Gibson J45 Pickguard woes

[martin]

Apologies if this has problem has been posted here before.

 

I bought a J45 brand new 2 years ago and the pcikguard fell off within 3 months. As the guitar was under guarantee I sent it back and the guitar was replaced. However, the same thing has happened to this guitar. Obviously i'm a bit frustrated because it's not what you expect from a £1000 guitar.

 

Anyway, i've decided to repair it myself as the guitar is out of guarantee now. I've read that Naphtha (whatever that is !!) can be used to remove the old glue. Does anyone know if this will damage the guitar in anyway? Also, what do I need to buy to glue the pickguard back down again?

 

Many thanks

 

Martin

[guitarstrummer]

Never heard of a pickguard completely falling off. The Naphtha won't damage your guitar. You should be able to use your finger to remove most of it. Stew Mac sells the double sided tape for installing pickguards. You may be able to find something locally, as well.

[RogueBrit]

Martin

 

Strange it's fallen off again - strange indeed. You need to make sure the area is scrupulously clean before sticking it back on. Naphtha is indeed the best solvent for the glue - don't flood it all over the place, just wet a rag and be gentle. It will take a bit of patience, but, unless someone has used an odd adhesive for this purpose, which can't be ruled out, naphtha will do it. Ronsonol is the easiest to find source of a naphtha that is known to be OK with the finish. It may leave the area looking dullish - leave it that way until you have affixed the guard again and then use a good guitar polish - one that does NOT contain silicones - to brighten up the areas left. The best pickguard adhesive is usually reckoned to be 3M 467MP. Its like double sided tape - except there's no tape - its just adhesive. There's lots of tapes and adhesives - this is a high grade one tested for the purpose. Remove protective sheet on one side, stick to clean guard, scribe carefully round with a sharp blade - being careful not to damage the edge of the guard. Take a look at Franks Fords suberb FRETS site for the method of applying in the exact spot required - here: http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Luthier/Technique/Guitar/Pickguards/ClearGuard/clearguard1.html

He is using a flexible guard - but the hinge idea works great for normal guards too. See also the other info on removing old guards etc. Great site

 

I finish by carefully rolling all over the guard with a rubber coated roller - a decorators joint roller. Use moderate pressure and be thorough. Use a sheet of thin card between roller and guard as protection. Wipe away any glue ooze with naphtha. That's it. You can order the adhesive sheets from StewMac - they sell this material in convenient sheets (otherwise its only available in expensive wide rolls) - look at their site. When I place an order with them from the UK, I usually receive the goods in a very few days - I get 'em to ship fastest way.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Roger

[guitarstrummer]

If you use Ronsonol, make sure to check the contents to make sure it's Naphtha. I've heard reports that the newer stuff now contains other ingredients.

[RogueBrit]

GuitarStrummer beat me to it - at least we agree!

[RogueBrit]

Ronsonol - in its current formulation (at least in UK -i think US also) is fine - I use it all the time. Don't rub hard, use a clean soft rag. Thats CLEAN!

 

Here is a post I put on the UMGF on this subject for info:

 

'With my organic chemist's thumb pick on (albeit that thumb pick goes back 40 years or so..), naphtha is not a specific chemical - per se - it's a mixture of volatile hydrocarbons - petroleum distillates - and is a term that can be used to describe mixtures of very different properties. There are several generic 'types' though, largely based on the starting point for distillation. Ronsonol, at least its current composition, is a nice benign mixture of light fractions that in my experience doesn't hurt any finish, or effect the usual range of polymers used in guitar construction - it's tried and tested and is a good solvent for the grease constituents of day to day gunk that builds up, as well as an excellent solvent for those adhesives, that generally remain sticky, used to attach celluloid and similar pickguards. I would therefore use it in preference to, say, industrial mixtures labelled naphtha - which might contain anything.

 

Incidentally, the best adhesive for pickguards, out of the large range of double sided tapes, and tape-form adhesives, is the 3M 467MP - its one of the more expensive and higher spec adhesives, and generally available only in expensive wide rolls. StewMac sell it in convenient sheets though. The adhesive layer is thin - while it is fine for most guards, it can leave a 'mottled' appearance underneath guards that have large areas of transparent material - the fire-stripe Gibson guards come to mind. No matter how much pressure you apply (a small rubber covered roller of the sort used by decorators is ideal for this), the adhesive refuses to 'flow-out'. In this case, I had good results using two layers of adhesive (I think it's only 2 thou thick) - which rolled out much better on the transparent portions, and is still thinner than the thick version 3M also sells for industrial purposes.'

 

I doubt that you will need two layers - the J-45 guard is pretty opaque. You can test the ronsonal on a small hidden area first if you are concerned about its suitability.

 

Roger

[martin]

Guys

 

That's incredibly helpful. Thank you very much !!