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customizing a pickguard with a photograph

C

coldfoot_luke

Jul 4, 2010
76
18
SC
#1
I've been lurking on TB for quite a while, picking up low end nuggets of wisdom here and there... and while working on a bass rebuild project, I thought I would get some opinions.

(Not exactly sure if this is the right forum or not, if I'm in the wrong place, thanks for fixing it-)

The back ground story: I found a beat up Peavey Cirrus at the flea market for 25$. It had a bland sunburst finish, scratched and gouged all over the place, scrape marks on the pickups, etc... so I figured I could try and raise it back from the dead.

I'm refinishing it and replacing all the hardware. I'm doing an all white finish, and am going to paint some lyrics on the back, inspired by the Ritter Shudarella basses ([Invalid or Expired Link Removed]).

I don't want to put effort into refinishing a bass only to slap a generic pickguard on it, so I got the idea to implement one of my other hobbies, photography. I'm going to print up a black and white picture slightly bigger than my pickguard, trip it so it's the exact size and shape, glue it to the pickguard.

Here's a rough photoshop idea of what I'm going for:

pickguard.jpg


The picture is from the inside of the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. Two quotes I'm debating for the bass are:

"In the cathedrals of New York and Rome there is a feeling you should just go home and spend a lifetime trying to find out just where that is" from the song Cathedrals by Jump Little Children. The other is "Music expresses that which cannot be put in words and cannnot remain silent" by Victor Hugo.

Here's my question: has anyone ever tried to do this? I've been reading and searching all I can to make sure I'm doing everything right. I have spray adhesive, and was going to give the picture/pickguard a thorough clearcoat to make it look professional. My primary concern is that the glue will either mess up the photograph itself, or that it will not hold the picture well to the plastic.

Thanks for the ideas!
 
#3
I've used Super 77 spray adhesive to adhere photos onto objects and then slowly built up coats of Krylon Crystal Clear.

I've also brushed "Invalid Link Removed" onto glass, metal, wood and plastic and exposed it in my enlarger... an expensive alternative.

In most cases though I now print an image digitally onto a water-transfer paper like Lazertran and adhere it to whatever I want and then clear coat it.
 
#4
you could also get a photo sticker made by one of the thousands of decal makers and do it that way. If using an actual photo, look to a thin PG and using epoxy to seal it to the PG after you stick it on, like a bar top coating..e.g. System 3 Mirror Coat
 
#6
I thought about doing it the plexiglass way, I've actually sketched out my plans for making a pedalboard case with plexiglass sheets with pictures under them recessed into the sides. I don't really want to be cutting plexiglass, adhering and coating seem like the most surefire and inexpensive way to do it. Maybe I'll try this for a future (inevitable :D) project.

I'll look into the mirror coat, thanks for the suggestion.

My main concern with doing it the transfer paper or sticker ways is loss of clarity and resolution- I'm having this picture printed at the shop I use for my photo prints so I can get a really crisp image. (Even though the picture will be indiscernible under stage lights from the floor... oh well it will look cool up close!)

I'm about to do a test: going to use the spray-on adhesive on the back of a picture onto a piece of scrap plexiglass, see how it bonds to plastic. Of course, I'll probably do multiple tests with various ideas and see how it goes.

Correction from my first post: it was a Peavey Millenium, not a Cirrus as I originally wrote.

Even if I mangle this and use it for firewood, 25$ for the flea market bass and some cans of epoxy isn't too great a loss. Every project, no matter how successful or how hopelessly flawed, should be a learning experience, right?

So this is the bass straight from the flea market:
IMG_1481.jpg


It's Peavey's cheap, entry level bass. But, after a rudimentary set up and encouraging words, it didn't play too bad (like most cheap instruments... a little attention to the set up goes a long way.)


However, it was still an abused bass. What's wrong with this picture?
IMG_1490.jpg


So I thought I would eviscerate it, give it a new hide and guts, and bring it back from the dead.
IMG_1494.jpg


Currently, the body is drying with its first coat of white paint on. This will be a slowly updated thread if anyone is interested... I have a second weekend job and am refinishing a bathroom in my house (getting all my painting done at the same time!). I've been experimenting with painting ideas I have for the body, and am ordering new hardware tomorrow, just trying to get a little bit of time here and there to work on it.

Everyone, thanks for your ideas, I should have stopped lurking and started talking a long while ago!
 
#10
Rickett Customs said:
How about getting a plexiglass pick guard, make a printout on a nice photographic printer and adhere the print out on the bottom side of the pick guard? I guess you'd just need to work out which adhesive to use to attach it.
Click to expand...

That is exactly how I would do it. I think you could send the existing PG to Chandler or WD, and have them make clear one just like it. I don't think you would even have to adhere it. Just lay the photo on something usable as a cutting board, align the new clear PG to your liking and then trim the photo to the shape of the PG with a razor knife. Once screwed down, the photo isn't doing anywhere underneath the PG.
 
#11
coldfoot_luke said:
I don't want to put effort into refinishing a bass only to slap a generic pickguard on it, so I got the idea to implement one of my other hobbies, photography. I'm going to print up a black and white picture slightly bigger than my pickguard, trip it so it's the exact size and shape, glue it to the pickguard.

