Painted pickguard: material and finish?

[PineappleOwl]

My sister is a great visual artist (a talent I've never had). I would love to have her paint a pick guard for my jazz bass.

I have to believe someone here has painted a pickguard before! What do I need to know?

What material should I look for regarding the pickguard itself?

What type of paint should I suggest to ensure vibrant color with lasting results?

What is the best way to seal/coat the pickguard after it is painted so the paint will last? (I play without a pick 90% of the time, so the wear and tear shouldn't be so bad hopefully).

What am I not thinking about (there's always something)

I have a blue finished jazz bass with some of the natural wood texture still showing (not sure what the design is called. It's closer to tiger stripes than a sunburst, but very subtle with the wood grain). I think I'd like to go with a white pickguard and have her adorn it with greenery and maybe the occasional flower. I think the green over white with some flair of color will look amazing against the blue!

Cheers!

 

[96tbird]

The best way would be to use clear material and paint the back so it’s protected when installed. I don’t know if your sister could paint backwards like that though.. ask her.

Paint will eventually chip off plastic and a plastic pick guard isn’t the best thing to paint on when the art is on the top. If you do that, rough it up well before painting. Clear coat the finished art.

I would go for wood panel (art store) cut to shape and coat the finished art with clear coat.

 

[PineappleOwl]

The best way would be to use clear material and paint the back so it’s protected when installed. I don’t know if your sister could paint backwards like that though.. ask her.

Paint will eventually chip off plastic and a plastic pick guard isn’t the best thing to paint on when the art is on the top. If you do that, rough it up well before painting. Clear coat the finished art.

I would go for wood panel (art store) cut to shape and coat the finished art with clear coat.

Painting the underside is an interesting idea! I'll have to talk to her and see what she thinks as well.

Thanks for the reply!

 

[96tbird]

The problem I would think with painting the back is that acrylic art paint is thick and uneven. It likely wouldn’t lay flat.

 

[PineappleOwl]

The problem I would think with painting the back is that acrylic art paint is thick and uneven. It likely wouldn’t lay flat.

I was thinking that the underside would still be finished with layers of clear coat + sanding.

That should hopefully help with flatness, but I still don't know if it would lay flush.