Best Aged White Guards?

Discussion of vintage Jazzmasters, Jaguars, Bass VIs, Electric XIIs and any other offset-waist instruments.
User avatar
bterry
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 1351
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2009 8:53 am

Best Aged White Guards?

Post by bterry » Sun Nov 29, 2020 10:22 am

Who’s making the best aged white guards for vintage-correct restorations, etc?

I’m looking specifically for a lightly minted white guard, like you’d see on a real ‘59-‘62ish Fender. Not over-greened or too beat up...nothing extreme but with vintage correct bevel and color, etc.

Thx!
BT

User avatar
adamrobertt
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 2408
Joined: Sun Mar 28, 2010 10:28 am
Contact:

Re: Best Aged White Guards?

Post by adamrobertt » Sun Nov 29, 2020 10:41 am

Spitfire does these, and they look great. Also check out eBay seller fenderparts

User avatar
Highnumbers
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 610
Joined: Sat Apr 25, 2009 1:21 am
Location: Orange County, CA

Re: Best Aged White Guards?

Post by Highnumbers » Mon Nov 30, 2020 9:12 am

The actual pickguards Spitfire makes are great (in terms of fit, bevel etc.)

But the aging on the white guards is lacking. I once made the critical error of polishing a guitar that had an aged Spitfire parchment guard installed, and brown stain came off with one swipe of a polishing cloth! It was stark white under that. So his aging is simply painting on some kind of stain, not permanently discoloring the guard.

For what they cost, I was pretty disappointed. Especially when I emailed Spitfire and their reply was "polishing and cleaning vintage guitars is a no-no" and offered to re-relic the guard for another $50. Erm...thanks. ::)

User avatar
bterry
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 1351
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2009 8:53 am

Re: Best Aged White Guards?

Post by bterry » Mon Nov 30, 2020 12:38 pm

Yeah, thanks for the responses - my experience with Spitfire has been less than stellar, that guy is a jerk and he doesn’t really stand behind his product, unfortunately.

Hoping to find someone else if anyone has any suggestions, thanks!

User avatar
adamrobertt
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 2408
Joined: Sun Mar 28, 2010 10:28 am
Contact:

Re: Best Aged White Guards?

Post by adamrobertt » Mon Nov 30, 2020 1:11 pm

bterry wrote:
Mon Nov 30, 2020 12:38 pm
Yeah, thanks for the responses - my experience with Spitfire has been less than stellar, that guy is a jerk and he doesn’t really stand behind his product, unfortunately.

Hoping to find someone else if anyone has any suggestions, thanks!
That's unfortunate, and not the first time I've heard such a review. I've only had good experiences with him, but maybe I'm just lucky?

User avatar
bterry
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 1351
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2009 8:53 am

Re: Best Aged White Guards?

Post by bterry » Mon Nov 30, 2020 2:57 pm

IDK, I seem to hear about 50/50 on his work. If it goes well it’s no problem but if something is off he’s not very good with handling it.

So, you take a risk with him, essentially. I ordered one thing from him and that was enough for me.

User avatar
andy_tchp
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 8010
Joined: Fri Apr 02, 2010 1:36 am
Location: Brisbane

Re: Best Aged White Guards?

Post by andy_tchp » Mon Nov 30, 2020 3:06 pm

Closest I've seen that looks almost slightly realistically 'old' is Fender's 'parchment' from the AV65 reissues, though it doesn't really have any 'mint' characteristics.

Everything else looks horrendous (AVRI 'mint' = Puke green, and most aftermarket offerings = yellow).
"I don't know why we asked him to join the band 'cause the rest of us don't like country music all that much; we just like Graham Lee."
David McComb, 1987.

User avatar
adamrobertt
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 2408
Joined: Sun Mar 28, 2010 10:28 am
Contact:

Re: Best Aged White Guards?

Post by adamrobertt » Mon Nov 30, 2020 3:14 pm

andy_tchp wrote:
Mon Nov 30, 2020 3:06 pm
Closest I've seen that looks almost slightly realistically 'old' is Fender's 'parchment' from the AV65 reissues, though it doesn't really have any 'mint' characteristics.

Everything else looks horrendous (AVRI 'mint' = Puke green, and most aftermarket offerings = yellow).
Where have you found those? Unfortunately my Thin Skin '65 came with a mint guard and i really wasn't a fan of it

User avatar
andy_tchp
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 8010
Joined: Fri Apr 02, 2010 1:36 am
Location: Brisbane

Re: Best Aged White Guards?

