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Treating grazes on my '59 pickguard....

Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 4:20 pm
by PorkyPrimeCut
Is there any way of getting the shine back into my old 59 pickguard. Certain places are a bit dull & scratched up.

I'm terrified to touch it after my last attempt at sorting out the warping it has from age & shrinkage but it looks like its been scoured slightly?? They're very tiny scratches but they're all over the place!!

Re: Treating grazes on my '59 pickguard....

Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 6:16 pm
by dinosaur
That's just what happens with use.  You can tiny little faint scratches everywhere.

There are some ways to shine it a bit, but I believe they all have a little risk involved.  I'm sure someone will chime in.

Re: Treating grazes on my '59 pickguard....

Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 6:25 pm
by PorkyPrimeCut
This looks more like someones scrubbed something off with a scourer or a coarse cloth. Really faint scratches, but they're all over the place!!

Re: Treating grazes on my '59 pickguard....

Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 7:23 pm
by dinosaur
I really does sound normal to me, but maybe someone else has an idea.  Like I said before, that's what guards end up looking like, faint scratches everywhere.

All of mine have scratches on every inch of them.  But post a pic if you can.

Also, do a search on here.  I'm fairly certain people have talked about getting old tort shiny again, unless it was the old board.

Re: Treating grazes on my '59 pickguard....

Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 9:11 pm
by Jay
There is a way.  It involves some 2000 grit sandpaper, some Brasso, a t-shirt, and preferably one of those 3M rubber sanding blocks. Please note that I've only done this with guards that were severely scratched up and  completely covered in paint at one point.  With that said, my process involves rubbing out the scratches with acetone (NOT recommended in your case), wet sanding relatively smooth with 2000 grit paper, and polishing with a Brasso moistened t-shirt wrapped onto the sanding block until the shine is restored.  I'm not sure you need to do all this (if anything at all) to your old guard.  Probably a light rub down with the Brasso will restore most of the shine but it's going to leave some fine swirl marks/scratches.  I only messed with guards that needed to be restored not ones that were in solid original condition.  I'm not sure I would mess with a clean original one myself.

Re: Treating grazes on my '59 pickguard....

Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 10:12 pm
by mezcalhead
dinosaur wrote: I really does sound normal to me
Sure .. I think all my old guards look like that .. if you look at a light reflected in the surface of it, there's a halo effect of tiny little scratches, perhaps due to how the guard was originally made or just from thousands of little scrapes over the years.

I think Doug uses a rubbing compound like Meguiar's, but again only on guards that have got serious problems .. it might not get rid of the scratch patterns, just change them around.

Re: Treating grazes on my '59 pickguard....

Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 6:46 am
by mynameisjonas
i agree with everyone, an old guard like that should be covered with tiny scratches, it´s just natural. but if you really want some more shine, i would definitely not take it any further than a light rub down. that guard is extremely rare, as i´m sure you´ve already been told quite a few times.

Re: Treating grazes on my '59 pickguard....

Posted: Sat Feb 10, 2007 3:08 pm
by i love sharin foo
Yeah, I wouldn't mess with it. if I were going for perfection, I would buy a new AVRI instead. All of the imperfections and wear and tear are what make the old ones look distinct. People pay big bucks for new parts that are aged to look like that. Since you already have the real deal, my advice is to play the hell out of it and forget about the imperfections!!  :)

Justin

Re: Treating grazes on my '59 pickguard....

Posted: Sat Feb 10, 2007 5:36 pm
by sookwinder
jazzheadmark wrote: Is there any way of getting the shine back into my old 59 pickguard. Certain places are a bit dull & scratched up.

I'm terrified to touch it after my last attempt at sorting out the warping it has from age & shrinkage but it looks like its been scoured slightly?? They're very tiny scratches but they're all over the place!!
please let me appologise in advance if I have read this incorrectly ....  but is this question a wind up ?

every damn guard has "Really faint scratches" after about 5 minutes of playing.  unless the guard has grand canyon like gouges in it you are pentially going to cause more damage that than (what you perceieve to be) there is there anyway.

I get the impression you are "looking to closely" at this instrument.  even brand new cars look like the have "Really faint scratches" on their paint work if you look close enough.

Re: Treating grazes on my '59 pickguard....

Posted: Sat Feb 10, 2007 6:59 pm
by pullover
Maybe buff it out some carnauba wax?