Will adhesive ruin my Elrick's finish?

[zac2944]

I've been thinking about using some sort of clear contact paper or adhesive backed plastic to make a small pickguard for my Elrick. I'm worried about the area on the body next to the pickups where I rest my thumb. I'm afraid that my thumb is going to wear off the finish. I don't know exactly what type of finish the Elrick has, but it looks like oil or wax? It doesn't look very durable. Quoting Bryan R. Tyler (TB's Elrick expert) the finish is called "Briwax".

Has any one every tried using this material as a pickguard on a bass with a similar finish?

[Turnaround]

Originally Posted by zac2944

I've been thinking about using some sort of clear contact paper or adhesive backed plastic to make a small pickguard for my Elrick. I don't know exactly what type of finish the Elrick has, but it looks like oil or wax?

Adhesive backed plastic (adhesive generally) won't stick too well to oil or wax. Why not a regular screw-on pickguard?

OTOH, if you are just worried about wearing the finish off, you can easily apply some new wax or oil to the wood once it gets worn and forget about a pickguard entirely.

[Brad Johnson]

AFAIK Rob uses Briwax. You could check with them or him.

[zac2944]

Originally Posted by Turnaround

Adhesive backed plastic (adhesive generally) won't stick too well to oil or wax. Why not a regular screw-on pickguard?

OTOH, if you are just worried about wearing the finish off, you can easily apply some new wax or oil to the wood once it gets worn and forget about a pickguard entirely.

I don't want to put a regular pick guard on my Elrick for a few reasons. For one thing, it sure would look funny. Second, I don't want to drill holes and put screws in the the fancy-pants wood. Lastly, I would have to spend cash to have a custom pickguard made.

I had a Ken Smith for a while with a similar wax finish and I eventually wore out the finish around the pickups where I rest my thumb. A little wax helped to minimize the damage, but there was always a dark spot where the finish got worn. I want to avoind that with the Elrick.

[Jumbotron]

The smart-ass solution: go for the floating thumb. Doesn't touch the body, so you can't wear it out!