Gulf livery bullet Mustang

[Don_Karnage]

So I recently discovered Squier makes a FSR version of the bullet Mustang in daphne blue and with orange stripes, I immediately started thinking about how old race cars sponsored by Gulf oil often sported a livery in very similar colours (I mean, this must be on purpose, right?).
So… I kinda had to get one and the plan is to modify it based on this “gulf livery” theme.

The guitar itself seems alright in terms of functionality, the switch, pots, pickups, tuners and bridge do what they’re supposed to. Frets are alright, could do with some polishing but no buzz to speak of, no sharp edges etc. The nut is actually great for such a cheap guitar, I thought I’d definitely have to do some work on it when I ordered it but seems like I’ll be able to leave it as is, sans some lubrication.

I still want to do some mods when it comes to hardware though. Even though the bridge is alright I still want to try something different so I ordered a half, top-loading Tele style bridge. The pickups aren’t really my thing but I have a humbucker sized p90 lying around so I’ll put that in and convert it to a one pickup configuration. While I’m at it I’ll probably swap out all the electronics even though they seem to work fine. Also I’m putting some old Gibson speed knobs on because “speed”…

The question though is what to do with the pickguard and what to do with it purely aesthetically. I don’t want to just have a hole where the neck pickup was, so either I’ll have to get/make a new one or cover the hole up in an aesthetically pleasing way.

One idea is to get some kind of a plastic or thin metal sign/wall ornament kinda thing with the gulf logo on and make a pickguard out of it. I’ve found a plastic one like that but it’s twice as big as I need it to be and I don’t want to have to cut away most of it… Another idea is a checkerboard/checkered flag pickguard.
Then there’s the idea of just getting a gulf logo sticker and covering the hole with that while making sure it has some kind of support from behind so I don’t accidentally poke a hole through the sticker. Alternatively a starting number sticker or something along those lines.

So what do you guys think? Any other ideas or suggestions?

Here’s the guitar btw, I already had the perfect strap for it:

[Don_Karnage]

Here are some cars sporting a gulf livery btw. For inspiration:

[BTL]

You could cover the whole pickguard with exterior-grade white sign vinyl with a black starting number printed on it.

[Maggieo]

You could cover the whole pickguard with exterior-grade white sign vinyl with a black starting number printed on it.

Yeah!

[BTL]

Trim it close and it will look 100% legit. I want one.

[CROSS_guitars]

I always thought these would look cool with a matching orange pickguard.

[noisepunk]

google doesn’t seem to think they exist for humbuckers (or humbucker sized p90s), but i feel like you need some transparent pickup covers, maybe dark frosted? my thought is that they would look a bit like a partially exposed engine, but also have the same aesthetic effect as headlights and/or a windshield.

i don’t know how this would work, but painting just the edge of the control plate might create some visual homage to painted rims.

...and obviously you need some sponsorship decals somewhere.

[CROSS_guitars]

Orange volume knobbers!

[marqueemoon]

My take is don't overdo it. I think it looks nice as-is in an understated way. No need to put numbers or logos or whatever on it.

[Gordon]

See how others did it for inspiration:

[Don_Karnage]

You could cover the whole pickguard with exterior-grade white sign vinyl with a black starting number printed on it.

That’s a cool idea! I’m not sure where I could find something that specific though…

[Don_Karnage]

google doesn’t seem to think they exist for humbuckers (or humbucker sized p90s), but i feel like you need some transparent pickup covers, maybe dark frosted? my thought is that they would look a bit like a partially exposed engine, but also have the same aesthetic effect as headlights and/or a windshield.

i don’t know how this would work, but painting just the edge of the control plate might create some visual homage to painted rims.

...and obviously you need some sponsorship decals somewhere.

Interesting idea with the transparent pickup covers. I’ll have to do some research about that!

Testing how painting the edge of the control plate would look should be easy with a marker pen or something.

[Don_Karnage]

Orange volume knobbers!

Orange speed knobs would be cool, yeah I’ll have to see if I can find any for a reasonable price…

[Don_Karnage]

My take is don't overdo it. I think it looks nice as-is in an understated way. No need to put numbers or logos or whatever on it.

I like it as is too but I want to have fun, try stuff out, see what I like and what I don’t like. If I keep things reversible I can always go back

[Don_Karnage]

See how others did it for inspiration:

Yeah I’ve done some Googling myself. That Kauer is really cool. I like how they make a nod towards the gulf logo on the pickguard without it actually being the logo. Maybe I should look into having some kind of custom decal made