Pickguard fitting for a relic strat

ditchboy

Just taken delivery of a 63 CS strat but it has a tort pickguard and I've always preferred mint green. The last time I changed one of these out it was fairly straight forward as it was on a strat pro ii - so fairly modern. What I've noticed on this CS however is there is a small notch on the pickguard just close to the neck pocket which I assume makes space for the truss rod screw when you need to make adjustments. The modern pickguards don't look to have the same small notch - I'm guessing it would fit but would require the pickguard to be removed when adjusting the truss rod which could be a bit of a ballache? Or will the truss rod be accessible anyway and the notch is just for aesthetics? 

nero1701

I bought a tort....similar story..but reversed.. I used a rat tail file and made my own indentation 

ditchboy

nero1701 said:

I bought a tort....similar story..but reversed.. I used a rat tail file and made my own indentation 

Do you need the indentation then to access the truss rod?

guitars4you

ditchboy said:

nero1701 said:

I bought a tort....similar story..but reversed.. I used a rat tail file and made my own indentation 

Do you need the indentation then to access the truss rod?

Not really helpful - Best bet is to take the neck off - 2nd best bet is to release the 4 screws enough so as you can 'tilt' the neck  enough to gain access to the truss rod - That recess on the scratchplate is neither use nor ornament 

nero1701

guitars4you said:

ditchboy said:

nero1701 said:

I bought a tort....similar story..but reversed.. I used a rat tail file and made my own indentation 

Do you need the indentation then to access the truss rod?

Not really helpful - Best bet is to take the neck off - 2nd best bet is to release the 4 screws enough so as you can 'tilt' the neck  enough to gain access to the truss rod - That recess on the scratchplate is neither use nor ornament 

I was about to check. 

CampbellH

Why not use the original guard as a template and adjust whichever new guard you get. Rather than playing about with the neck.

JonnyBgoode

ditchboy said:

Just taken delivery of a 63 CS strat but it has a tort pickguard and I've always preferred mint green. The last time I changed one of these out it was fairly straight forward as it was on a strat pro ii - so fairly modern. What I've noticed on this CS however is there is a small notch on the pickguard just close to the neck pocket which I assume makes space for the truss rod screw when you need to make adjustments. The modern pickguards don't look to have the same small notch - I'm guessing it would fit but would require the pickguard to be removed when adjusting the truss rod which could be a bit of a ballache? Or will the truss rod be accessible anyway and the notch is just for aesthetics? 

Wot guitars4u said above re adjustment... but before you buy a mint one check your screw hole pattern! The so called  '62' pattern (used through part of 1963)  is different to a modern Strat, you don't want to have to drill a hole in your nice CS, or in your pickguard for that matter...`62 hole pattern can be identified by the hole placement between/above neck and middle PU, as opposed to close to middle PU

chrisj1602

JonnyBgoode said:

ditchboy said:

Just taken delivery of a 63 CS strat but it has a tort pickguard and I've always preferred mint green. The last time I changed one of these out it was fairly straight forward as it was on a strat pro ii - so fairly modern. What I've noticed on this CS however is there is a small notch on the pickguard just close to the neck pocket which I assume makes space for the truss rod screw when you need to make adjustments. The modern pickguards don't look to have the same small notch - I'm guessing it would fit but would require the pickguard to be removed when adjusting the truss rod which could be a bit of a ballache? Or will the truss rod be accessible anyway and the notch is just for aesthetics? 

Wot guitars4u said above re adjustment... but before you buy a mint one check your screw hole pattern! The so called  '62' pattern (used through part of 1963)  is different to a modern Strat, you don't want to have to drill a hole in your nice CS, or in your pickguard for that matter...`62 hole pattern can be identified by the hole placement between/above neck and middle PU, as opposed to close to middle PU

Charles Guitars have both I noticed.

ditchboy

This guitar has the two screws close together by the middle pup so it looks like the modern version. 

Is Charles guitars stuff good then? I’ve been looking at those, I really wanted a genuine fender as I do like the colour but got the dilemma of having a shiny modern pickguard on a relic guitar which will probably look odd. Genuine fender cs parts aren’t particularly easy to come by either. 