Post by andy_tchp » Mon Nov 30, 2020 3:25 pm

adamrobertt wrote:
Mon Nov 30, 2020 3:14 pm
andy_tchp wrote:
Mon Nov 30, 2020 3:06 pm
Closest I've seen that looks almost slightly realistically 'old' is Fender's 'parchment' from the AV65 reissues, though it doesn't really have any 'mint' characteristics.

Everything else looks horrendous (AVRI 'mint' = Puke green, and most aftermarket offerings = yellow).
Where have you found those? Unfortunately my Thin Skin '65 came with a mint guard and i really wasn't a fan of it
Shit, I can't remember, I was on the fence about buying one for my AVRI (which has had a black guard since I bought it, the AVRI 'mint' was a disgrace).

It was almost certainly Darren Riley, as he's my go to.

All I can find now is parchment from the 'American Pro', which looks pretty good in the photo. It looks pretty much just 'white', which is what a lot of the vintage '60s guards look like anyway.

https://darrenriley.com/store/fender-am ... 710715000/


Just realised you might be searching for a Jazzmaster guard. 'Pure vintage eggshell' (from the AV65) might be your best bet?
https://guitarpartsresource.com/pickguards_jazz.htm
"I don't know why we asked him to join the band 'cause the rest of us don't like country music all that much; we just like Graham Lee."
David McComb, 1987.

User avatar
Kurpak
PAT PEND
PAT PEND
Posts: 10
Joined: Sat Feb 25, 2017 10:32 am

Re: Best Aged White Guards?

Post by Kurpak » Tue Dec 01, 2020 2:00 pm

The most authentic shade of pre cbs mint celluloid I've found was the result of leaving a Fender 62' mint reissue (or the spitfire mint green guards) out in the summer sun for a full day or so. If you care about the wide bevel get the Spitfire one. The longer you leave it out the whiter it gets. The reissue Fender mint is slightly too dark and saturated, the sun UV bleaches and lightens it slightly making it look nearly identical in shade to the old Fender color (compared to an original guard I've got here.)
You'll never get 100% there because the original celluloid had a slightly translucent look, but you can match the shade really close with this method.
I've experimented with all the available mint PGs out there, and this gave me the best results.

User avatar
Kurpak
PAT PEND
PAT PEND
Posts: 10
Joined: Sat Feb 25, 2017 10:32 am

Re: Best Aged White Guards?

Post by Kurpak » Tue Dec 01, 2020 2:07 pm

I went through my box of pickguards but couldn't find the one I sun aged. The color will look really close to this after you sun bleach it.

https://www.tcgakki.com/pic/sub/3/is337363153578357.jpg

User avatar
andy_tchp
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 8010
Joined: Fri Apr 02, 2010 1:36 am
Location: Brisbane

Re: Best Aged White Guards?

Post by andy_tchp » Tue Dec 01, 2020 5:00 pm

Kurpak wrote:
Tue Dec 01, 2020 2:00 pm
The most authentic shade of pre cbs mint celluloid I've found was the result of leaving a Fender 62' mint reissue (or the spitfire mint green guards) out in the summer sun for a full day or so. If you care about the wide bevel get the Spitfire one. The longer you leave it out the whiter it gets. The reissue Fender mint is slightly too dark and saturated, the sun UV bleaches and lightens it slightly making it look nearly identical in shade to the old Fender color (compared to an original guard I've got here.)
You'll never get 100% there because the original celluloid had a slightly translucent look, but you can match the shade really close with this method.
I've experimented with all the available mint PGs out there, and this gave me the best results.
Hey, I'm going to give this a try, as the guard is already off the guitar.

We have dangerous UV levels too now it's summer, might as well use it for something productive :)
"I don't know why we asked him to join the band 'cause the rest of us don't like country music all that much; we just like Graham Lee."
David McComb, 1987.

User avatar
bterry
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 1351
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2009 8:53 am

Re: Best Aged White Guards?

Post by bterry » Tue Dec 01, 2020 7:53 pm

Let me know how it turns out :)

User avatar
andy_tchp
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 8010
Joined: Fri Apr 02, 2010 1:36 am
Location: Brisbane

Re: Best Aged White Guards?

Post by andy_tchp » Tue Dec 01, 2020 8:21 pm

bterry wrote:
Tue Dec 01, 2020 7:53 pm
Let me know how it turns out :)
Even better, I'll take some before and after photos on a white background.
"I don't know why we asked him to join the band 'cause the rest of us don't like country music all that much; we just like Graham Lee."
David McComb, 1987.

User avatar
bterry
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 1351
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2009 8:53 am

Re: Best Aged White Guards?

Post by bterry » Tue Dec 01, 2020 10:28 pm

Alright! Thanks, much appreciated!

Post Reply