Job on this Martin.
Thank you my friend!
Great vid Randy will file that one away for a rainy day. You are very wise young Jedi Warrior.
+BUZZ LIGHTYEAR lol well I don't know about young, or wise lol but thank you mate!
I want to remove a pickguard on my new Sigma J200 copy (that's a big pickguard) and have seen a lot of videos on YT, where everyone uses a hair dryer. However, I have read on a forum somewhere that the heat from a hair dryer can damage the bracing, which will not be noticeable immidiately and to never apply heat, but do it very patiently with just naphtha. So, can the heat from a hair dryer loosen the bracing inside? Thanks!
Minimize the amount of heat by heating while removing......don't cook the guitar then remove the guard. Your bracing should be fine if you move quickly.
Pretty cool to see this one come back! I've been noticing on eBay some Chinese sellers are advertising pick guards made of PVC that look great in the pictures, I wonder how they last over time? I know PVC microphone elements are in some really classic studio Mics and are highly regarded for tone, I wonder if they would hold up better than celluloid does. I also wonder how cheesy they really look in real life... Most of my guitars are celluloid guard other than one Eastman that has the Greven Tortis guard and my Zeiler which is burl walnut with abalone inlays... Looking at it, it's actually really fine plywood though.
That is some really gummy stuff -- almost like rubber contact cement? Earlier comments about removing pick guards from new instruments in interesting. I've always wondered why folks argue hours on what is the best species of spruce to use for an instrument top e.g., Sitka versus Englemann and then the slap a big old piece of plastic or celluloid over it! LOL. Some of those country guys had huge pick guards on both sides of the sound hole -- I always thought that was crazy. For some Gibsons like the Hummingbird and the Dove the pick guard is part of the guitar's identity. I had a 1960 Hummingbird for years and I always was tempted to try to take that very thick pick guard off and sand about 3/4 of it away from the back side before gluing it back because I thought it was a sound killer?
I've played a few of those guitars with the pickguard on both sides of the sound hole and all of them I've seen it really dampened and muted the sound and you could really tell it, the guitar just can't vibrate like it should. I agree those Doves and Hummingbirds should keep them but those funky ones that look somewhat like flames need to go lol
Hello , Randy 👍, you know if newer Martin guitars have finish on the top where the pickguard goes or is it bare wood
most newer ones have finish under the pick guard, and some even have more over the top of it. thanks for checking out my videos!
Good job . I cant believe the brige pins ! lol Love Q Ball running around .
+Dev9172 Thanks mate! Yeah those pins are definitely messed up, shit I wanna fix them! lol but that wasn't included in the agreement. Thanks for checking it out, Q says hey! :)
Hi Q Ball . I still want to get a dog . I love them . I dont understand people that dont want you to fix a guitar and make it the best you can . Is it just money ? How can the guy play it with the pins like that . But I get where you are coming from . Thats all you can do . I saw a new little ding in the top of my guitar . Not a big deal but I like my things nice . I know a guitar will get banged up a bit .
Dev9172
Yeah it's usually the money, most sets a limit and they don't want to go over it but you'd think if they have enough money to by a Martin they would spend a few more bucks now and then keeping it up as well as possible.
see thats it . You have a Martin . It does not have to look great . But it should play as well as it can . Its a damn Martin . I know people that work on guitars dont come cheap . Its a skill . I did not change my own strings for my first year . I feel so stupid now . I wasted lots of money .
Might try a product called Bestine, used this in Photography to break down glued hot mounted photos. Will not stain or damage anything. It's actually rubber cement thinner. This glue looks like rubber cement, worth a try.
Definitely worth a try, I will try it out, thanks for the tip!
Good work Randy🎸🎸🎸👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼😊
Thank you Steve! hold on! :)
I think a pick-guard on an acoustic dampens the sound, so i take 'em off, - I like the look where it used to be as well.
and i have yet to dig a hole in one like Willie Nelson-
NOW i now how to get 'em off there- Thanks ,Randy-
Thanks for watching Ed, and you're right they do dampen the sound!
Ed White That is so cool the Willies guitar. Some say it will be the most expensive guitar in the world one day.
