Man, I am so glad I happened across this video. I have a late 70s tele and a mustang jp bass both with severely warped pickguards which drove me crazy. So much so I rarely picked up either to play as my OCD about their aesthetics just irritated me. I had thought about spending a bunch of money on custom pickguard replacements, but so glad I came across this video because I had no idea a fix was this simple. About 3 mins at 200 degrees in the oven, and using a glass sheet I temporarily repurposed from a picture frame hanging on my wall and both pickguards look brand new after sitting and cooling for 10 mins. MASSIVE thanks to Phillip for making this video!!!
Thank you so much for this. I bought a new Fender MIM Strat last year and stored it in a gator case away from heat & cold. Took it out and found that the pickguard was slightly warped near the neck pickup.Did not have a heat gun so I used a conair hair dryer, heated the area and pressed down with fingers on that area and allowed it to cool. Worked perfect, now nice and flat.
This video just me saved a lot of hassle by fixing a new JEM7VP! Baked it like you said and came out perfect. I was looking at replacing it or sending to Ibanez warranty, but came across this and figured I had nothing to lose to try. Thank you for this and please don’t stop these tech tip videos! I’ve been able to buy really nice guitars because people say they are broke or damaged when all they need is a little time and work.
Great video, but I'd personally proceed with a lot of caution when using the highest setting on the heat gun. Good ones go above 600°C but soft PVC starts to melt at ~180-200°C, so don't point it at the pickguard for too long.
Love these basic tech tip videos. keep them coming--would also love to see video on basic soldering techniques for soldering pickups, output jack, etc.. Phil you are an awesome teacher and a great guy to do this for the guitar loving community--wish the internet/youtube and you had been around when I was younger!! I look forward to every one of your weekly Q&A hangout sessions.
Had a guitar that got left in storage in the california desert with a friend when I had to suddenly move, and the pick guard warped so much in the middle that its touching the strings. THis is gonna be really useful in getting it playable again
i did the cookie sheet one last year worked great ....then it came back again found out it was a screw that was not placed right so i toothpicked it and moved it over a lil.and i learned that from this site well the tooth pick thing i think phil did it on a guitar to tighten up the strap button.cheers love this site so much info here 3 years now almost time to become a patron now.cheers
I tried to soak my white pickguard in hot coffee to give it a vintage look. I lightly sanded the top and it worked great! Except it is now a tad bent. And I have added copper shielding tape so I can't soak it again. These two tips should fix it and my Jazz Bass will be happy again....thanks!
Excellent video. I've worked on a lot of guitars for world famous folks for many years. There's always holes in my knowledge. You just filled one of them. Thanks.
Great video I have Ia Jackson USA Adrian Smith.The pick guard was warped for years.I put the guitar in my closet and some how it remedied itself. This is a great video.Thank you for posting.
Totally useful! I'd love a "recrowning your frets" video, and also a "rewire your Les Paul from non-coil-split to push-pull pots w/ coil split" video, both are things I need to do soon - though the recrowning frets one is more imminent.
i did one of mine in the oven a couple of weeks ago ... but i left it for five minutes . it straightened out ..completely flat but !!! it also shrank by about ten percent all the way around !!! so this will work just be weary of leaving it under the heat source for more than needed
Nice. Good tip. Another trick I do with the oven is I bake my cables. 180 for a few minutes. They come out perfectly straight (no permanent bends). Careful, too long my cause the outer case to "warp".
Phillip, thanks so much for sharing this tech tip. I’ve got a Squier VM Tele SSH, that I dearly love, and has warped pick guard. A custom made one to replace, was on my wishlist and would easily run me $50! Think I’ll invest that money on a heat gun!?
Yes , really would like to see more, would like to see how to to use properly a radius guage(under string) for strat style guitars, and also how to properly set up an ibanez edge tremolo system..
