Thanks buddy! It took me exactly 2 minutes to remove the worlds ugliest pick guard on a guitar I bought as a factory blemish. Now I can actually enjoy it,
Nice quick video. Thanks. I'm not crazy about utilizing a metal tool anywhere near a finnished top, so may I add, the use of a thin or medium guitar pick is good to start the lifting process.
These icing knives are the perfect tool they are flat and they flex wonderfully . A pick can't take the heat. Understandably this is not something you do willy nilly there is a touch to this. This knife is about .010 in thick picks are too thick and it doesn't take much to get the pick guard to lift. You notice I keep the tool flat , with a thick pick you can compress the soft grain that will require drop filling later.
See how the hair dryer makes the pickguard fall off?That's why men go bald! Great video- all useful tips for getting these jobs done and avoiding disasters. Thanks.
I removed the pickguard from my mahogany Taylor GS mini. my problem now is where the pickguard was is lighter in color. Is there anything I can do to restore the color to match the rest of the guitar?
This worked perfectly, very easy. Get naptha to remove the adhesive. I tried for two days to remove the adhesive with a removing fluid i got from the auto parts store, then I bought naptha per another youtube vid and it took the stuff off in seconds with a rag.
I have a good 1970's era Yamaha FG-180 acoustic guitar. The pick guard is starting to loosen, but is in good shape. I'd like to remove it as you demonstrated; clean the old glue off with solvent; and then reapply the same pick guard with fresh, new glue. What kind of glue should I use? I would appreciate any professional advice you may have. Thanks!
audiophile man You’re welcome. The 3M works great. I just took off my pick guard, sealed the wood underneath and put it back on with the double sided adhesive. Best way to RE-adhere the guard with no edges sticking up.
@@solice8844 Okay, I'm sold. Can't beat the $3.54 price. I was also checking out StewMac's website. Looks like I can buy a lot of cool stuff for our guitars. Thanks for steering me over to this very cool website. Cheers, man!
Hi, I was hoping you could give me some advise, hope you don't mind me asking.I have sanded the Satin top on my acoustic, it was full of scratches and dents, basically I've just took the satin finish off with a bit extra where the dents and scratches were and it looks pretty good, nice and even, probably not the best idea I've had but I've done it now. What could I use for a finish , that wont affect the sound too much, and that doesn't need spraying, a varnish I can put on with a cloth ? or some sort of oil ? I'd appreciate your help. Your video on removing a pickguard worked a treat thank you.
+MrRayzer1 what brand of guitar? I wouldn't sand. I would use 0000 steel wool wipe with naphtha and mineral spirits. I need to know what finish was on as not all finishes will set with others so you need to know the base. Shellac may be needed as a sealer and you can use a finish on top of that.
Hi, thanks for getting back to me.It's a Guild D4 nt from 1995 with a matt finish on the top. Too late I've sanded it already there was some quite deep scratches , basically it is just bare wood now, I was just looking for something I could use just for a little protection for the wood, it doesn't have to be a gloss finish. Do I even need to put anything on it ? it looks ok just wood.Thanks Ray.
+MrRayzer1 yes you need to put a finish on this. Raw wood will die fast as the body oils get into the wood. You can use a satin finish , at this point you will be needing a sealer and a finish. You will have to mask off the bridge and fretboard extension, apply the seal coat then the finish. You can get finish at stew mac or LMI. If you can't spray any lacquer you can try the water finishes.
Thanks , would a wiping varnish be ok?, I've seen some called Tru-oil, would I still need to seal first? Thanks very much for your help, it's very much appreciated .
A conversion is when we take a guitar that is in need of a lot of work , often the owners want the top replaced and we rebrace the guitar and change the build specs to a later date. Often pre war ( 1937 era). That is what we did here , we changed the top to red spruce and forward shifted braces and made it to spec from 37. We added herringbone and a zigzag back strip. We also used hot hide glue.
justun chan Most under finish pick guards were stopped by the 80's. If you look real close at the edge you can see the sink in the top finish if it is under finish guards . Most guards are now glued on the top of the finish often with a double sided tape adhesive. So look close you will be able to see that ledge once you know what to look for.