Here's my question: has anyone ever tried to do this? I've been reading and searching all I can to make sure I'm doing everything right. I have spray adhesive, and was going to give the picture/pickguard a thorough clearcoat to make it look professional. My primary concern is that the glue will either mess up the photograph itself, or that it will not hold the picture well to the plastic.

Thanks for the ideas!
Click to expand...

Before you do that you might want to check this Lazertran
paper out.... print your image to this paper and transfer it to whatever... glass, wood, candles... someone's forehead.
It's kewl. Then... checkout MusicLogic's sticky on decals.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
;)
Tim
 
#12
Time for an update. It's been a busy week: refinishing a bathroom at my house, sick girlfriend, starting my last semester of grad school... but like the workaholic/dedicated music junkie I am, I make time to work on my experiments :smug:

The body and neck have been painted, I'll do another coat or two and then do the details, painting a quote or two. Before I painted the neck, I spent some time doodling on it with pencil and came up with a little picture I might pain on the back of the headstock:

IMG_1632.jpg


I'm trying to go for a esoteric yet classy look with the skeletal hand/weird flower thing. I think it will be a nice subtle touch to go with the stained glass picture on the pickguard. (Not included in the picture: what I had been drinking while drawing:hiding:)

I think I'll paint a quote down the back of the neck as well. Here it is after prepping and painting:

IMG_1646.jpg


The body:

IMG_1647.jpg


IMG_1648.jpg


Now, the original subject of my post: the pickguard. I found some spray on adhesive that said "picture friendly" so I figure it would be a good bet. I edited a picture of a stained glass window I took inside the Notre Dame cathedral, edited it to saturate the blues and sharpened the lines, and enlarged it to 11x14 at my favorite local camera shop. Here it is next to the pickguard:

IMG_1650.jpg


Sprayed the adhesive on the PG, let it sit for half an hour, and it came out well, uniformly glued, no air pockets or anything. The next step was to trim the edges with an exacto knife, and here is the product:

IMG_1654.jpg


IMG_1660.jpg


IMG_1658.jpg


Now it is drying its first layers of clear coat. I'll work on wet sanding it down tomorrow, while possibly starting the detail paining on the body and neck.

I also had all my parts come in the mail... all black hardware, Bartolini pickups. Perhaps I'll post a mock-up picture tomorrow.

So far, everything has turned out well. Tomorrow I'lll see how the clearcoat takes to the photo.
 
#17
Two quick questions for you:

I am trying to put one of these:
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w272/Rebdomine666/l_bc02ebfe987a9a2a4162533a4cf6e6b5.jpg
On my pickguard. If I were going to do this, I would print it out, full scale and color. Then spray the adhesive on the pickguard, put the picture on, and cut out any area that's not the picture. Is this right? What was the adhesive you used?


Also, I like your wall hanger. I need one like it. How did you make it?


Anyways, seems like it will be very interesting. Subbed!
 
#18
oniman7 said:
Two quick questions for you:

I am trying to put one of these:
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w272/Rebdomine666/l_bc02ebfe987a9a2a4162533a4cf6e6b5.jpg
On my pickguard. If I were going to do this, I would print it out, full scale and color. Then spray the adhesive on the pickguard, put the picture on, and cut out any area that's not the picture. Is this right? What was the adhesive you used?


Also, I like your wall hanger. I need one like it. How did you make it?


Anyways, seems like it will be very interesting. Subbed!
Click to expand...

I printed out my picture at a camera store, enlarged to 11"x14", but first I made sure the resolution was sharp enough for a real clear image- trying to avoid pixelation so it will look pro. Then, I put the picture facedown on a towel and put the adhesive on the back of the picture, then put the pickguard on the picture. I did this because if I sprayed the adhesive on the pickguard and put the picture on top, I would run the risk of the picture bonding to whatever else got some of the spray overflow. I used 3M spray adhesive, found at Ace Hardware.

The hangar is even more simple- I'm using wire clothes hangars, hanging from roof beams in the shop. Gets the job done!

Good luck with your project!

Right now, I've clearcoated/wet sanded the pickguard up to 1500 grit, trying to find higher grit sandpaper to finish it. The body and neck are about to be clearcoated also. It's a slow moving project, hopefully will be done in the next week or two.
 
#19
Time for an update.... Here's the finished neck with new tuners:

IMG_1669.jpg


IMG_1670.jpg


Finished body with pickguard:

IMG_1671.jpg


Body mock up:

IMG_1674.jpg


And finally, the finished product:

IMG_1675.jpg


IMG_1678.jpg


I finished putting it together last night, plugged it in to play, then adjusted the neck... after that, I plugged it in again, no signal, so I guess I had a loose solder joint, I'm horrible at these things. I'll fix that later today after work.


It's far from perfect, there are a lot of little things that make it an obvious DIY job, but I think it gives it charm. I'm far from being a lutheir, but I like it, and I've already found my neck cheap bass project- I think I'll convert a squier jazz I found into a fretless and do another picture pickguard. These are addicting.
 

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