This happened to the pickguard on my Blacktop Strat...got my heat gun at Harbor Freight (from your recommendations in other videos)..just need to find a piece of glass...then I'll be doing a video too! Thanks... you rock! 😎🎸🐦🤘
The 2nd method, I'd have done the other way around. I'd heat the glass baking dish in the oven, THEN set it on the pick-guard on the metal baking pan, with foil on it. Wait a few minutes to cool & there you go. That way the pick-guard has even heat distribution, from the glass, rather than the edges getting more heat in the oven.
Thank You! Heat gun: great idea. I was thinking an iron with some kind of ironing pad or oven mit in between. Putting a (currently warped) pickguard on an old Squier Strat II. Looks odd/ Strat shape with no pickguard but looks like a real Strat with pickguard shape on it. Easiest Sharpen My Axe ever
Thanks the tips on "unwarping" pick guards! I had visions of using thin double-sided tape, originally, but I shall be going the heat gun way now! Thank you, Phil
I just spent the better part of two days trying to do this, and even going slow and careful using a laser thermometer to monitor temp I still managed to catch my MIM Jazz Bass guard on fire destroying it.
And what causes warped pickguards? And some truss rod covers??? Leaving your guitar in your car in Arizona!!! Right??? Haha! I’ve fixed both pickguards and truss rod covers using a regular household iron and a cookie sheet. Wrap the plastic parts with a few paper towels first and keep the heat low enough to not melt anything, only soften! Thanks Phil!
Great video... Man, I was looking forward to spending a little money to replace my warped Tele pickguard! I don't want to fix the old one. Hey - Maybe I can paint my white pickguard into something cool. Anyone ever painted or used marker pens to customize a pickguard???
Man, I am so glad I happened across this video. I have a late 70s tele and a mustang jp bass both with severely warped pickguards which drove me crazy. So much so I rarely picked up either to play as my OCD about their aesthetics just irritated me. I had thought about spending a bunch of money on custom pickguard replacements, but so glad I came across this video because I had no idea a fix was this simple. About 3 mins at 200 degrees in the oven, and using a glass sheet I temporarily repurposed from a picture frame hanging on my wall and both pickguards look brand new after sitting and cooling for 10 mins. MASSIVE thanks to Phillip for making this video!!!
The glass pan is called Pyrex y'all. I used a hairdryer then weight on an irreplaceable guitar pickguard and it worked .
Thank you so much for this. I bought a new Fender MIM Strat last year and stored it in a gator case away from heat & cold. Took it out and found that the pickguard was slightly warped near the neck pickup.Did not have a heat gun so I used a conair hair dryer, heated the area and pressed down with fingers on that area and allowed it to cool. Worked perfect, now nice and flat.
I've done this for years now but i use a hair dryer in place of the heat gun. Im assuming you dont have a hair dryer lying around.
Heat guns for a hair dryer works faster
Great tip Phillip! My pickguards are all warped from putting guitar picks between them.
This video just me saved a lot of hassle by fixing a new JEM7VP! Baked it like you said and came out perfect. I was looking at replacing it or sending to Ibanez warranty, but came across this and figured I had nothing to lose to try. Thank you for this and please don’t stop these tech tip videos! I’ve been able to buy really nice guitars because people say they are broke or damaged when all they need is a little time and work.
Great video, but I'd personally proceed with a lot of caution when using the highest setting on the heat gun. Good ones go above 600°C but soft PVC starts to melt at ~180-200°C, so don't point it at the pickguard for too long.
Another vote for more tech tips! I'd also like to see more fixes using household items, like the oven instead of the heat gun.
Stuff like this every week would be awesome. Just a quick tip each time and you will learn us so much!
I did the oven technique on an Ibanez cavity plate recently. It worked quite well.
This worked perfectly with my 2018 Fender Stratocaster pickguard.
I love this sort of Top Tips video.
Love these basic tech tip videos. keep them coming--would also love to see video on basic soldering techniques for soldering pickups, output jack, etc.. Phil you are an awesome teacher and a great guy to do this for the guitar loving community--wish the internet/youtube and you had been around when I was younger!! I look forward to every one of your weekly Q&A hangout sessions.
This worked great! I had.a badly warped Jazz bass pickguard. I baked it at 250 degrees for five minutes. Turned out perfect. Thanks!