Funkfingers

I have a minty green pickguard on my AVRI '62 Stratocaster. I would gladly exchange it for a torty version with the 1962 fastening screw layout. 

My preference is towards brown tort rather than Fray Bentos red.

ditchboy

Funkfingers said:

I have a minty green pickguard on my AVRI '62 Stratocaster. I would gladly exchange it for a torty version with the 1962 fastening screw layout. 

My preference is towards brown tort rather than Fray Bentos red.

I would have happily traded for the one that came on this but the hole patterns are different. 

thermionic

ditchboy said:

I really wanted a genuine fender as I do like the colour but got the dilemma of having a shiny modern pickguard on a relic guitar which will probably look odd.

It’s easy to dull the gloss with fine steel wool, or probably better, a couple of grades of Scotchbrite pads. Finish with T-Cut if required. I’ve done several like this, and been satisfied with the improvement each time.

ditchboy

thermionic said:

ditchboy said:

I really wanted a genuine fender as I do like the colour but got the dilemma of having a shiny modern pickguard on a relic guitar which will probably look odd.

It’s easy to dull the gloss with fine steel wool, or probably better, a couple of grades of Scotchbrite pads. Finish with T-Cut if required. I’ve done several like this, and been satisfied with the improvement each time.

A dark T cut to make it look dirty?

GoldenEraGuitars

Vintage Scratchplates don’t tend to lose their shine. For a more realistic look I’d let it wear in as you play it

WezV

GoldenEraGuitars said:

Vintage Scratchplates don’t tend to lose their shine. For a more realistic look I’d let it wear in as you play it

Nor do they have the same perfect shine of a factory fresh guard.  

Dulling the shine is the quick way to make them look aged, but absolutely not authentic.  It can be a good way to make a new part not stand out on a old guitar.  Sometimes that is enough, especially with honest restoration.

Repolishing by hand gets much closer to that old shiny look.

It's a difficult balance to achieve.

bluecat

It doesn't really take that long for a shiny pick guard to look used and worn in and more natural. You can't rush authenticity, if that is the look you desire.

JonnyBgoode

ditchboy said:

This guitar has the two screws close together by the middle pup so it looks like the modern version. 

Is Charles guitars stuff good then? I’ve been looking at those, I really wanted a genuine fender as I do like the colour but got the dilemma of having a shiny modern pickguard on a relic guitar which will probably look odd. Genuine fender cs parts aren’t particularly easy to come by either. 

Earl Pilanz on Ebay is my go to,  also note that not all 'mint' guards are the same and onscreen can be deceptive!  I bought samples, and by far the best match for vintage and relic Strats was vintage mint, a kind of subtle faded greyish green, not that horrible limey colour I see on some Strats.

Musical_Mystery_Tour

Depends on what you are looking at achieving. Nitrocellulose plastic usually goes a bit yellowish as it ages and is exposed to UV (as do varnishes of that type used on guitars), and not normally in a completely uniform way either. The plastic becomes brittle, shrinks and warps too, so a genuinely old scatchplate made of that material will probably crack near the screwholes as it shrinks, and look unevenly yellowish or possibly a bit greenish; it won't be as shiny as it was when new, regardless of the scratches it also gains from playing.

Then you have the fact that a genunely gigged guitar which has been around for sixty years will have been exposed to a lot of cigarette smoke at venues too, so that will make it change colour as well. Just crank up the pickup heights on a ten year old Strat and you see that on the bits of the pickup whch were below the scratchplate look a lot whiter. So those uniform greenish pickguards are more of a fashion thing than an authentic look, although they are probably a good starting point for something which one intends to relic up a lot.

ditchboy

I’m just going to put a new one on and take some scotchbrite to it. If it’s no good I’ll try something else. Thanks everyone. 

ditchboy

I tried my hand at relicing a new fender guard and tbf it looks ok but I have eventually decided to either use crazy parts or realistic relics who are based in Canada. Both look about as near to the real thing that I’m going to get.