Restoring a 1957 pickguard?

JHJ

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Is it possible to reshape a 1957 aristocrat pickguard? The 1 I have is in 1 piece but it is warped and shrunk period please let me know if there are any possible ways to your use this pickard thank you
 

AcornHouse

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I've asked in one of the FB luthier groups. I'll report if I hear anything positive.
 

gjmalcyon

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Since it is (probably) celluloid I don't think you can do anything about shrinkage. You might be able to unwarp it by gently heating while clamped and pressed between two boards.

Emphasis on gently - celluloid is flammable.
 

AcornHouse

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As mentioned. Here's a response with a good tip from the FB group about using hot water to soften it.

Not much can be done about shrinking, but you may be able to flatten it out by warming it up and clamping between 2 pieces of wood.
Trick is that celluloid is pretty flammable. Safest way to go is to dunk in hot water (near boiling). Just don’t do it using a pan over a flame on a gas stove. Turn the heat source off first.
 

AcornHouse

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Another comment.

The thing with celluloid is that when it starts to warp it's on a downward spiral of decay and may start to outgass heavily which risks the well-being of the guitar to which is attached.
 

gjmalcyon

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Another comment.

The thing with celluloid is that when it starts to warp it's on a downward spiral of decay and may start to outgass heavily which risks the well-being of the guitar to which is attached.

That's what stunned me - stories about guitars locked away in cases for years that were basically destroyed by decomposing celluloid.
 

SFIV1967

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Is it possible to reshape a 1957 aristocrat pickguard?
you may be able to flatten it out by warming it up and clamping between 2 pieces of wood. Trick is that celluloid is pretty flammable. Safest way to go is to dunk in hot water (near boiling).
This is exactly what I did with the pickguard on my 1956 Aristocrat. I had it clamped between wood for more than 6 month I believe and it is pretty flat now. However it was in a pretty good condition before, just warped upwards quite a bit. It wasn't shrunk in size.
Ralf
 

Coughlin

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I personally think your best bet is to have someone make a recreation of it. I have a 1953 X175 and it didn't have a pickguard at all. I harvested every photograph I could find of one and scaled properly with software. I then made an accurate tracing and sent it off to WD Pickguards. They did a great job and it's nearly indistinguishable from OEM. Other than the fact that it's five ply instead of seven. Nobody was able to get me the seven ply deal. I'll have to do that myself at a later date if I really want to be authentic. For now, it's close enough.
 

Quantum Strummer

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The '58 Gibson ES-350T I picked up a few months ago came with a replacement pickguard installed but also with the decaying original guard in the case. After I unpacked the guitar I pulled out the original guard and gave it a good sniff. Ugh! It's no longer in the case. :)

-Dave-
 

Los Angeles

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I saw an otherwise mint condition Gibson L5 with what looked like black tar dripping all over the top. The pickguard had all but disintegrated. I recommend preserving the original pickguard in a separate container and acquiring an acrylic reproduction. The Newark Street pickguards are not terribly off from the originals.
 
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