Pickguards

[terryj]

Hi guys, I'm thinking of putting a pickguard on my bass that has never had a pickguard and I don't want to go drilling holes in it, I've seen some pickguard material that is self adhesive, has anyone ever used this? I'm just concerned that if I take it off it could have ruined the paint. Thanks in advance.

Terry G

[Kiwi]

It depends on what kind of finish you have on your bass.  I've found nitro cellulose can be fairly reactive with even the EVA foam rubber in guitar stands!  If your bass is finished in poly eurathane (aka poly) then it should be relatively safe. 


I would suggest using carpet tape because it contains a textile weave which allows it to be pulled off in one piece.  Luthiers use it all the time for sticking down routing templates. 

[Cato]

I've never tried using an adhesive to secure a pickguard but I have changed a few and I would say that they don't always sit flush to the body prior to being screwed down.

 

It may need to be fairly strong adhesive to stop the edges rising up over time.

Edited 1 hour ago by Cato

[synthaside]

So , it will depend on the finish of the bass itself , Poly / VS  Nitro  ... i would avoid trying to stick anything on Nitro finishes ...  that way lies ruin.

I've had pretty good results with this Clear mounting tape  then cleaning off any residue with Isopropyl alch but  this was on THICK Glossy 90's Poly on an old Aria ....  I think kiwi's carpet tape solution looks like it might work pretty well too ...  Again clean off residue . with Iso or non acetone based nail polish remover

 

 

WHOOPS its removed the link it was Clear Gorilla Double-sided mounting tape from Amazon.
 

Edited 49 minutes ago by synthaside

[Geek99]

Clear nano tape? 

[tauzero]

Scratchplates are evil.

[Acebassmusic]

46 minutes ago, tauzero said:

Scratchplates are evil.

Especially tort.....🤣 Double sided tape is a good idea for trying / changing plates without lasting damage to a bass. As others have said this may not be the best if it isnt a poly finish. I used double sided tape on a Lull I had. Both looked good but I decided "why have a lovely quilt finish and then cover it with a £10 piece of plastic?"

 

If you're just looking to protect the finish then one cheap alternative I use on the backs of all my basses is a screen protector (these) which I cut to shape. Dont buy the tempered ones....they just shatter when trying to cut.....guess how I know?  I've also used it on the front of my old Ritter. The one in the photo had been used for quite a while so did show some lifting on the lower edge, but its easily replaced. The Lakland shows the protector on the back. I don't know if they would be OK on a nitro bass finish.

 

Just a random thought....has anyone used vinyl wrap for a scratchplate?

 

Edited 5 minutes ago by Acebassmusic

[synthaside]

13 minutes ago, Acebassmusic said:

Just a random thought....has anyone used vinyl wrap for a scratchplate?

Yup , works a treat ... I had a jazz bitsa with a rather weird layout scratchplate and it was white on white pearl 😐 not for me ... wrapped it black worked a treat.

From this 

 

To this
 

Edited just now by synthaside