Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I need to make a few replacement white guards for a mix of guitars and basses from varied years.

I've tried a few different options to match the sheet material for Ric pickguards / scratchplates, but seem to have run out of ideas with the Light Transmission grades available to me. I'm using Perspex/acrylic sheet from the UK.

I started with a guess at "Opal 40", which is 51% LT - much too translucent. Then "Opal 069", which is 9% LT and much too opaque (they look too white and cheap). Then "Opal 50" at 37%, "Opal 028" at 26% and finally the closest match (but still just a little too transluscent) "Opal 1T67" at 23% LT.

My guess would be that 15% LT would be closest for a generic grade, but I haven't seen any made to that, or similar specs. I know there are one or two guard makers out there in RRF land, so can I ask what do you chaps use?

As an aside -
I know Pickguardian and others make them, but I would still like to make my own. I also know that different periods of Rickenbacker production had variations in opacity, and that I could spray the back face with white paint to knock off some translucence.

Any help much appreciated!

I’ve used "PLEXIGLAS® GS (allround) White WH73 GT" from http://www.plexiglas-shop.com/GB/en/index.htm

22.0% Transmission. Very close match to original guard on my ’79 4001. I think the original guard might have been slightly more translucent actually, maybe 24% or something.
The translucency is of course affected by the thickness of the sheet. Sheets vary in thickness. The sheets I got from plexiglas-shop were for the most part 3mm -3.25mm thick, some places even thicker, and some places down to 2.75mm. The WH73 GT has a neutral to warm white. Guards I’ve got from pickguardian were more translucent (maybe 26-28% transmission), and a cooler white.

Wiker wrote:I’ve used "PLEXIGLAS® GS (allround) White WH73 GT" from http://www.plexiglas-shop.com/GB/en/index.htm

22.0% Transmission. Very close match to original guard on my ’79 4001. I think the original guard might have been slightly more translucent actually, maybe 24% or something.
The translucency is of course affected by the thickness of the sheet. Sheets vary in thickness. The sheets I got from plexiglas-shop were for the most part 3mm -3.25mm thick, some places even thicker, and some places down to 2.75mm. The WH73 GT has a neutral to warm white. Guards I’ve got from pickguardian were more translucent (maybe 26-28% transmission), and a cooler white.

Thanks for that info - really useful. Cheers.

Old thread, I know, but does anyone know of a supplier who can post small quantities (a couple of pickguard's worth) to Australia?

The website, above, does not post outside Europe, and directed me to the Australian distributor that stated they don't stock that particular product in Aus.

I need to make a back-up pickguard for my '66 1998 which is cracked and about to break. Obviously I want the closest stuff I can get, though I am aware there's a lot of debate about which currently available product is actually the best option.

I've made plenty of back painted, clear pickguards, but haven't been able to get the correct white stuff for the 1998.

Have you tried Pickguardian?

I have a Pickguardian on my 4001 and it's great, but it is very white, as are the original RIC ones on my late '90s 340.

I'm not sure if 50 years of aging has caused some discolouration, but the original, cracked guard on the 1998 is definitely a 'warmer' white, and I'm hoping the Plexiglas has the warmth, based on the posts above.

i'd try http://www.eplastics.com , ...the old lightshow 'lenses' apparently came from them.....

Tony does have the correct "not-so-white/slightly translucent" material, or at least he has had it in the past. He made me several over the years. Here is one of them, on my 4001 (the original pickguard is in safekeeping).

radapaw wrote:i'd try http://www.eplastics.com , ...the old lightshow 'lenses' apparently came from them.....

What's your source for this information? First I've heard of this, the material for the lightshow models was called "Rowlux" (that's the swirly plastic sheet underneath clear perspex/acrylic sheets.

Sorry, something got deleted there.

I mentioned them because they had a big variety of plexie/plastic/etc. (including Rowlux, which was how I'd found them) and figured they'd know where to go, if they couldn't help.