Gold pickguard advice

[RonLovesRic12strings]

I would like to place gold pickguards on my 340 Monte Brown RIC. Has anyone ordered the gold guards available from Pickguardian? If so, does the gold color have a greenish tint (which I dislike), or is the gold a more "vintage" gold with a browner hue?

Are the pickguards easy to install?....any hints?

Thanks...Ron

[wittyair]

Ron....I've got gold pickguardian PGs on an AFG 381 and a MB 360 as well as TRCs painted
by Tony......I think they look great....definitely gold and not green.

[FretlessOnly]

Well, Craig pretty much gave you all you need to know; but I will say: Tony at Pickguardian does fantastic work.

[RonLovesRic12strings]

Thanks, guys, for your feedback. I'm going to order the gold guards from PG and have a go at painting the TRC myself utilizing the instructions given on this forum.

Incidently, Craig, I'm the guy who just bought your 340 Monte Brown on eBay...can't wait to get it next week.

[wittyair]

I thought that name looked familiar.....great guitar....enjoy it!!

[libratune]

Thanks, guys, for your feedback. I'm going to order the gold guards from PG and have a go at painting the TRC myself utilizing the instructions given on this forum.

Incidently, Craig, I'm the guy who just bought your 340 Monte Brown on eBay...can't wait to get it next week.

Ron, one thing you might try is having Tony at Pickguardian paint your TRC (nominal fee) and/or match the guard color to the TRC. I know from speaking with Tony that he has at least 3 shades of gold for Rick guards to match what you are looking for.

Good luck. That's a great-looking guitar. MBs look great with the gold treatment!

[jwargowski]

Ron,

You've probably already talked to Tony by now, but in my opinion the gold used on factory Ricks (660, 660/12) and the paint Tony uses to match it does have a green hue to it. He also uses a different gold that more matches vintage ricks that is more to my liking, and I have had both. It's the vintage gold that I used on my recently sold 370/12 MB, and also used this on my newly acquired 370/6 in MB Also. It's well worth the $15 Tony charges to paint your TRC - just to ensure a proper match. Good choice though - love the gold with the MB.

[jingle_jangle]

We're in the subjective zone here.

After mixing up lots of different shades of gold for Ricks and other projects going back to about 1970 (yikes) my own take on the Rick golds is that they look pretty neutral to me: neither greenish nor too coppery/reddish.

I'd have to say that they look green when compared to coppery "antique" golds and reddish, although only very slightly, when compared to greenish shades. Which is to say, this is all very subjective and, in the end, you have to decide what looks good.

Also the most recent gold used on guards and vintage TRCs, as on 660s, has a relatively fine metallic particle, compared to the gold on the guards of my C58s. Those have beeg honkin' crystals that really bounce the light back...

[collin]

Has anybody figured out a close match to the late 50's/early 60's gold guards, in an easily available brand (ppg, dupont etc...)?

I understand the originals were hand-mixed with bronze powder..?

[jingle_jangle]

Yup, true, and I've struggled with this, but it's got to be IlBronze (Illinois Bronze Powder Co.), due to the size and reflectivity of the particles. No major manufacturer of paints except IlBronze uses this type of powdered pigment.

I do have a really good match, but it is not a stock color; I had to custom-mix it.

[kiramdear]

A fantastic selection of metal powders can be found at Douglas & Sturgess in San Francisco or odered through their online catalog. I used to use them for faux-bronze "cold-casting" or to simulate a metal surface of just about any description.

http://www.artstuf.com/

[jingle_jangle]

These are not IlBronze, unfortunately, I know from experience.

D&S are on my blacklist. As a matter of fact, I wrote two negative reviews of them on Yelp! Both were deleted, though politely written, and Yelp claims they don't delete reviews, which calls into question their impartiality. In a word, they're not impartial, especially to their advertisers. Pay their fee of $1000 and you're immune from negative reviews!

D&S are the most unreliable, unprofessional bunch of slackers I've ever dealt with. Their stock is so old it's dusty, and when I was a newbie in town they sold me over $4K worth of resin that was ****, and didn't back their sales with any service--I got apathy. I took them off the list of my University's preferred vendors, and I continue--five years later--to discourage my students from shopping there.

They actually sell (among other brands) a brand of resins from back East (New Jersey) that do not meet California toxicity standards, being loaded with TDI; legal in New Jersey, but not in CA. They have no data sheets to support use of their products; it's all word of mouth from a mostly inexperienced staff.

I'd look for another source of IlBronze powders. If you call Illinois Bronze, they can give you a distributor in your area: 1-800-228-5635.

[kiramdear]

That's a bummer. I bought moldmaking supplies and various things from their SOMA shop from '88 through '95 with some regularity and never had a complaint except that they were a little grumpy sometimes. From '99 through '05 I dealt with their warehouse in Richmond more infrequently but without any complaints, mostly a lot of Smooth-On products that carried their MSDS sheets packed in the cartons. I found them pretty knowledgeable in my dealings in general. It doesn't even sound like the same place you're describing now - that's too bad.

[jingle_jangle]

Smooth-On is the New Jersey brand that (at least back in 2003 when I last confiscated some from a Toxic Student) had lots of TDI (toluene diisocyanate) in their urethane formulas...

I tell my students that D&S i the best place in the Bay Area to buy supplies to mold up a garden gnome or build your own bong, but as far as commercial use goes, they're rock-bottom in quality and service.

And, Kira, if they're grumpy to you, (of all people!) imagine how they are to demanding customers in high-pressure design offices where time=money...

[RonLovesRic12strings]

Photos of my newly acquired and recently modded RIC 340 Montezuma Brown with gold guards and gold TRC. I painted the guards myself (ordered the clear, plexiglass guards from Pickguardian) and TRC with Testors #1244 Gold Metallic spray enamel. I was very pleased with the results. In the near future, I'll probably add the dark brown oven control knobs with the brushed gold diamond centers.

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj28 ... 0crop2.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj28 ... 0crop1.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj28 ... G_1432.jpg