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Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 13987
Location: Upper Left USA | Has anyone had a chance to use or heard of some of the pick guards with a wood laminate adhered to the plastic. I think my next venture will go this route and I would like more input.
Pickguard Heaven and Jeannie's show some of these.
And I do mean for the solidbodies only!
Thanks. |
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Joined:
January 2004
Posts: 648
Location: Florida | Works.
You can get veneer from a cabinetry supply in almost any wood you like... all sorts of fancy stuff.
The trick is the application to the substrate.
The BEST way I ever found to apply veneer in my cabinet days was to spray on the the adhesive diluted in laquer thinner, then remist the adhesive to "knock it down" and get any lumps minimalized. Then you just put it on, roll it, and trim it. Once its on, its on forever (I suppose you _could_ chip it off like plywood... but ya know... you wouldn't).
Get adhesive that is veneer friendly - some are not, ie they bleed adhesive thru the veneer.
You can use plastic for the substrate, or other stuff like another wood.
How about... bonding different color veneers in layers for a layered look?
Veneer can come about .016 (1/64, rare) .025 thin in some instances, or .032 (1/32) or .050 or .063 (1/16) so choose that accordingly depending on how thick you want. Another good source is model shops (for the really thin stuff, small pieces good for inner layers only where the seam won't matter)
Then after its done you can tung oil it! (or hit it with some Deft spray)
If you end up bonding layered veneers... run the grain 90 degrees from each other as the layers progress (strength). |
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Joined:
November 2004
Posts: 31
Location: Los Angeles, California | I missed this post the first time.
Charlie is right on. The biggest problem is finding the right adhesive and method of application. This is especially true when working with dissimilar materials, ie. wood over plastic. 3M makes some spray-on adhesives that have a short open time that are great for hobby stuff.
I did this on a Les Paul (with a sun burst finish)that had a cracked pickguard. I bought a piece of .025 clothbacked veneer in flamed maple, glued it down and trimmed it. Then I used analine dye stain to match the stain on the guitar and shot it with 5-coats of polyurethane and buffed it out.
I got a lot of complements on it and it looked custom shop!
I started to make another one for my 80s Jap-strat but now I have decided to do the whole top! :confused:
Don't forget to pre-drill and countersink all holes before the stain and finish.
I'm sure you already know that this is a LONG project for such a little piece of wood. :)
Andy |
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Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 13987
Location: Upper Left USA | There will have to some testing (no animals will be harmed unless they are Volunteers) but the more promising is the Ply adhesives. You dampen one side (porous) and coat the other (plastic). Since it expands it may shoot through and you need to apply some pressure.
We'll see what comes out. |
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Joined:
January 2004
Posts: 648
Location: Florida | Let me clarify a few things....
I always used "contact" cement, the stuff used for putting on formica or veneers. There are a few formulations though just read the can and look for veneer warnings. No warnings and your most likely ok.
The other thing is when (up there in the thread) I said I remisted the adhesive... what I meant to say is I remisted it with straight laquer thinner, which softened and knocked down imperfections as sometimes happens when spraying glue.
Of course to spray glue you'll need some spray equpement and compressor... and whole lot more laquer thinner then you can imagine. Works well though. You MAY get by with the .005 thick sheets of adhesive that 3m makes if you want a totally odorless way to go. |
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Pick guard materials