Restoring an original Jazzmaster gold pickguard?

[will]

Well, I just picked up an old (at least advertised as '58) Jazzmaster aluminum pickguard.

...with issues.

I don't think I'd be able to afford one that didn't have issues! Anyway, it has been chrome plated, and the edges of the pickup openings have been filed a bit.

Does anyone out there in offsetguitarland have experience sending off a pickguard to get re-anodized? Or adding some aluminum weld to build up material to mend a modification?

I don't think it would look too bad as-is. If all else fails, I could always mask off some stripes and spray a satin clear finish for that Teisco-look.

[will]

I found a listing from a previous time this pickguard sold on Reverb. Why you gotta file those pickguard openings? It's not their fault.

[fat finger]

Aluminum is easy to work with and can route nicely if you use some lube like WD40.

With that said, if you have a pick guard that fits nicely, I think it would be cheaper and possibly easier to buy a small sheet of aluminum and cut a new pick guard instead of trying to strip, weld and refinish that one.

Once you have a clean pick guard it should be easy to find a place that can do gold anodizing but you will probably have to pay the minimum lot price which might be more than you expect.

If you try to fix the old one by welding areas where you need more material, that area is almost certain to be discolored once anodized because the aluminum alloy is slightly different between your vintage pick guard and whatever filler your welder uses.

One trick that welders do to avoid the discoloring is cut strips of "welding rod" from the same sheet of aluminum as the part that is getting welded so the alloy is as close as possible. It almost works but the alloying elements migrate a little in the molten metal.

When you start with aluminum that has been plated with copper, probably nickel and chrome, it is going to be almost impossible to remove it all without thinning the aluminum which means any weld would be contaminated even if you had matching alloy filler.

Sorry for the bad news but I think the pick guard you bought is best left as-is or else painted.

[will]

Sorry for the bad news but I think the pick guard you bought is best left as-is or else painted.

That's okay - it's useful information!

I think I'll probably experiment with some aluminum brazing if I need to do any patching, and some block-sanding to slooooowly remove some of the chrome. Anodizing will most likely be more of a hassle than it's worth, so it's gonna stay kinda funky, but that's okay with me.

[mcjt]

contact http://www.tone-guard.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and see if they would, for a fee, re-anodize your piece?

[MattK]

I think I'll probably experiment with some aluminum brazing if I need to do any patching, and some block-sanding to slooooowly remove some of the chrome.

Problem is, chrome is WAY harder than aluminium, any sand throughs would gouge the original material badly. You won't be able to remove all the chrome without trashing the copper / alu underneath.
EDIT: a couple of possibilities here - including ultrasound! http://www.wikihow.com/Remove-Chrome-Plating" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[lazycircles]

Those second pics were mine. I bought it here on Osg a few years ago from Blake, but a few weeks later found a 59 that was in better shape. I don't think Blake filed it down, nor did I... in the few weeks I had it, I couldn't find anyone to remove the chrome...

[mcjt]

or embrace the silver......

[will]

or embrace the silver......

Yeah! I'm going to experiment with block-sanding some of the chrome away and filling in any of the modified spots, but I figure that it's unavoidable that it's just going to look like an old beat-up pickguard. That's okay with me!

[eggwheat]

Any metal work shop/engineering place will easily be able to resurface that..wouldnt take more than a few minutes in the right machine.

[fat finger]

Any metal work shop/engineering place will easily be able to resurface that..wouldnt take more than a few minutes in the right machine.

What magic machine would that be?

[will]

Any metal work shop/engineering place will easily be able to resurface that..wouldnt take more than a few minutes in the right machine.

What magic machine would that be?

...possibly a Bridgeport, a flat surface, a large sheet of double-stick adhesive, and an old mill bit that is okay to scratch and chip up on some chrome.

I'm not trying to get this back to New-Old-Stock condition, just repair some damage and get rid of as much chrome as I can.

[fat finger]

I don't think I would want to try that with a Bridgeport.

One thing you could do is go to a granite counter top shop and ask if you can get a couple pieces of scrap, tape the pick guard to one and glue sand paper to the other and then wet sand probably. You could add some pieces of aluminum sheet around the edge of the guard so that the edges don't get thinned before the flats get cleaned.

Anything you do is going to take a lot longer than minutes and results will be less than perfect unless you spend the time to make a new one with a new sheet of aluminum and that might be quicker too.

[will]

Anything you do is going to take a lot longer than minutes and results will be less than perfect unless you spend the time to make a new one with a new sheet of aluminum and that might be quicker too.

Yes, making a new guard would be faster and easier, but I like fixing old stuff. That's why I'm over here in the Vintage Restorations category. I'll post the progress once I've had a chance to work on this guard.

[NelsonInstruments]

I know I'm late to the party on this one, but if you are lucky enough to live in proximity to a small plater I THINK they can remove the plating in a similar manner to the way it is applied.

The only potential problems could be if the surface was etched or something similar to prep it for plating. You might not be left with a smooth surface under the plating (?)

A lot of the small time anodizers will use the diy kits which use RIt dye for the dye process. I suppose I can't comment on how effective it is. I use a local anodizing company. They'll do one piece but there are minimum lot charges...which aren't terrible but they're there.