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Venting- Pick Guard Plastic

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(@3chordsabadattitude)
Eminent Member
Joined: 14 years ago
Posts: 14
Topic starter  

:D Went to the local music store yesterday and bought a left over '09 Fender American Deluxe Strat HSS
:? Wanted to play it when I got home, but decided to get that plastic film off of the pick guard first
:roll: It had been sitting for a year, so it wasn't that easy to get off and was leaving some residue behind
:) No worries, I'll just take it off and use some WD-40 on it to remove the sticky stuff and remount it
:( Um, what's with these springs around the screws holding on the humbucker? They're gonna be kinda tough to get back in
:evil: Yeah, I really could have done without spending about 3 hours on this whole fiasco
:oops: I know, I know it would have been easier if I just took the strings off
:| Now if I can just figure out how to lift the humbucker and align it with those screws I can finally get it all buttoned up and then set the pickup heights and finally get to play the beast

:?: Why couldn't Fender come up with a better way to protect the pick guard!?

Rant over. Thanks!

Once you lick the lollipop of mediocrity, you'll suck forever.


   
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(@greybeard)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 21 years ago
Posts: 5840
 

I know that this is a bit late, but you could have removed the plastic with a hair dryer. Blow warm air onto the protective film and it lifts off.

There shouldn't be any residue, though, because the film is held on with a similar technology to cling film - no glue, whatever.

I started with nothing - and I've still got most of it left.
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(@3chordsabadattitude)
Eminent Member
Joined: 14 years ago
Posts: 14
Topic starter  

There was definitely some sort of residue, but the areas that had other stickers over top didn't have it (like where the made in America flag was). I think the light in the store caused the plastic to break down in some way. It wasn't glue, but there was something left behind that was tacky.

Once you lick the lollipop of mediocrity, you'll suck forever.


   
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(@gnease)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 5038
 

WD-40 is the likely aggravator here. it is primarily a solvent and probably dissolved more of the film, if not some of the pick guard, making the situation worse than it was. don't use WD-40 for anything on your guitar, as no matter what you use it to do (or believe it's doing -- probably not) it must be completely removed to avoid damage -- either immediate or long term. putting it on you guitar may also make the finish unrepairable should that ever be necessary.

(believe it or not) this is the safe cleaner for 99% of guitar finishes: naphtha (lighter fluid). but as always, try it on a small "inconspicuous" area first. and don't light it. :wink:

-=tension & release=-


   
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(@3chordsabadattitude)
Eminent Member
Joined: 14 years ago
Posts: 14
Topic starter  

WD-40 is the likely aggravator here. it is primarily a solvent and probably dissolved more of the film, if not some of the pick guard, making the situation worse than it was. don't use WD-40 for anything on your guitar, as no matter what you use it to do (or believe it's doing -- probably not) it must be completely removed to avoid damage -- either immediate or long term. putting it on you guitar may also make the finish unrepairable should that ever be necessary.

(believe it or not) this is the safe cleaner for 99% of guitar finishes: naphtha (lighter fluid). but as always, try it on a small "inconspicuous" area first. and don't light it. :wink:

I've generally found WD-40 to be pretty benign, but I removed the pick guard before using it in case it would be problematic on the wood finish. I certainly wouldn't make it a habit, but I don't think it will dissolve the pick guard or anything. Do you have first hand experience with it doing something bad?

Once you lick the lollipop of mediocrity, you'll suck forever.


   
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(@gnease)
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Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 5038
 

not in recent memory, as I've been aware of it's limitations and risks for such a long time. WD-40 was designed to be a water displacement (WD) agent, and is mostly solvent with a bit of lube. it's fine for drying durable metal part and assemblies -- along as it in turn is cleaned out and displaced by a proper lubricant. unfortunately, people think of WD-40 as a universal fix-it, but it will ruin certain types of electronics (esp pots and switches), dissolve some plastics (polystyrene and polycarbonate are cited by WD-40 as vulnerable) and generally gum-up adhesives without completely removing them. moreover, anything that leaves a residue on a guitar finish is likely to muck up future paint repair possibilities. WD-40 has just enough residual lube content to do that. it's not guitar-friendly.

-=tension & release=-


   
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(@3chordsabadattitude)
Eminent Member
Joined: 14 years ago
Posts: 14
Topic starter  

Fair enough, I'll keep it away from my guitar in the future.

Once you lick the lollipop of mediocrity, you'll suck forever.


   
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