I know my guitar has no finish under the pickguard. Its a 1972 Guild. It seems pretty fixed on there. Are there special considerations? Yours seemed to be easy. How can I prep it right?
flash bazbo take your time once the heat gets to the glue it will start to release . Don't force it you will feel it work loose. It will be much like pulling tape off. Keep looking at the top for lifting grain. you can always call me my contact info is on my blues creek website
Something Shiny If you have never done it , I would recommend to ship it to someone that does this. If you want to learn how , you need some serious information. 1 what finish are you removing ? What do you want to install? What equipment do you have? please feel free to contact me through Blues Creek Guitars , you can email or call me. I am here to help. Wish it was an easy way to tell you to do this. One thing I can say is DO NOT SAND IT OFF.
This is too cool. I paid $5 for a beat up little First Act kids guitar for my 4-yr old Grandson. I don't care for the pic guard and I want to install fret board stickers that include a pretty rosette. I'm refinishing the entire guitar first and need to get the pic guard out of there. I'm going to follow your method and I hope it goes well. Also nice to practice on a cheap project. Thanks for the very useful video!
Another video on UA-cam recommends using a small quantity of lighter fluid on a cotton ball to loosen up the adhesive. What do you think, is one method better than the other? Obviously the lighter fluid method is flammable, but other than that?
you have to get or make a left handed pickguard you may get lucky by flipping it upside down and applying a double stick adhesive to it but you will do better buying a new one
***** Yes RH relative Humidity has destroyed many guitars. You want to keep the guitar in that 40 to 55% zone . The case is the safest place for it and use some kind of humidity pack. The Oasis , Kyser , and one of the best is planet waves. As the wood expands or contacts it acts upon the braces. This is where the danger is. As the stress build in high humidity you can pop off a brace and in lower humidity the top will dip as the shrinkage stress build and this is what causes the cracks.
blues creek guitars Thanks for your excellent reply, what I really meant was ,will heating up the guitar with the hair drier have a detrimental affect on the guitar, I guess I should just take it easy. Thanks again great videos.
I took a piece of cardboard the size of the body and cut out the shape of the pickguard, leave it in the sun, and it'll tan abit, keep it cool though or it'll mess with the wood.
I would warn anyone from putting a guitar out in the sun. The heat can stress the top and in the right conditions crack or loosen braces. If you are replacing the pickguard , this is not an issue If you will be going without a pick guard the chances are you will always see the tan line.
Plastic is not what I would use. When you are working on an under finsh pick guard like Martin used to do , you have to use metal plastic can't hold up with the heat.If you can't separate the guard plastic won't have the strength to separate the pick guard off the wood and you don't want to lift fibers. Watch close and you can see I am pulling up more the prying.
Nice shop,wish I’d known more about making guitars early on. It’s a very satisfying line of work.
Thanks buddy! It took me exactly 2 minutes to remove the worlds ugliest pick guard on a guitar I bought as a factory blemish. Now I can actually enjoy it,
Nice quick video. Thanks. I'm not crazy about utilizing a metal tool anywhere near a finnished top, so may I add, the use of a thin or medium guitar pick is good to start the lifting process.
These icing knives are the perfect tool they are flat and they flex wonderfully . A pick can't take the heat. Understandably this is not something you do willy nilly there is a touch to this. This knife is about .010 in thick picks are too thick and it doesn't take much to get the pick guard to lift. You notice I keep the tool flat , with a thick pick you can compress the soft grain that will require drop filling later.
Thank you so much for useful advice for your humor and for lovely music.
he's really funny, i want him to be my grandpa😂😂
See how the hair dryer makes the pickguard fall off?That's why men go bald!
Great video- all useful tips for getting these jobs done and avoiding disasters. Thanks.
glad you find these tips helpful. We are here to help
I removed the pickguard from my mahogany Taylor GS mini. my problem now is where the pickguard was is lighter in color. Is there anything I can do to restore the color to match the rest of the guitar?
