Advice Needed: Acrylic Truss-Rod Cover

[Pantone 333]

I have a 4001V63 and some of the paint (white) on the back of the truss-rod cover has come off; especially where the truss-rod adjusting nuts are. Anyone have this problem? Any sound recommendations?

[bosco64]

I've used liquid paper in the past..it works for me.

[Pantone 333]

I predicted that to be the first answer! Seriously, did it work well? Was it a good color match?

[bosco64]

It was pretty close..close enough to look undetectable from a distance...

[collin]

I've used Testors white enamel paint, typically available at hobby shops (for model car builders). Matches the color fairly close and it's a small bottle.

[jps]

I've used liquid paper in the past..it works for me.

Ditto, it works just fine. Since the problem is predominantly at the truss rod nuts, once you are done "painting" (and letting it dry), place some masking tape under the TRC where the nuts would come in contact with it to prevent this in the future.

[Pantone 333]

Thank you all for the great suggestions ... especially the masking tape!

[aceonbass]

When I back paint truss rod covers or pickguards, I use flat paint colors. They dry much faster, don't run, and are less likely to react with guitar finishes.

[teb]

The tape is a good idea anywhere you have contact (or a screw through the acrylic as it adds a little cushioning to the system). A lot of the current model paint is water-based acrylic. It's pretty much inert once dry and not likely to react with the finish. On the other hand all of my pickguards are back-painted with hardware store spray enamel and have been on the guitars for 8-10 years now (using the masking tape at the screws, pots, etc.) with no signs of any sort of finish problems.

By the way, both back-painted TRCs and guards look a lot nicer with polished edges, which isn't very hard to do just by hand.

[pag]

Tippex.
I used that and black mapping pen ink to touch up the cover on the Gibb bass back in the late 70s.

[jdogric12]

The tape is a good idea anywhere you have contact (or a screw through the acrylic as it adds a little cushioning to the system). A lot of the current model paint is water-based acrylic. It's pretty much inert once dry and not likely to react with the finish. On the other hand all of my pickguards are back-painted with hardware store spray enamel and have been on the guitars for 8-10 years now (using the masking tape at the screws, pots, etc.) with no signs of any sort of finish problems.

By the way, both back-painted TRCs and guards look a lot nicer with polished edges, which isn't very hard to do just by hand.

nice! What do you polish them with?

[teb]

Sandpaper by hand. I usually start about 220 grit, wet-sanding at the sink to get the square edge, bevel, or edge rounding I want and then work up through finer and finer grits. Once I'm up about 1,500 grit I switch to Micromesh (fancy sandpaper - not cheap but really good stuff). I buy the 5" cloth-backed Micromesh disk assortment made for random orbit sanders (Woodcraft sells them in a package and you get the most surface area for the money) but use them wet by hand all the way up to 12,000 grit. Each grit takes a couple of minutes, and then you switch to the next one. After the last one, a rag and some polishing compound finishes the job (I don't own a buffer). You just need to be careful to avoid hitting and scratching the front or painted back of the piece as you sand. It takes maybe half an hour or so to do a set of guards, but it's worth the time. I like the lens-like effects you can get on the edges by using different amounts of bevel or round on guards. TRCs just get a square edge with the corners eased just enough that they aren't sharp.

[Pantone 333]

When I back paint truss rod covers or pickguards, I use flat paint colors. They dry much faster, don't run, and are less likely to react with guitar finishes.

What are flat paint colors?

[jps]

When I back paint truss rod covers or pickguards, I use flat paint colors. They dry much faster, don't run, and are less likely to react with guitar finishes.

What are flat paint colors?

Not glossy; the paint description should say whether it is gloss, satin, or matte finish.