Best pickguard for painting

[dangayle]

Inspired by the work of Mathias Chou (instagram), my wife wants to start painting guitars. We're gonna start with some cheapo Rosser guitars from eBay to start, but I have a question about pickguards.

What pickguards would you use explicitly for painting on? We don't want to use sub-standard cheapie plastic that will warp over time or that don't have a nice feel to them. I'm not even sure if it matters, but maybe there's some collective wisdom out there that's worth sharing?

[copacetic]

You should be fine using most any decent pickguard out there that fits honestly.

Typically 3 ply pickguards are a bit sturdier than 1ply. Ive had some slightly bendy 1ply guards before. But as long as all the screw holes are properly placed and none of them are causing stress on the pickguard it should remain reasonably flat indefinitely. Modern pickguard materials are far less susceptible to bending or warping than stuff from the past.

[Unicorn Warrior]

What you could also do is go with just a clear Pickguard at times.

[Shadoweclipse13]

What you could also do is go with just a clear Pickguard at times.

My first thought too! You could paint on the back of acrylic, so the paint is protected.

[Fiddy]

The paint can also be protected by clearcoating it.

[dangayle]

The paint can also be protected by clearcoating it.

That's what Mathias does, so good call.

[B.T.]

Clear acrylic and paint it from the underside not from the top.

[Sweetfinger]

Typically 3 ply pickguards are a bit sturdier than 1ply. Ive had some slightly bendy 1ply guards before.

It has more to do with the thickness of the material. One thing I learned sourcing material for my pickguard business, is that "single ply" colors, if they are the same thickness as a 3 ply, are actually a 3 ply, of all the same color.

[efiug]

Typically 3 ply pickguards are a bit sturdier than 1ply. Ive had some slightly bendy 1ply guards before.

It has more to do with the thickness of the material. One thing I learned sourcing material for my pickguard business, is that "single ply" colors, if they are the same thickness as a 3 ply, are actually a 3 ply, of all the same color.

yeah I noticed this on a squier sonic bronco bass body I just picked up with a damaged pickguard, 3 ply WWW pickguard, really interesting.

[Futuron]

Speaking from experience, don't leave it in the sun to dry!!!

[dangayle]

It has more to do with the thickness of the material. One thing I learned sourcing material for my pickguard business, is that "single ply" colors, if they are the same thickness as a 3 ply, are actually a 3 ply, of all the same color.

Interesting. Do you think that is for strength? Or for ease of manufacturing?

[Sweetfinger]

It has more to do with the thickness of the material. One thing I learned sourcing material for my pickguard business, is that "single ply" colors, if they are the same thickness as a 3 ply, are actually a 3 ply, of all the same color.

Interesting. Do you think that is for strength? Or for ease of manufacturing?

It's the way they manufacture. They have a standard thickness for their sheets in whatever colors and build up the final laminate "sandwich" using whatever number of sheets needed. Different manufacturers will have different basic sheet thicknesses, the Chinese manufacturer I've used has a thin sheet that isn't quite as thin as the common USA manufacturer's.
Why? Remember, guitar pickguards are a niche product, maybe even a "nuisance" as far as the plastic sheeting industry is concerned. It probably doesn't make sense to special order and stock say, .090", .080", .060", and .030" material in a bunch of different colors. You can stock .020" and .030" and make all the common thicker sheets by laminating a combination.

[dangayle]

Mathias Chau responded to me on Instagram, here's what they had to say:

Hi!

For pickguards, I highly recommend finding paint markers to paint with (if you decide to illustrate on them). I would stay away from oil/ or any type of tube paint (acrylic included) because brushing it on will make the finishing part so much harder. Brushes will leave ridges or texture on the surface, and so the surface will be really uneven. Good paint marker brands to start with include: POSCA, Pebeo acrylic type markers. They go on really opaque and flat, making the surface easier to clear coat and finish after. Oh, also, if you wanted to paint/ illustrate or do any work on pickguards it's almost necessary to scuff up the plastic surface with 600 or 800 grit so that the incoming paint will have some sort of tack/ primer.

For clear coating, I recommend any waterbased spray, or 2K acrylic resin spray. Do light mists first, this helps introduce the spray and makes it cling onto the surface much better (even for later layers too) and then start layering. I then sand from 1000 grit to 3000 grit. hope this helps!

- Mathias