Refinish a '71-'74 SG Deluxe pickguard?

[Jim Dandy]

I bought a terribly banged-up '71-'74 SG Deluxe that was missing original tuners, Bigsby front-mount tremolo tailpiece, knobs, and elevated pickguard. The pickups, pots, switch, nut, bridge, and cover plate are original, and I'll use them. I can't afford to replace the missing parts with all-vintage hardware, so I'm going to customize the guitar black-on-black; if I can't make it all original,I can still make it real pretty. I'll use new vintage-style knobs and install the reproduction Bigsby trem. The rest of the hardware will be new black chrome, but the profile of the guitar will be as the original. (The front of the headstock and inlays are in great shape although I had to do some delicate sanding to dig the serial number out from under a thick cover of paint and varnish on the back.)

 

The problem is the pickguard. There are no reproduction versions of the original, so I had to run down a vintage one--a pretty scratched-up one, including one deep scratch that certainly wasn't caused by a guitar pick. I was inclined to restore/resurface/refinish/repair it, but when I went online to see how to do it, I found controversy over whether to ever restore a vintage pickguard. So what's the thinking here? The guitar will already be only half-vintage, so how much value would I lose by polishing up the pickguard to look good with the gloss black of the rest of the instrument (except for the Bigsby, which still has a black logo)?

 

And if I do chose to restore the pickguard, what's the best method for doing it?

[mako shark]

Why not use it as a template to make a new one? If you can afford a pick guard blank sheet there are a load available in many colours,laminated,or not.

Or you can get A4 size sheets of plastic card in varying thickness's and colours from model shops which will be cheaper. I made a black bakolite stylie

for my relic'd tele from black plasti card and to make it look old,sprayed clear nitro over it. When it dried i wore the finish to replicate heavy playing.

Plasti card is easy to cut with sharp knives and scissors - always ask an adult to do this for you!!

[L5Larry]

As recommended above, I would use the "vintage" pickguard as a pattern to make (or have made) a new one of "fresh" plastic.

 

The problem with old pickguards is the instability of the chemical composition of the plastics. They will all deteriorate in some way with age. Some get brittle, some shrink, some emit noxious corrosive gases, etc. So by having a new one made you reset the clock to year "0".

 

Since you have purchased a "vintage" one, you have all that is needed to have a PERFECT repro made.

[mako shark]

Found this pic' of my aforementioned pick guard/scratch plate pretending to be from 1952!