Need advice on pickguard repair

[bergenwoods]

The pickguard on my Teisco Apollo greenburst is seriously damaged around the output jack. I'm totally inexperienced at making guitar mods or repairs. I've included a link to an image of the damage, since I couldn't get the image tag to work properly.

At 5 o'clock from the jack, there is a piece of pickguard missing. At about 9:30, there is a crack going from the jack to the edge of the pickguard. I suspect that if I remove that screw, that piece at the bottom of the pickguard will just fall off.

Any helpful suggestions will be appreciated.

http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc16 ... kguard.jpg

Thanks a lot!
Bergen

[frankpaush]

the easiest way (time/money to result factor) might be building a new pickguard instead of repairing it ...

[bergenwoods]

I want to try and repair the pickguard if at all possible. Replacing it would probably damage its worth as a vintage guitar. The pickguard has the beautiful gold scrollwork, and is a work of art by itself. Take a look!

Frankpaush, how did you get the image to show up in the body of your response? I followed the instructions for posting an image using the IMG tags, but it didn't seem to work, at least not in the preview mode. (posting image both ways, hoping one will work)

http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc16 ... kguard.jpg

[img]http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc167/surfandturfband/Whole-pickguard.jpg[/img]

I would like someone who has made a similar repair to give me suggestions on how to repair this one.

Thanks a lot!

[Spud1950]

It can be repaired.First you would need to remove the guard and then the output jack.Then you can glue the cracked piece back on with super glue.As to the missing piece, you need to get a piece of pickguard material of the same thickness and cut a piece to fit.You will probably have to use a file on the pickguard and the replacement piece edges to get a precision fit,and then use super glue to put them together.When using a super glue type adhesive,be very careful.Use it very sparingly as you do not want to get any on the top pickguard surface,only the the edges.It will really mess up the surface if it gets on it.Spread it on with a toothpick rather then directly from the tube.You'll be able to do a much neater job.Of course,you will the have replicate the bevel on the replaced piece by filing or sanding.

[bergenwoods]

Hi spud1950! Thanks, that's the kind of advice I was looking for. I feel sure that I can do that. However, I have a couple of questions:

1. Where can I get a small piece of black pickguard material without having to buy an entire pickguard?

2. Since this is the part of the pickguard which has to withstand the frequent inserting and removing of the guitar cable, will super glue be strong enough to hold it without some kind of brace?

Thanks a lot!
Bergen

[cheepaxes]

You might consider putting a thin metal plate behind the pickguard with a hole just large enough for the threaded jack to go through. Hopefully that would lend enough strength and distribute the stress more evenly to the plastic. Hopefully it would *not* cause any wires to short. I've never done this but it seems to me like it *could* work.

Jacks mounted in pickguards is a pet peeve of mine. I've had 3-4 pickguards in my P-bass over the years due to stress on the jacks cracking the plastic.

-Scott

[Spud1950]

You could try a guitar repair shop and see if they have any small pieces of pickguard material or even some old used pickguard you get cheap.Also, I know that places that do engraving for trophies also make those engraved plastic nameplates,which use the same material as pickguards and come in small sizes.Otherwise,you'll just have to get creative.That's what doing these types of repairs sometimes entails.

Putting something on the back of the where the jack is would be a good idea.You could use some thin sheet metal as a backing piece. If your worried wires shorting on it,just put some tape over it to act as insulation.

I also did some rethinking about using super glue.I think epoxy would be better.The super glue will bond instantly which may make getting the replacement piece in correctly a real pain.If you don't get it positioned right on the first try,you'll be screwed.Epoxy will give you plenty of time to position it correctly.It's more forgiving,if you catch my drift.

[frankpaush]

... for a guitar you will need to be stable because you want to play I wouldn't repair a part that is in constant use ... it will break apart for the same reasons again, quite sure.
Put the damaged guard into your drawer and produce or buy a complete new one. And consider putting a wider metal ring around the plug from backside to prevent breaking.

