Removing pickgurd from 76 F212

[mario1956]

I finally got my F212 fixer-upper and began the restoration process. I am removing the pickguard to get to a top crack that looks like it is caused by shrinking of the guard. In the process of removing the pickguard it appears that it was applied to the raw wood and finished over much like Martins of the period. I was applying some heat to the area in the attempt to remove it. I had gotten about 2 inches off near the fingerboard and suddenly chunks of the top began coming up with it. I stopped immediately. Does anyone have any idea how to get this thing off without severely damaging the soundboard?

 

[wright1]

Oooh nasty!! Sounds like you were doing everything right. From what I can see most repairers seem reluctant to remove the whole guard if it is stuck to the wood. They seem to expect that a shrinking pickguard stuck straight onto the wood will cause top damage and trying to get it off will lift some of the wood or a lot of the wood!! They seem to have used some sort of solvent impact adhesive. The sort of really smelly stuff you use to fix laminate tops in your kitchen. Once on and soaked into the wood these are the devil to remove except with really strong solvent and that usually will destroy the finish and cause more work.A crack in the top also seems to accompany any guard movement.
I think you have to ask several questions before you proceed. Will more heat really loosen the guard? Do you want to save the guard for re -use?(it will continue shrinking) Are you going to re-finish the whole guitar? I guess what I am saying is how much of a project is this guitar? Is it a back to bones re-build or a get it back into use as cheaply as possible? If you look on the FRETS web site Frank Ford does a guard repair on a Martin similar to the type of thing you are doing. He is reluctant to completely remove the guard but his crack is not under the guard like yours is.It would help to know if anyone has got one of these guards off and what were the results.
I know I have not been of great help but good luck and let us know how it goes.
Steve.

 

[mario1956]

Steve,
Thanks for the input. I was using the low setting on the hair dryer maybe the higher setting would work but I don't want to overheat the top. Since this is a complete restore job refinishing is certain. Looking on the FRETS website I noticed he did completely remove a whole pickguard using a very thin flat looking knife/spatula/whatever. They do make these for the general public and Stewart-McDonald sells them. I think a very thin 3" wide paint scraper/drywall spatula might work also.
I tried to remove some more guard and it looks like more can be removed without excessive splintering. Probably won't try removing any more until I get the tool to do it with. Some wood fibers will be lost but the chunks can be re-glued easily to the top when the whole guard is removed. Once the pickguard area is repaired and finished I wanted to put the red tortoise guard like was used on the 60's Guilds. It should go nicely with the planned sunburst finish.
But, anyway, thank you for the reply. It was very useful.

Paul

 

[wright1]

Hi Paul, The Stew-Mac spatula is nothing really special.What I have done is go to a good art shop and they sell all sorts of metal spatulas in different sizes that will get into most places. The only ones I stay clear of are the synthetic handle types incase the heat melts the handle. Putty knives can be good if the edge is feathered.Even a steel cake icing palette knife would be good. You can collect quite a range especially if you do enough of this type of work. In the UK the sort of glue used is sometimes called Evo-Stick. There is a remover/cleanup fluid for this. Again it is highly smelly and volatile. No naked flames! I think Frank Ford peeled off a self adhesive guard. This old type glue goes rock hard when it gets old which is why it does so much damage when the guard shrinks. Do try the heat again but you are right to be careful.Slowly does it.You don't want to loosen anything under the top. Are you going to refinish the top before you put on the new guard? I get the impression that the idea of finishing over the guard was a production thing that maybe you could avoid.
All the best, Steve.