That wont be easy because the lighter color is under the laquer finish
Maybe you should just buy another pickguard
I don't know you, but if you were stood at the bar in my local I'd buy you a beer.
Cheers
This worked perfectly, very easy. Get naptha to remove the adhesive. I tried for two days to remove the adhesive with a removing fluid i got from the auto parts store, then I bought naptha per another youtube vid and it took the stuff off in seconds with a rag.
thanks glad you found this info useful
i wanted to buy fender cd60s.. does it have removable pickguard?
I have a good 1970's era Yamaha FG-180 acoustic guitar. The pick guard is starting to loosen, but is in good shape. I'd like to remove it as you demonstrated; clean the old glue off with solvent; and then reapply the same pick guard with fresh, new glue. What kind of glue should I use? I would appreciate any professional advice you may have. Thanks!
audiophile man
Don’t use glue. Use 3M double sided adhesive you can get from stewmac.com for $3.54.
@@solice8844 Thanks for the tip, pal! I was looking for a source and didn't see anything reasonably priced. Haven't got to it yet, so this is timely.
audiophile man
You’re welcome. The 3M works great. I just took off my pick guard, sealed the wood underneath and put it back on with the double sided adhesive. Best way to RE-adhere the guard with no edges sticking up.
@@solice8844 Okay, I'm sold. Can't beat the $3.54 price. I was also checking out StewMac's website. Looks like I can buy a lot of cool stuff for our guitars. Thanks for steering me over to this very cool website. Cheers, man!
Hi, I was hoping you could give me some advise, hope you don't mind me asking.I have sanded the Satin top on my acoustic, it was full of scratches and dents, basically I've just took the satin finish off with a bit extra where the dents and scratches were and it looks pretty good, nice and even, probably not the best idea I've had but I've done it now. What could I use for a finish , that wont affect the sound too much, and that doesn't need spraying, a varnish I can put on with a cloth ? or some sort of oil ? I'd appreciate your help. Your video on removing a pickguard worked a treat thank you.
+MrRayzer1 what brand of guitar? I wouldn't sand. I would use 0000 steel wool wipe with naphtha and mineral spirits. I need to know what finish was on as not all finishes will set with others so you need to know the base. Shellac may be needed as a sealer and you can use a finish on top of that.
Hi, thanks for getting back to me.It's a Guild D4 nt from 1995 with a matt finish on the top.
Too late I've sanded it already there was some quite deep scratches , basically it is just bare wood now, I was just looking for something I could use just for a little protection for the wood, it doesn't have to be a gloss finish. Do I even need to put anything on it ? it looks ok just wood.Thanks Ray.
+MrRayzer1 yes you need to put a finish on this. Raw wood will die fast as the body oils get into the wood. You can use a satin finish , at this point you will be needing a sealer and a finish. You will have to mask off the bridge and fretboard extension, apply the seal coat then the finish. You can get finish at stew mac or LMI. If you can't spray any lacquer you can try the water finishes.
Thanks , would a wiping varnish be ok?, I've seen some called Tru-oil, would I still need to seal first? Thanks very much for your help, it's very much appreciated .
+MrRayzer1 You can use that or a wiping polyurathane. I would do the poly over the true oil
In the beginning of the video you mentioned a "conversion".
Do u mind explain what is it? Thanx!
A conversion is when we take a guitar that is in need of a lot of work , often the owners want the top replaced and we rebrace the guitar and change the build specs to a later date. Often pre war ( 1937 era). That is what we did here , we changed the top to red spruce and forward shifted braces and made it to spec from 37. We added herringbone and a zigzag back strip. We also used hot hide glue.
Is it possible that after removing a pick guard, the bottom was finished just like the rest of the guitar? How can you find out?
justun chan Most under finish pick guards were stopped by the 80's. If you look real close at the edge you can see the sink in the top finish if it is under finish guards . Most guards are now glued on the top of the finish often with a double sided tape adhesive. So look close you will be able to see that ledge once you know what to look for.
