Les Paul Pickguard hole gone funny

[Atlantis]

Hello Gibson family,

 

After three decades basically playing Fenders I'm about to get my first Les Paul. It has been quite a journey I must say, cause I've wanted one since forever.

So there's a new Standard 60s waiting for me in the shop now. I like everything about it, except the fact that there's "an issue" with the front pickguard hole.

I asked the salesman to take the pickguard off so I could see the whole of the body top, and noticed that the nitro finish around the hole is not ok.

I'm not an expert whatsoever but my guess is that the hole should have been done with a drill first, rather than with the screw itself, which caused the nitro to separate from the wood in the surrounding area. (??)

 

We also took off the pickguard of a new 59 60th Anniversary - a much more expensive model - and it has the same thing, although not as wide - which suggests that drilling the hole with the screw it's a normal procedure at Gibson. (??)

 

How often do Gibson guitars come like this?

Can it get worse over time?

And most importantly, I would like to have the option of taking the pickguard off without worrying about it, so is there anything that could be done to fix this?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

 

Edited November 21, 2021 by Atlantis

[Leonard McCoy]

The screw holes were predrilled (after the finish was applied) but apparently to no avail regarding the clear-coat nitrocellulose finish around it. It matters little if the pickguard is attached; without pickguard, though, which this model was never designed for (there are other models which do feature no pickguards), you have the hole and the blemished finish around it clearly visible. A competent luthier might fill the screw holes and soften the old finish, and reapply some new layers, on top, in a most time-consuming, painstaking procedure.

Edited November 21, 2021 by Leonard McCoy