How to color a pickguard black the easy way

Use a Sharpie****. Preferably the big kind with the square applicator (not pointy). You get a perfect glossy finish instantly. I was shocked :shock: and amazed :grin:. I can't vouch for long term durability and how it may fade over time. But I suspect renewing it with a sharpie will restore it rather nicely.

Clean and wipe the pickguard with naphta first. Trick is to 'color' it quickly to avoid lines. Once it starts to dry the ink will behave like a solvent to what you've already painted if you color back over it. Although dries to the touch rather quickly, you will need to let it completely set (3-4 hours) before doing any touch up. At this point only acetone will remove it.

This will not turn an old pickguard to new. Any and all scratches and imperfections will still show but you'll have a mirror finish instantly. You don't lose any of the gloss. No orange peel, no dullness no 'brush' lines either. As for durability, I'm checking that now with a pick and so far its no difference than what you'd expect to see. I'm hoping to wear through the black to see how repairing it with the sharpie turns out.

Your results may vary so experiment on the back side. I'm guessing any of the sharpie colors would work but once again, experiment on the back side first.

***The one I used stated it was Xylene-free. I don't think it'll matter which one you use but apparantly the Magnum Sharpie, King Size Sharpie and Touch-up Sharpie products do contain xylene. Xylene is used in solvents so not sure what its purpose is in a Sharpie.

I have a bad feeling that your black, glossy, sharpie guard will turn an uneven olive green pretty soon. No biggie. Maybe it will stay black, but my experience with Sharpie is that it fades quickly from black to green to yellow.

Post some photos!

Now that you mention it, I do remember seeing that happen to a sign that was in a window. Obviously the sun had something to do with that, but its possible that just sped up the process. It was just too easy with too good of results to not have something lurking in the shadows. But if the worse is that I have to re-color every so often - that's fine for now. Takes all of 5 minutes.

I say place the guitar in the sun, and see what happens. Remember to take pictures!

Although I'm not seeing much if any fading, I've been doing so more research and it's inevitable that fading will occur. No big deal if I can just reapply when necessary but now I'm finding that the color is never really permanent and reapplying leaves a huge mess. I'm not sure what has happened chemically this past week or so but reapplying is not an option.

Over at the artist's forums this has been discussed and it has been suggested to use Sakura brand marker since it is pigment based. They (the company) also states it is fade resistant, but makes no claim to how they tested this. So, I'll try this again using that brand and see what happens. What's most important to me is not that it be fade resistant so much as being able to reapply easily when needed.

I will post pics if I find this is a more viable option. No sense getting any hopes up yet. :lol:

When the Sharpie method fails, go pick up a can of Krylon Plastics. Black pickguard in seconds and it bonds very well with the plastic.

When the Sharpie method fails, go pick up a can of Krylon Plastics. Black pickguard in seconds and it bonds very well with the plastic.

Been there, done that. No where nears the mirror finish you get with a sharpie, without sanding, buffing, clearcoating, or whatever. I'd go with ordering a new pickguard before I'd spend that kind of time.

Over at the artist's forums this has been discussed and it has been suggested to use Sakura brand marker since it is pigment based. They (the company) also states it is fade resistant, but makes no claim to how they tested this. So, I'll try this again using that brand and see what happens. What's most important to me is not that it be fade resistant so much as being able to reapply easily when needed.

I will post pics if I find this is a more viable option. No sense getting any hopes up yet. :lol:

Well the Sakura pigment markers are a no-go. Unbelievably it is still not dry after a week! Might as well be a dry-board marker.

Just an update - the pickguard still looks as good as it did on day one - aside from the usual pick marks from playing. I play out with it weekly, but it never has really seen the sun yet.

I know, a picture would be nice. Seems my camera and the guitar are never in the same room together.

BTW: The sharpie's that contain Xylene can be used for touch up later with no issues. I tried it with the King Size. FWIW, you could probably paint a whole guitar with that King Size. I found myself wanting to shake it before using it. lol.