I know my guitar has no finish under the pickguard. Its a 1972 Guild. It seems pretty fixed on there. Are there special considerations? Yours seemed to be easy. How can I prep it right?
flash bazbo
take your time once the heat gets to the glue it will start to release . Don't force it you will feel it work loose. It will be much like pulling tape off. Keep looking at the top for lifting grain. you can always call me my contact info is on my blues creek website
thanks! would the heat from the hair dryer do anything bad to a Nitro finish? On say a Gibson J45?
I just did this to my huge j45 pickgaurd
Love your videos. Just wondering, got any tips/videos on refinishing acoustic guitars?
Something Shiny
If you have never done it , I would recommend to ship it to someone that does this. If you want to learn how , you need some serious information. 1 what finish are you removing ? What do you want to install? What equipment do you have? please feel free to contact me through Blues Creek Guitars , you can email or call me. I am here to help. Wish it was an easy way to tell you to do this. One thing I can say is DO NOT SAND IT OFF.
I will heed your warning and NOT sand it off! And I'm about to find your email and send you an email asap! THANK YOU!
This is too cool. I paid $5 for a beat up little First Act kids guitar for my 4-yr old Grandson. I don't care for the pic guard and I want to install fret board stickers that include a pretty rosette. I'm refinishing the entire guitar first and need to get the pic guard out of there. I'm going to follow your method and I hope it goes well. Also nice to practice on a cheap project. Thanks for the very useful video!
glad to be of help
Another video on UA-cam recommends using a small quantity of lighter fluid on a cotton ball to loosen up the adhesive. What do you think, is one method better than the other? Obviously the lighter fluid method is flammable, but other than that?
Thx very much great video
what do you do after you remove the pick guard in a folk accoustic epiphone dr-212 to make it left handed, plese?
you have to get or make a left handed pickguard you may get lucky by flipping it upside down and applying a double stick adhesive to it but you will do better buying a new one
What about the wood drying out, should I worry about all that humidity stuff.?
***** Yes RH relative Humidity has destroyed many guitars. You want to keep the guitar in that 40 to 55% zone . The case is the safest place for it and use some kind of humidity pack. The Oasis , Kyser , and one of the best is planet waves. As the wood expands or contacts it acts upon the braces. This is where the danger is. As the stress build in high humidity you can pop off a brace and in lower humidity the top will dip as the shrinkage stress build and this is what causes the cracks.
blues creek guitars Thanks for your excellent reply, what I really meant was ,will heating up the guitar with the hair drier have a detrimental affect on the guitar, I guess I should just take it easy. Thanks again great videos.
***** in the about of time this takes it won't be an issue just remember warm not HOT
Thanks very much for your help.
Awesome, thanks
if you are not careful it takes a good bit of heat. The heat you need to pull the guard is not that much. Always err on the side of safety
I took a piece of cardboard the size of the body and cut out the shape of the pickguard, leave it in the sun, and it'll tan abit, keep it cool though or it'll mess with the wood.
I would warn anyone from putting a guitar out in the sun. The heat can stress the top and in the right conditions crack or loosen braces.
If you are replacing the pickguard , this is not an issue If you will be going without a pick guard the chances are you will always see the tan line.
My last name is Hall too lol
In most cases the pickguards are replaced with a higher quality guard.
maybe put something under the headstock so it's not bangin against the corner of the table? 🤔
I hate my pic guard I think it makes my guitar look cheap
But how do you get the fucking glue off
I will try to do it with Woodglut plans.
wouldnt it be better if the canera angle was pointed closer to the guitar that angle is ok but not great really
if you remove stickers with metal tools you gonna scratch. You have to use plastic tools.
Plastic is not what I would use. When you are working on an under finsh pick guard like Martin used to do , you have to use metal plastic can't hold up with the heat.If you can't separate the guard plastic won't have the strength to separate the pick guard off the wood and you don't want to lift fibers. Watch close and you can see I am pulling up more the prying.