..I wanna different pick guard on my Hummingbird ...but I don't trust myself to do it..
Have you managed to get any further im considering putting a pickguard on my dreadnaught and getting everything sanded down and perfect with the rosette
Awesome video!👍💯🎸
Come off easy enough and cleaned up nice!
It looked like it was going to be a mess to clean up but came of easy with heat. Thanks for watching mate!
Is/was it wrong of me to always remove the pick guard off of all the decent acoustics I have owned? I always felt like the only reason they were installed was for cosmetic reasons and possibly killed some of the volume?
+Harry Timmons Not wrong at all in fact I know several people that remove the pick guard just as soon as they buy a guitar, it definitely effects the tone and volume by not allowing the top to move and carry vibrations as well as it could without it, some guitars removing the pick guard makes a huge difference!
Randy Schartiger Hey, I was right. Awesome! That's me, that was always the first thing I did to a new acoustic. They peel right of when new and don't leave discoloration. Peace.
Does the heat also loosen the bracing, inside?
no you don't want to get it that hot, you can if you're not very careful. thanks for watching!
Hey Randy I have an old57 d28 it has a slight belly on it that needs to be flattened over slotted the bridge as far as pos and it still needs a little more.and also do you happen to no what great were put in at the factory mine needs to have. them redone.
Randy I rember seeing some where that Martin only put the finish over pick guards of the D45's back in the day. But in later years they stopped that. Cause the front of the guitars would crack all over. Randy if you were going to buy s new or used guitar. What would check and look for on the guitar? That could be a good video for you. Just a thought. Great video as always, Thank you.
+Thomas Tommy Yep they also did some d-28's and 18's that way. That is a good idea but I already have a video up like that, maybe I should do a new one. It's called upgrading your guitar, then another video with same title but instead it's for upgrading the guitar you already have. Or something like that lol
Thank you Randy
Thanks!
Is there a way to flatten the top maybe by humiliating and clamps?
Could you see any other pick guard was put on before the one you took off? Or to put it another way was that a replacement? As I said in your last video that guard, if it's the first one, dates the guitar to post 66, if it was replaced at some point who knows.
+tallthinkev 66 sounds about right. No I'm pretty sure this is the original pick guard, strange it wasn't stuck exactly where Martin usually sticks them, this guitar may have been a second for what ever reasons.
great vid, andy. i laughed my arse off :)
Nice lesson. I have a hummingbird knockoff with a worn out image on the pickguard. Should work the same? I also have access to a pvc heater, looks like a hair dryer, has a digital thermostat. What is the best temperture to use?
Gentle heat bud! That pvc heater is like trying to drive a tack with a sledge hammer! Even a light bulb held close to the guard can sometimes be too hot! I've even used just a WARM Iron with a barrier cloth and scorched the finish! When he cranked up the amps on that blow dryer I cringed!
How did you keep from slicing your cuticle back with that high E string?
Good video as always
+Koshunae Thanks my friend for checking it out!
Nice job Randy
Many thanks Strat!
Many thanks Strat!
Conner Pro Style 1200!! SWEEET!!!!
Is there any reason you didn't remove the strings?
Love your vids. I'm working on a 69 Martin D-18. Where do I get the right Pick guard Material? Don't like Stewmac's.
I get pick guards from this place but not sure if he sells just the material or not, I've been ordering them pre-cut because of so little time and it saves me a bunch.
www.tortoguard.com/
I bought a used 1995 Martin HD-28 I want to re-sell for a profit. It has a BLACK pick guard. I think if I change it to a tortoise shell pick guard, it will bring more money. I did see another one on Reverb that has a black one, but I think they are rare. What are your thoughts?
Guitars are meant to be played not meant to be sold.
Which would you recommend for a beginner, a d-28. Or a d-18
d18, then if a beginner decided they wasn't really interested they wouldn't hve as much money tied up in it and could easily get their money back.
Hi Mr Randy, great video, learned another way to remove a pick guard. Looks like they had used rubber cement to glue it down?
+Suzanna Crawford P.S. It's great to see Q-ball running around! She looks good!
