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Hummingbird Pickguard Paint Touch ups


groovadelic

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Thought some people on this forum might have some interest in a little project I have going on.

 

So my Hummingbird TV had about 5% of the "hand painted" bird/floral faded. So I decided to experiment with touching it up. My wife went out to Hobby Lobby and got me 2 Sharpie oil based paint pens (white and yellow).

 

Here was the before - you can see part of the bird is faded, the flowers were almost completely gone, it was just enough to bother me.

 

photo1_zpseaaa065d.jpg

 

 

And here is after I touched it up a bit... the color is almost exact.

 

 

null_zpsb8145215.jpg

 

You can make out where I blotted some paint down especially around the flowers. The important part is to get a nice flow into the grooves because I will be removing the excess on the surface of the guard.

 

I let this set and dry a few hours then begin sanding it down with fine sandpaper (1000 to 2500) I picked up from Autozone.

 

After that I will hand buff with some buffing compound.

 

Final step is to actually fade the color a little with brown shoe polish to age it a bit to more of a cream white color. This will also blend the original and the new so it looks uniform.

 

 

More to come...

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Here it is sanded from 1500 to 2000 to 2500 first dry then wet.

 

null_zps1462fe00.jpg

 

The color matches really close on those paint pens. I am pleasantly surprised.

 

Buffed with polishing compound...

 

null_zps43b33662.jpg

 

Some spots look like they're faded, but there's actually no "grooves" there so the paint wouldn't hold. Otherwise, I'm pleased with the outcome.

 

A bit of brown shoe polish to add a little patina to the white. It's subtle but I think it adds a lot of character to it.

 

813fda4f_7554_4241_be74_d2d78e59b14c_zps573fff33.jpg

 

There it is... I hope someone finds this helpful.

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After seeing the first picture I thought Uaaakk ! , , , and was about to recommend you some cotton-sticks and a sharp scraper.

Second post made me forget.

 

It looks splendid - have done a bit of that myself (you should see my butterfly).

Is the shoe-polish warming up the titanium white and for how long was it on ?

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Thanks for the tip and great work. [thumbup]

 

Might consider it as mine has deteriorated pretty much like yours, just in one area, that covers about 5% of the guard.

 

However, I quite like the very light deterioration of the guard artwork, sort of gives it an even more 'true vintage' look, so Ill probably leave it unless it really starts to decline.

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Good job groove..and good walk through

 

Hogeye mentioned this is basicaly how they paint the guards at the factory... people wanting to keep the designs intact, this looks like the way to go.

 

Will be interesting to see if the new paint last longer than the old... !

 

 

Its gonna last longer than yours did that's for certain :D

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  • 3 years later...

LJ, excellent job. Can I ask - did you get the same "oil-based Sharpies from Hobby Lobby" Groovedeli referred to ? If so, what colors ?

My TV's p/g is worn in exactly the same place as yours and Gd's was. Same place I've even seen them worn when 'new but shopworn'. I wonder if the mold is not etching the lines deep enough there?

Have a good weekend!

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LJ, excellent job. Can I ask - did you get the same "oil-based Sharpies from Hobby Lobby" Groovedeli referred to ? If so, what colors ?

My TV's p/g is worn in exactly the same place as yours and Gd's was. Same place I've even seen them worn when 'new but shopworn'. I wonder if the mold is not etching the lines deep enough there?

Have a good weekend!

 

yes, I used the same pens, actually, getting those was the hardest part, cause they are not for sale here in germany. Got those on ebay from a seller in the UK.

 

IMG_2935_zpsuyhoosnl.jpg

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Fine work, Mr Groove & Little Johnny-

 

Suppose the light sanding can only be done a few times before the risk of removing the impressions in the original HB pickguard mold would not allow for the grooves to hold paint any longer (?) I see Johnny's been around the forum for a good while (and good of 'Groove to circle back after almost 3 yrs), maybe he might recall or . . . does anyone ever recall hearing anything about the original molds for the Hummingbird pickguards, pre-Bozeman?

 

So these 'guards are molded/stamped for the artwork to be painted?

 

A pic here of a pickguard bird on it's way to obscurity (macro lens, side lighting):

 

EQGRRSd.jpg

 

If trying to attempt to restore a faded guard, to etch or engrave the guard to accept paint and look like the original would be a tricky task.

 

 

Here, the human side of putting the finishing touches to a pickguard at Bozeman:

 

77AFAP2.png

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Little Johnny - thank you - who would have guessed "yellow" and "white" !? I was afraid there were 5 shades of each! Thnx.

Now - 62burst raises a valid point - will even micro-sanding make the 'grooves' for the paint too shallow for the next time?

I was thinking of doing this - primarily for when it's time to pass my TV on to one of my grandchildren, so it would look great. But now .... ?

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Little Johnny - thank you - who would have guessed "yellow" and "white" !? I was afraid there were 5 shades of each! Thnx.

Now - 62burst raises a valid point - will even micro-sanding make the 'grooves' for the paint too shallow for the next time?

I was thinking of doing this - primarily for when it's time to pass my TV on to one of my grandchildren, so it would look great. But now .... ?

 

I don't see a problem here, I sanded my pickguard three times in the process. Looked like new after polishing, Even if I do that kind of restoration once I year ( which I doubt I'll do) I think my pickguard and its grooves will outlast me.

 

As stated in the earlier post, I was kind of relieved, that I could do this restoration over and over again, the thought one could sand of so much of the guard that the grooves disappear, never occurred to me.

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Fine work, Mr Groove & Little Johnny-

 

Suppose the light sanding can only be done a few times before the risk of removing the impressions in the original HB pickguard mold would not allow for the grooves to hold paint any longer (?) I see Johnny's been around the forum for a good while (and good of 'Groove to circle back after almost 3 yrs), maybe he might recall or . . . does anyone ever recall hearing anything about the original molds for the Hummingbird pickguards, pre-Bozeman?

 

So these 'guards are molded/stamped for the artwork to be painted?

 

A pic here of a pickguard bird on it's way to obscurity (macro lens, side lighting):

 

EQGRRSd.jpg

 

If trying to attempt to restore a faded guard, to etch or engrave the guard to accept paint and look like the original would be a tricky task.

 

 

Here, the human side of putting the finishing touches to a pickguard at Bozeman:

 

77AFAP2.png

 

its very difficult to replicate.....

 

I have a SJ200 Hand carved pickguard from Ren back in the 1994 days.. Ren hand carved , John Walker coloured and intalled Multi colored dots.. it was a duplicate guard I ordered along with the Custom Shop 1938 Brazilian Sj200 which I had one made for back in the day..

 

Good job on the Bird touch ups..

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