DIY tortoise pickguard material experiments

[Dimitree]

I did another test this weekend, still using epoxy resin + liquid colors

this is the result now:



it's getting better, of course still not beautiful like the actual material, but better than the printed pickguard I found.
I guess I'll make some other experiments to get a better contrast with the darker tones, and avoid bubbles (those tiny white spots you can see on the surface)

[PorkyPrimeCut]

Looking really good!

Trial & error is obviously paying off. It takes me back to the early days of Spitfire's experimentation. He was very open about his methods & eventually came up with something that stood shoulder to shoulder with the vintage stuff. You may be able to find the original thread, if it still exists.

Good luck with this.

[aliendawg]

That looks really good!

[boss302bass]

I did another test this weekend, still using epoxy resin + liquid colors

this is the result now:

it's getting better, of course still not beautiful like the actual material, but better than the printed pickguard I found.
I guess I'll make some other experiments to get a better contrast with the darker tones, and avoid bubbles (those tiny white spots you can see on the surface)

Man you are onto something good here! Amazing progress!

[leokula]

Man that looks totally boss!

[kimson]

So where do I send my money?

[Horsefeather]

Dimitree, that looks really good. I see promise with your method. Did you switch to a different formula that cures faster to avoid the running together of the colors or something? Are you willing to share what brands and materials you're using?

[Dimitree]

thank you everyone
I'm not satisfied yet, but I will keep on experimenting.
The idea is to do it with cheap materials, so I'm still using epoxy resin and cheap resin colors (you can get them everywhere online for 1$ each color).
The difficult part is determine when you mix the color, you need to wait the right time when the resin gets more dense so the color blends togheter beautifully. Also this time I did two layers, the first was a solid yellow/orange background, indeed in some spots you can see the yellow coming out. Ideally I'd need a third layer with black/dark brown over the reds.
If next will come out beautifully, I will do a tutorial

[rank]

If next will come out beautifully, I will do a tutorial

Subscribed. I have plans for a pickguard I have never seen made before & this might help me achieve it (if it is actually possible).

[Trout]

I did another test this weekend, still using epoxy resin + liquid colors

What did you put it on? Did you apply it on 1 or 2 layer pickguard or is done from total scratch?

[Dimitree]

I poured the resin directly over an existing pickguard, specifically a Fender 3 layer white/black/white pickguard.
That was a bad idea, next time I will pour the resin separately, and when dry I will glue on an existing pickguard

[Dimitree]

I had to close all the cutouts on the pickguard, and put some tapes on the edges to act as walls for the resin. If not done this way, the resin would not sit properly on the edges. The problem is that after the resin dries, you need to scrape the excess and restore the edges, but you need to do that before it gets too hard (in my case in 3 days), after that it becomes too difficult to scrape by hand, and you'd need a router.
So it's probably easier to pour the resin on a different surface, then glue it on a pickguard blank, and finally route the shape of the pickguard.

[Sweetfinger]

So is there any chance you have a template for those pickguards you could share? I happen to have a Gretsch Synchromatic from that period that's lost petty much all of its original hardware, but I've been dying to get it a pickguard.

I can make a good looking guard for one of those out of pretty close to correct looking celluloid. Dunno if you're still looking.