Jinder Posted August 23, 2008 Share Posted August 23, 2008 Okay folks, here's a poser for you... I need a replacement pickguard for my SJ200 here in the UK. The first one lost all its flowers and started looking shabby, so I ordered another from Gibson a year or so ago and put a coat of lacquer on it prior to fitting, which looked great for a while but the lacquer has now shrunk and the guard has started to curl up at the edges, which has got worse over the last 6 months and I now catch my pick on the edge of the guard when playing hard. So, where can I get a replacement guard that looks good, fits well and won't need to be replaced again? I love the way that Gibson have redesigned the Hummingbird guard so the decals are under the plastic guard itself, so they won't wear out...is there any sign of Gibson doing the same with the SJ200 scratchplate? I contacted John Greven about his Tor-Tis guards but to no avail. Help would be great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWilson Posted August 23, 2008 Share Posted August 23, 2008 Jinder, I just rechecked my '07 SJ-200 and as far as I can see, it has the flowers underneath the top finish. They don't appear to be painted on the surface at all. It looks damn good too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey62 Posted August 23, 2008 Share Posted August 23, 2008 LMI has the tor-tis guards but no flowers on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted August 23, 2008 Share Posted August 23, 2008 My lacquer treatment is holding up fine. It's been about 1-1/2 years I think. I don't advocate it, just saying it "can be done". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarstrummer Posted August 23, 2008 Share Posted August 23, 2008 You won't find one with the flowers on it, unless you go through Gibson or purchase one second hand. The flowered image pickguard is trademarked by Gibson and can't be legally reproduced by anyone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted August 23, 2008 Share Posted August 23, 2008 Jinder, My pickguard is still pretty much ok on my '04 SJ200. I'm not a heavy strummer though - mostly finger pick. I did get something called "Guitar Bra" that is a heavy clear static plastic sheet that sticks to the plate - is nearly invisible, and protects it completely. Had it for over a year and it works fine. It was another member here who reported this originally. Might have been TW. I would be leary of applying any liquid chemical (polyurethane to lacquer) other than car polish - to my pickguard. The url is www.luxlogs.com cost around $10. G'luck. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajsc Posted August 23, 2008 Share Posted August 23, 2008 My lacquer treatment is holding up fine. It's been about 1-1/2 years I think. I don't advocate it' date=' just saying it "can be done".[/quote'] Hey KS I was looking for your post a couple of days ago with no luck. I remember when you put lacquer on your new pick guard. Would you mind explaining what you did again? Gibson sent me a replacement also, but it's exactly like the one that came with my guitar, in the first place. I have not installed it yet, was wanting to follow your procedure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinder Posted August 23, 2008 Author Share Posted August 23, 2008 TWilson, is your '07 scratchplate made of a softish plastic/clear rubber material, like the MC Hummingbird 'plate? I would love to get my mitts on an SJ200 'guard like that! I wonder if I put too much lacquer on my previous 'guard...I applied about coats. Is there anywhere I could get a custom made inlaid guard? I don't necessarily need it to be identical to the original 'guard design, just decorative...John Greven has a beautiful black Martin guard on his site with gold flower inlays, if I could get hold of one of those but in the SJ200 dimensions I would be a happy man. The guitar just seems to call for some bling on the 'guard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted August 23, 2008 Share Posted August 23, 2008 I used a brush-on lacquer, Minwax I think. I brushed a light coat on, brisk light strokes, then waited a couple days for the next coat. I think I must have put 7 or 8 coats on. Sounds like a lot but it wasn't; the key is thin coats. Then the task of sanding with 320, 400, 600, etc, then polishing with compound and wax (your choice). Like I said, I can't in good faith recommend it because maybe it was just the luck of the draw I didn't destroy a $300 pickguard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWilson Posted August 23, 2008 Share Posted August 23, 2008 Jinder-I'm not quite sure if my pickguard/scratchplate fits the description you've asked about. I haven't seen the Hummingbird you describe. To me, it seems to be the type that was used in the 50's, thick, probably 0.060", with a nice bevel on the edges. It is tortoise with a thin border around the circumference and has the yellow flowers that don't appear like they could be rubbed off even if you desired to do so. It's a thing of true beauty I must say. [/img] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWilson Posted August 23, 2008 Share Posted August 23, 2008 Jinder-I've not seen a Hummingbird for so long I couldn't tell you if it's the same. It is patterned after those of the '50's. It is fairly thick, probably 0.060", tortoise colored with yellow flowers and a thin border around its circumference. It doesn't appear that you could rub off the flowers if you tried. A thing of true beauty! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajsc Posted August 23, 2008 Share Posted August 23, 2008 Thanks KS. I figure I've got nothing to loose! Like I said the replacment that gibson sent me is exactly the same as the one that came with the guitar. It's seems kind of pointless to go to the trouble of changing the pick guard, when I know the same thing is going to happen with the new one. Thanks again!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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