Hey Randy, question for you...I just bought a like new martin d18 off an on line music store. It just came today and man it's really nice. I mean spotless! I'm an old timer and had a few guitars in my time and well, here's my question. The neck at the base of the body has a distinct white line on one side from the top around the heel. To me it looks like maybe glue seepage. It's a razor straight line but it's noticeable. I am waiting to hear back from the store and I hate to ship it back 'cause I got it for a good price. It plays perfectly and would like to know what you think? Could it be glue? I tried wiping it with a moist soft cloth but it won't come off. I don't want to try scraping it either. Would a blow drier damage the gloss finish? What do you think brother? Thanks a lot, Pete :-)
I was thinking it might be rubbing compound that didn't get buffed off but if you can't rub it off it's hard to say, most glue becomes sort of clear once its dried. I would try buffing it off and see if that removes it.
Thanks Randy for responding! Earlier I took a warm wet cloth and a soft bristle toothbrush and slowly and carefully it came off. I don't know if it was wax? or I never thought of rubbing compound. You have great vids and I like your dog too. Being retired, I take my two dogs out with me in my truck all the time. Thanks again brother! :-)
Hey i was wondering if i removed the pickguard from my black matte acoustic guitar will it leave an outline
The decades of smoke damage to that finish would have me compounding that top! Maybe that's just me!
yeah this guitar definitely has seen plenty of smoke, thanks for watching!
Q looks back to normal....lol. Like you said, how the hell does a pick guard come loose?? Takes all that heat and elbow grease to get one off! Nice work brother. I wonder if Joe Blow at the guitar shop would take the time to get all that old glue off?? hmmmmm
+Archie Bunker I would almost bet you most of them would quickly slap another pick guard over the mess to cover it up and use heat to make flatten down the old glue under it and call it good, it's a shame some people do that. Thanks for watching and commenting Archie!
save that old pickguard, it may come in handy someday. ;-)
+Boudreau Guitars I like the way you roll! It's already been saved! ;) I heated it up and put it inside and old huge telephone book my mom had and keeping it there, I'm sure something will need it eventually. Cheers! to ya brother! :)
Hi Randy, do you think that was the original pick guard? Look like maybe rubber cement under there. Nothing I've worked would roll off like that, it cleaned up real nice.
+Dane Nichols I do think it was original, I can tell by the way it was stuck to the finish it left a very perfect imprint in the finish it was stuck to, the thing that puzzles me tho is the entire pick guard was offset a little bit, meaning it wasn't exactly where Martin usually puts their pick guards. But yeah it's the only pick guard that's ever been on this guitar. Thanks for having a look man!
Randy Schartiger I agree it sure looks like the stuff that Martin used but I pulled one off a 1956 00-18 and the glue was nothing like that but is was raw wood underneath no finish at all.
+Dane Nichols I've seen them with either raw wood under the pick guard like that and the pick guard on top of the final finish, but this is the first time I've seen finish under AND over the pick guard, I've even seen them stuck in places Martin doesn't stick their puck guards normally normally (maybe a second) but I've never seen anything like this particular one.
+Dane Nichols I forgot to mention, I know for a fact Martin used a bunch of different types of glue on their pick guards, but this is only the one of a few I've seen with this kind of adhesive what ever it is.
Good info Randy thanks.
what kind of glue is natural to a Martin?
hyde glue for the construction, I think they make their own pick guards with self adhesive glue on them.
Thank you Randy. Keep up the good works. It is nice of you to share your knowledge and to go to the trouble of making these videos. Appreciate you.
This mouse is named Grizzly? ;-) By the way: The most glue-sorts you get away with clean Petrol or alcohol. Ok, you know! ;-)
How much do you charge for a job like this?
Around $75 depending on how much pick guard material I have on hand or if I need to order it.
Wheres the best place to buy a good pickguard for an old 1973 Martin D35?
or would I have to cut one myself?
You can order them pre-cut and ready to stick on from here:
www.tortoguard.com/
I've been getting them there a long while now, mainly because I have so little time anymore to cut them out myself, every one I've gotten from him has fit perfectly.
thank you :)
the commercial sucks. won't go away!
OMFGG!!!if I knew removing a pickguard destroys the color then I never install it FK!
HAHAHAHA