You have brought my 40 year old pickguard back to life thankyou for sharing
Works for vinyl records, too.
Had a guitar that got left in storage in the california desert with a friend when I had to suddenly move, and the pick guard warped so much in the middle that its touching the strings. THis is gonna be really useful in getting it playable again
i did the cookie sheet one last year worked great ....then it came back again found out it was a screw that was not placed right so i toothpicked it and moved it over a lil.and i learned that from this site well the tooth pick thing i think phil did it on a guitar to tighten up the strap button.cheers love this site so much info here 3 years now almost time to become a patron now.cheers
beautiful just like new
I tried to soak my white pickguard in hot coffee to give it a vintage look. I lightly sanded the top and it worked great! Except it is now a tad bent. And I have added copper shielding tape so I can't soak it again. These two tips should fix it and my Jazz Bass will be happy again....thanks!
Thank you Phil. I'm going to tag you in a before and after photo on twitter just so you can see a major before and after. Turning the oven on now.
Perfect, thank you! Picked up a Duo Sonic with a pickguard like a banana and this worked a charm. Subbed!
Glad I found this. Just got a used Fender bass with a ridiculously warped pickguard. Thanks for the tip!
Excellent video. I've worked on a lot of guitars for world famous folks for many years. There's always holes in my knowledge.
You just filled one of them.
Thanks.
Love your Tech videos! Keep them coming. Soldering techniques and where to buy solder with lead in it.
Great video I have Ia Jackson USA Adrian Smith.The pick guard was warped for years.I put the guitar in my closet and some how it remedied itself. This is a great video.Thank you for posting.
Totally useful! I'd love a "recrowning your frets" video, and also a "rewire your Les Paul from non-coil-split to push-pull pots w/ coil split" video, both are things I need to do soon - though the recrowning frets one is more imminent.
Perfect timing. I have a vintage warped pick guard that needs dealing with right now. Thanks.
i did one of mine in the oven a couple of weeks ago ... but i left it for five minutes . it straightened out ..completely flat but !!! it also shrank by about ten percent all the way around !!! so this will work just be weary of leaving it under the heat source for more than needed
Nice. Good tip. Another trick I do with the oven is I bake my cables. 180 for a few minutes. They come out perfectly straight (no permanent bends). Careful, too long my cause the outer case to "warp".
Yes ! All tech tips are welcomed !
Buys a used strat on Reverb with a warped pickguard, remembers he watched Phil fix this once on the cheap...
Thanks for the two method tutorial!
You're a life saver man. I've been playing with a warped pickguard until I came across this video. 👍
Phillip, thanks so much for sharing this tech tip. I’ve got a Squier VM Tele SSH, that I dearly love, and has warped pick guard. A custom made one to replace, was on my wishlist and would easily run me $50! Think I’ll invest that money on a heat gun!?
Yes , really would like to see more, would like to see how to to use properly a radius guage(under string) for strat style guitars, and also how to properly set up an ibanez edge tremolo system..
That’s a great tech tip. You never know when you have to flatten a pickguard and it works for other applications too.
Method #2 was perfect for me! Damn I love you! Thanks for the truth on Donner guitars!
Definitely worthwhile on EVERY tech tip you’ve ever given, this included. Any tips for swapping necks?
Nice. How many people bought new pick guards when the fix is so easy. Thanks Phil
Please keep doing these Phil. 👍🏻
Please release the how to fix raised grain on fretboard video! Looking forward to fixing mine! Thanks!
weekly tech video is an awesome idea.
This happened to the pickguard on my Blacktop Strat...got my heat gun at Harbor Freight (from your recommendations in other videos)..just need to find a piece of glass...then I'll be doing a video too! Thanks... you rock! 😎🎸🐦🤘
I just avoid guitars with pick guards, but keep these videos coming!
Soldering and changing pickups. Thanks for the tech tips.
