Replacement pickguard- adhesion over gouged top, what to do

[jfilm]

I'm fixing up an old abused Martin, and want to put a pickguard on- however, the guitar has a lot of wear right where the bottom of the pickguard will sit. The wood is worn down to where it actually dips, and a new pickguard won't sit flush as is. I wonder if I should try to fill this gap somehow? Any recommendations?

 

[Christopher Cozad]

Looks similar to the results of Pickguard Avoidance Syndrome (in order to keep from scratching up their pickguards, some aggressive plectrum users simply gouge the soundboard directly).

After a thorough cleaning, you can do just enough repair work to protect the raw wood (though the repair will always be visually obvious), or you can pull the bridge, sand (level sand to reduce the amount of spot filling, careful of the soundboard thickness), spot fill, sand for finish prep, apply new finish and buff. The effort can include a complete refinish or a partial refinish that you isolate to the affected area and then blend into the existing finish.

 

[chazmo]

I'd choose the first of Chris' options above, sort of. When the damaged area is cleaned up, I would coat with lacquer. I'd leave the pickguard off or go with a smaller one (perhaps clear). Yes, the repair and the PG outline would remain. I'd leave it with that mojo.

I'm not sure what the rest of the top looks like, but from what I can see I wouldn't strip and refinish it. Again, just me...

 

[Wilmywood]

Fill with clear nail enamel, sand flush, install pickguard

 

[jfilm]

Thanks all- definitely don't want to go the whole refinish route- this guitar was really abused, nearly destroyed when it arrived- the seller packed it without a case and with hardly any packing material. I reconstructed the back to the best of my ability, and have since removed and reglued the bridge already (don't want to do that again). Even before the shipping destruction, a previous owner had written all over the top and back as well, and for some unknown reason drilled three large holes in the headstock where the Martin logo used to be. So this isn't a guitar to sink too much money into (though I have already put a lot of time in!). But, it is an HD-28 and I have it sounding really good. I think I'll try to build up a layer of lacquer or something and sand it flush. Thanks for the responses.

 

[5thumbs]

Looking forward to "after" pix...

 

[jfilm]

Looking forward to "after" pix...

Yes, will post! But first here's a couple proper "before" pics- the first is how it came out of the box, note the wood pieces on the floor- then a shot of the front as the back was reglued.

 

[chazmo]

Thanks all- definitely don't want to go the whole refinish route- this guitar was really abused, nearly destroyed when it arrived- the seller packed it without a case and with hardly any packing material. I reconstructed the back to the best of my ability, and have since removed and reglued the bridge already (don't want to do that again). Even before the shipping destruction, a previous owner had written all over the top and back as well, and for some unknown reason drilled three large holes in the headstock where the Martin logo used to be. So this isn't a guitar to sink too much money into (though I have already put a lot of time in!). But, it is an HD-28 and I have it sounding really good. I think I'll try to build up a layer of lacquer or something and sand it flush. Thanks for the responses.

Well, definitely have at it, your way! What a shame but also a good opportunity to learn some repairs. I love the HD-28 model. Good luck!

 

[wileypickett]

What a great project!

Were you abe to refit all those tiny splinters of wood? Like putting together a puzzle I imagine.

 

[jfilm]

What a great project!

Were you abe to refit all those tiny splinters of wood? Like putting together a puzzle I imagine.

Yes, I got all of the back pieces together, just about- some of the pieces you see on the floor were bits of kerfing, and I did what I could with that. There were some gaps after I glued the back onto the sides (it was detached all the way down the treble side). When I strung it up, the sound was muffled, apparently because of these gaps in the kerfing letting air out and not allowing the soundboard to generate the right volume of sound. Since then I sealed up all of the gaps, and the guitar sounds wonderful. I've also worked on the top and the headstock to clean it up a bit, so it's looking ok. I might end up refinishing the back when all is said and done, maybe with tru oil (I did my '64 Guild D-40 that way a few years back). When I see examples online of the beautiful finish normally found on the HD-28 I can hardly believe that this guitar once looked like that. It certainly has been through the ringer. I'm pretty happy with it though and definitely think I saved one. I know it's not the most professional work, but, to do this right would have required completely removing the back, all of the kerfing, replacing the kerfing, etc. etc., which is more than I can do or would want to pay for. All my work is technically reversible too in case someone in the future wants to do it right!




After

 

[chazmo]

Not too bad, jfilm!!!