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Post by ashcatlt on May 23, 2011 10:22:52 GMT -5
Well, I really wanted to go with chromed steel, but it started to look like it would be too much money and too much work to get it done right. So I've ordered some sheets of mirrored plastic stock from GuitarFetish.
I have a pickguard made from this stuff on my strat. I scratched with the screwdriver as I was installing it, and after a few years playing it I've worn through the mirrored finish in a few spots from flailing around with my pick. I'd really like to avoid this in future so...
I'm thinking of spraying on a generous layer (or six) of a good hard, high gloss clearcoat. Not sure what to look for here, though. Obviously I need something that won't melt the plastic or ruin the mirror coating. I know that I can test a little bit on a scrap, but I'd rather not spend a bunch of money on the wrong stuff if I can avoid it. Any ideas on a type or even a specific brand that I should look for?
Also, I'm thinking I should just spray the full sheets before I go cutting and drilling the things. It would, I think, be more forgiving of little slips and things while working. Also seems like a heavy clearcoat might build up in the smaller holes and make a bit of a mess. Does this sound right, or is there some reason I should wait to spray it?
As always, I appreciate any advice or insight y'all can provide.
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Post by cynical1 on May 23, 2011 11:01:49 GMT -5
I'm thinking of spraying on a generous layer (or six) of a good hard, high gloss clearcoat. Not sure what to look for here, though. Obviously I need something that won't melt the plastic or ruin the mirror coating. I know that I can test a little bit on a scrap, but I'd rather not spend a bunch of money on the wrong stuff if I can avoid it. Any ideas on a type or even a specific brand that I should look for? For a long time I made wood veneer pickguards over a railroad modelers plywood base. I used marine epoxy resin on them so you'd have to be using spring steel picks and loaning your guitar to an orangutan to cut through them...but the epoxy ain't cheap and it's time consuming to to work with. In your case, I think and hard (non-spar) polyurethane would do the trick. If you don't want to spray it just cut it 50./50 with mineral spirits and wipe it on. That technique is real handy down the road to fix scratches...because it will scratch. Wet sanding and polishing can alleviate most of the scratches, but it's gonna happen. I would recommend doing all your work on the pickguard before spraying. Spraying the whole sheet may lead to more heartache and work then you wanted. Possibly, but if the finish chips while you're routing it, you'll have to sand and re-spray...which might create more of the same heartache and misery... Unless you're going for a decoupage effect, you'll be applying multiple thin coats on the pickguard. Granted I made a lot of these back in the day so I had a fixture board, but the theory still holds. I always sprayed them after all the holes were drilled and countersunk and routings completed. Working on a finished surface makes this precarious as everything needs to be taped and covered to avoid the occasional slip. You may still want to apply green masking tape around the areas you're working to avoid scratches, or just leave the protective film on until you're ready to apply the finish. When finishing I would use double sided carpet tape to adhere the pickguard to the template. You can just use a few heavy pieces of wood to accomplish this. Just size them large enough to balance the pickguard, but not extending past the outer edges. For the counter sunk holes I'd run screw into them before I sprayed. Make sure they lie just inside the countersink. After spraying I'd wait about 15 minutes and back them all off a turn to clear the finish before it hardened. In your case you can just push from behind and pull them out carefully. Just drink the beer after you do this... I hope this makes some sense. Let me know if I glossed over something critical here... Happy Trails Cynical One |
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Post by sbgodofmetal on May 24, 2011 17:17:22 GMT -5
you could try krylon spray its about $2-$6 pending on specifics and the store price. lts made to bond with any surface or material so there's no fear about damage to your plastic or the mirror side either.
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Post by cynical1 on May 24, 2011 18:05:59 GMT -5
Well, while it might stick to plastic, it's got several things working against it. One, it has the wear characteristics of a consumer grade acrylic. Two, it's loaded with Toluene, Ethylbenzene, Xylene and Methyl Isobutyl Ketone...pretty wicked stuff for a consumer grade product...
The advantage to using polyurethane is that polyurethane is a varnish with synthetic (plastic) resins, versus the natural resins found in traditional varnishes. This is what creates the superior wear characteristics and abrasion resistance of polyurethane.
About the only thing you may have to do is sand the plastic with an 800 or 1000 grit sandpaper to allow a good bonding surface.
Again, just my two cents.
Happy Trails
Cynical One
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Post by sbgodofmetal on May 24, 2011 19:03:23 GMT -5
Wow thats alot of chemicals.
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Post by ashcatlt on Jun 8, 2011 22:53:12 GMT -5
Well we're gonna (hopefully) route the guitar and cut the pickguard tomorrow. I finally actually looked at the pickguard material, and am very pleasantly surprised to find that this NOT the same crap that's on my strat.
The strat's pickguard is black plastic with some sort of mirrored finish on top. It's easy to scratch through and see the black. The sheets I got, though, appear to be clear acrilyic with some sort of mirrored backing. You know, more like a real mirror.
This, I think, makes the clear coat redundant. The acrylic may eventually get scuffed or even scratched, but so would a spray on clear coat. And the remedy - fine grit sanding and buffing - would be the same.
As long as we can avoid scratching through the backing while cutting and drilling, it's gonna work out just fine!
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Post by ashcatlt on Jun 16, 2011 11:05:00 GMT -5
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