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Hi guys.
I am finishing up a pick guard out of black matt plastic with inlays, I brought it down to 800 grit and it still looks pale to me. Is there a sealer I can put over it to bring back the richness of the colors that can handle the possible flex a pick guard may have? Thanks

Craig L

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www.handcraftinlay.com

take it through 1500p and then use 3M perfectit plastic polish on it. I would not put a sealer on it. it it is not on yet you can polish with a tad of acetone

Thanks Michael I'll try that.
Craig

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www.handcraftinlay.com

I would go at least 1500-2000 as MP says ... I then would buff it out with Meguiars #2, then 17 .. probably about the same as using the 3M stuff. If you used CA to put the inlay in though, I wouldnt let acetone anywhere near it ..... it may release the glue ...

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

Thanks guys.
I'll keep going up in grit a bit more. Then polish with the plastic polish. I use CA to clean off fretboards with inlays glued in with ca and it does not hurt them a bit. I don't let it sit on them, but a quick once over won't hurt.
Craig L

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www.handcraftinlay.com

Craig, you said it was of matte plastic. Do you want it glossy or matte? What kind of plastic?

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

It's black matt plastic- It's a WD pick guard, that's all I know. I want the finish to be matt, not gloss.
Thanks

Craig

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www.handcraftinlay.com

That could be a problem. To keep it matte, you don't want to use those fine abrasives or plastic polishes. You can go up to about 1500P grit or 800 CAMI.

Are the inlays sealed? My suggestion is sand until you have the matte surface you want, and then if you can do so without staining the inlays, stain the surface of the plastic with a van dyke brown or aniline black stain (not a pigment). That will help a lot with the grey look.

Matte blacks are themselves problematic, aside from the inlays. To be both matte and deep black they have to have some kind of glare proof coating (the specular reflections from a matte surface are seen as white). But coating on a pickguard is subject to getting worn off with picking, and none are really glare proof; glare resistant is all you can get. The dark brown stain will make the reflections more monochromatic and kill any tendency toward blue in the reflections, so the black looks blacker. This is why printers who want a good black print with a transparent brown ink over the solid black.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

Great tips. I appreciate them.
Do you think fretboard dye will work?
Better yet I'll test it and let you know. I would think it would not take due to the lack of porosity.

Craig

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www.handcraftinlay.com

There are two traditional kinds of black dye around: nigrosine, which is used in leather dye and I think some fingerboard dye, has a bluish cast. Aniline has a reddish cast. The newer metal acid dyes (I think) are also reddish. For the purpose of getting out the blue-gray look on a matte black surface, I'd go with one that is reddish. They all have a color cast, because there really is no such thing as a transparent black.

But it looks like sanding further gave you what you wanted. Looks good.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.