If you still have the damaged guard it won't harm the value more than a bad repair act ...
I once tried a pickguard repair on a Gibson non-reverse Firebird (changed pickup selector...) and it didn't look any better because there was no way reaching plain and shining surface and exact color and no visible edges between old and new.

(to the IMG-problem: I just did it the same way you quoted, no idea why it happens to work at mine and not at yours ...)

PS: oook, now I see what your problem is... the nice little flowers ... still or even just because of it I wouldn't touch the original pick guard

[frankpaush]

[Michael Ambrose]

[bergenwoods]

Hey Michael,

Thanks for your lengthy and thoughttful post. I really appreciate it. At this point, I'm looking into having a luthier do the repair for me. I'm really all thumbs. Usually when I try to fix something myself, I make it worse, so if it's not going to break the bank, I'll have an expert do it. If I do decide to fix it myself, I'll refer to your suggestions.

Sorry, I don't know what a tulip is. This Teisco Apollo (if that's even what it really is!) is my first vintage guitar. I'm not a collector, and just want a couple of good sounding, good feeling, good looking guitars to gig with. My main guitar is a DiPinto Galaxie 4.

My band is "Surf and Turf", and we are new, just getting to start playing out. It's unlikely that you would know anyone. We play mostly covers of 1960s surf instrumentals. Check us out at http://www.myspace.com/surfandturfband .


Thanks again,
Bergen

[Michael Ambrose]

Hey Bergen,

Nice sounds! Good deal! Hopefully i'll try and catch you guys one of these days, if I'm ever back in the old 'hood!

I forgot to mention one other alternative... though it ain't cheap. A friend of mine does engravings, and does them pretty well. So I asked him if he'd try etching a small "Sailor Jerry" hula girl onto the PG I fashioned for my Hollywood. Its a simple 4-ply B/W guard... and basically, with a dremel, and after some practice on a scrap sheet I had, he etched down past the first layer on the white and into the black.

Now, my hula girl is only about three inches tall... and you've got a lot of "art" there on your guard... but I'll bet you could find someone to cut you a 5-ply guard, and commission someone (ah, craigslist!) to etch out a similar pattern.

But yeah... its a bitch of a job. If you can avoid doing it yourself and can afford to have someone else do it, by all means go for it.

BTW... a "Tulip" is a common name for a near-bottom-end double-cut solid-body electric that Teisco flooded the five-and-dimes with back in the day... you'll find them with a million different labels... Teisco, Kingston, Silvertone, Kay, all the rest... their body vaguely resembles the shape of a tulip. (Check out wedgehed's introduction post, about part-way down he's got one in maroon.)... you'll find them with about a million different model numbers, too... ET100... ET110... ET200... all pretty much the same tulip-shaped guitar... really not too bad!... but 90% of them had the same etched pickguard that you've got. (which is why I brought them up in the first place hahaha)

I've actually seen your guitar with a number of different badges... the one that springs to mind at the moment is Barth... definately seen one with a Teisco label, too. Ah, at the end of the day, they're all the same anyway hahhaha!

I LOVE DiPinto!!!... and their shop!... I feel like I must have gone there twice a week when I was living down there. (I'm down the Jersey Shore these days.) I had a Belvedere Custom for a while... (AWESOME blue sparkle with a bigsby and the pearloid guard... but I traded up when I started settling into my Silvertone obsession. Not a day goes by that I don't regret that trade!)

Anyhoo... Hope to see you, your band, and your Apollo around!

-Mike.

[Big Beat]

This was a fairly common model in its day. I would look for another one on eBay that's a beat up project and buy it for the pickguard and any other parts (spare bridge, pickups, tuners). Then you'll have one totally stock original, plus a second neck & body to customize any way you want, or re-sell to recoup some of the cost.

Finding a replacement may take some time, but the results are far better than trying to cobble up a broken one.

Hint: search not only Apollo, but also Kimberly and Sekova