My redesign project

[destructin_od]

Instead of a black pg, maybe trying a mockup with a flame maple pickguard?

That is a great idea right there!

[Antony75]

The more I think about it, the more I am tending to agree with Toejam and thinking of leaving off the pickguard, though a flame maple pickguard does sound good. Have managed to get the majority of the existing finish off apart from the front which I am putting off a bit till i pick up the courage

One problem I am having though is that I want to improve the shielding around the electrics, but can't seem to find black shielding paint over here (UK) but I have found 'Electrically conductive silver paint', does anyone know if this does the same job?

Thanks

[Trev57]

There are a couple of people selling copper tape on ebay. Look for it under 'Musical Instruments'.

[mm2002]

Ah, I see. I'd just have the routes filled in, but I guess it is easier with the pickguard. Pickguards look cool, but it always seemed strange to me to hide a nice maple top like that.

C'mon Joetam, you would fill the routes in....but what about the veneer?
Actually, Joe is kinda right in a way. Filling the pup routes, then just re-veneering the whole top would probably be the best bet. You're gonna go right through that veneer if you try to strip the poly off of it. Even with a cabinet scraper.....well good luck. That stuff is ultra thin.

[sully]

+1. you can get thin flame veneer from grizzly; i say fill the routs, and retop the fucker.

sully

[Black Cloud]

I've got my Model 4 at the tech getting Duncans now, and though I rarely used the middle SC, I didn't want to put a pickguard on. So, I'm having a JB HB put in the bridge, a Lil '59 SC-sized bucker in the middle, and a Cool Rails SC-sized bucker in the neck. I got all three p/u's new off eBay pretty cheap. The three mini-toggles will be used to split, parallel, and series. And the now-defunct active electronic knob will be a 5-way p/u selector. This way, I will not only have a very versatile and quiet git, but I also won't need a pickguard.

[toejam]

C'mon Joetam, you would fill the routes in....but what about the veneer?
Actually, Joe is kinda right in a way. Filling the pup routes, then just re-veneering the whole top would probably be the best bet. You're gonna go right through that veneer if you try to strip the poly off of it. Even with a cabinet scraper.....well good luck. That stuff is ultra thin.

LOL Hi Mark! I say either retop it or go flame maple pickguard.

[Antony75]

Does anyone know exactly how thin it is in mm for example, or where is could get a decent maple veneer from in the uk? If I did go the fill in and re-veneer route, whats the best way to stick the veneer to the guard? Is it just good old wood glue?