Removing Vintage Guards

[MikeMaster]

I have been told that removing a vintage guard is not a good idea because it will shrink.  True or False?

[spaceghost]

it's true that nitrocellulose pickguards can shrink over time. how muuch, time i'm not sure.

i am planning on replacing my AVRI pickguard (with a glorious glorious mint) and the tort may shrink, but i wonder how long it would take.

apparently its not too terribly difficult to file it to fit.

[fuzzking]

I wouldn't leave it alone in the sun for a whole summer, but I never had any issues when I took old guards off
for a weak or two. Shrinking is a process that takes years and years. I wouldn't be afraid to take a guard off.

[mezcalhead]

Take it off, then screw it to a piece of plywood - it won't shrink any faster than it would've on your guitar.

[MikeMaster]

Take it off, then screw it to a piece of plywood - it won't shrink any faster than it would've on your guitar.

Brilliant!

[greenlander]

I'm more familiar with Strats than offsets but the vintage guards will shrink at the same rate no matter if it's on the guitar or not. That's why you see some vintage Fenders with cracked guards and wonky screws. The only issue with having it off the guitar is potential warping.

But don't worry about any significant shrinkage. Unless you take it in the pool...

[Pumpkin]

My mustang pg has been off for months and its fine,although when i did put the og pup covers and pg back on it was a tighter fit that when i removed it but it hasn't gotten any worse since then.Its already shrunk enough  in 41 years to make the screws lopsided so...meh!

My climate is mostly freeze your ass off continuously,except for summer where you sweat it off.

[spaceghost]

My climate is mostly freeze your ass off continuously,except for summer where you sweat it off.

sounds like missouri. although our winters have been rather mild as of late.

[mynameisjonas]

i am planning on replacing my AVRI pickguard (with a glorious glorious mint) and the tort may shrink, but i wonder how long it would take.

but AVRI guards aren't celluloid, are they?

[starfish]

I'm by no means an expert on this subject but 2 sources, who I would consider extremely reliable, said that shrinkage can occur immediately when a guard is removed the first time after decades.  Rumbleseat told me this via email and Chicago Music Exchange told me in person and I know the Chicago guy knew his stuff because it only came up because we were chatting about vintage JM's for like an hour.  So call it urban legend, but coming from these 2 dealers who move a large volume of vintage offsets, I have decided not to test the theory in real life.

[mezcalhead]

I doubt that the chemical reaction suddenly decides to occur because the guard is unfastened, but I can well imagine that if the guard has been outgassing for a few decades it might build up tension across the screws and then settle into a smaller shape once it is unfastened.

[spaceghost]

but AVRI guards aren't celluloid, are they?

i always thought they were made the same as the vintage, but i could be wrong.

i suppose it also has alot to do with vintage guards being on the guitar for 30+ years.
my AVRI guard hasn't even been on for 6 months, so i don't forsee a problem.

[Sonicly Duo]

The issue I can see and have encountered is the fact that the guard is ALREADY shrunk.  I had a hell of a time getting my '64 Jag's guard back on because I had to get it around the pickups, bridge posts, and upper control cavity.  It was also difficult to get it off in the first place.  I ended up unscrewing the upper control cavity slightly, then re-tightening it once I managed to get the guard in place.  It's possible screw holes could be affected because the screws are pulled to the center of the guard, but none of my screw holes have stripped due to that.

[StevenO]

If you have a hard time getting it back on just put each screw in the pickguard and tighten them by hand and then from there, tighten each screw the same way as you would tune a drum, by going from one side to the other, just tightening each screw a little bit. That way you'll limit the amount of slanted screws and ruined screw holes.

[Pumpkin]

Another thing to consider...maybe, is pup covers.I have no idea what they are made of but my mustang covers shrunk,they are so tight to get on now.
I don't really know what i thought they where made from but I've noticed since they're sitting in a box of spares they are hard to get on.

Needles to say,i now keep them on some spare pups.