The 2nd method, I'd have done the other way around. I'd heat the glass baking dish in the oven, THEN set it on the pick-guard on the metal baking pan, with foil on it. Wait a few minutes to cool & there you go. That way the pick-guard has even heat distribution, from the glass, rather than the edges getting more heat in the oven.
Good stuff, keep them coming...
LOVE the rainbow scale of difficulty. Great one.
Thank You! Heat gun: great idea. I was thinking an iron with some kind of ironing pad or oven mit in between. Putting a (currently warped) pickguard on an old Squier Strat II. Looks odd/ Strat shape with no pickguard but looks like a real Strat with pickguard shape on it. Easiest Sharpen My Axe ever
Awesome! I loved the difficulty scale you added as well. Gives it a nice touch! Keep em coming
This is great Phil. Keep them going. 👍👍👍
Thanks the tips on "unwarping" pick guards! I had visions of using thin double-sided tape, originally, but I shall be going the heat gun way now!
Thank you, Phil
I'm trying to understand how you were going to use double-sided tape. Taping the pickguard to the guitar?
These videos are great! I would love to see more offerings in this series, keep up the good work Phil.
Tech tips, the best idea ever
I just spent the better part of two days trying to do this, and even going slow and careful using a laser thermometer to monitor temp I still managed to catch my MIM Jazz Bass guard on fire destroying it.
I like it! Simple enough. Well explained and shown. Thank you!
👍👍👍 for this and for the idea of a weekly tech-tip
Yep more of this!
Very useful! Thanks, Phillip!
Please keep doing these simple easy tech tips. This is awesome.
Best kind of videos. This and field trips. Love going on field trips
Yes this was great, please make this a series.
Great tip. Thanks for sharing.
I'm wondering if this technique would be safe with a 1963 SG pickguard. I have no idea what plastic they used back then. Thanks so much.
Lots more of this please!!!!
Shake ‘n Bake...and I helped!
And what causes warped pickguards? And some truss rod covers??? Leaving your guitar in your car in Arizona!!! Right??? Haha! I’ve fixed both pickguards and truss rod covers using a regular household iron and a cookie sheet. Wrap the plastic parts with a few paper towels first and keep the heat low enough to not melt anything, only soften! Thanks Phil!
I would love to see "Quick Tech Tips Weekly". Nice done
Thank you for all your work.
Hey, Phil !
Love the Show !
Really Love the Repair Difficulty Scale !
I urge More Tech Tip Shows !
That's My Vote !
I love stuff like this. Easy and common tech tips are great.
Just used this info to fix a Telecaster pickguard!
Thank you! Helped me make my CV Strat perfect.
Thank's Phil
Very good Phil, keep'em coming bro.
I’d like to see more videos filmed in this shop area. Looks awesome!
Love it Phil. More please.
Good video. Can you do a video on Plek machines and which companies use them. 👍
Keep these coming!
Very useful tip, it would be great if you would do more of these type of videos. Thanks.
Tech tips are awesome! More please, thanks for taking the time.
Phil, great video. Keep them coming. I know I appreciate any guidance, tips and what NOT to do's!
Awesome, you have another subscriber! 😀👍
Great job Phill, thank you, keep them coming Things like this are Awesome And Soooo Helpful, Thank You for your Time,
a weekly tech tip sounds great!
Thank You for the advice!.
Useful! And coincidentally the pickguard I have that is warped seems to be the first pickguard shown. PRS?
Great tips! Keep em coming.
cool, I gotta fix mine versus tossing screws in it cause lazy LOL
Loved this video. I'd enjoy seeing your process for wax potting pickups.
These tech tips are very helpful! Thank you!
If you do this with an older (50s or earlier) celluloid pickguard, you're going to have a fire, not just bakelite.
Great tip! How can I get a pick guard off of a wooden acoustic guitar that is attached with special wood glue? Thanks.
Great
More of this! Please do a video on setting the intonation of a strat
Great video... Man, I was looking forward to spending a little money to replace my warped Tele pickguard! I don't want to fix the old one. Hey - Maybe I can paint my white pickguard into something cool.
Anyone ever painted or used marker pens to customize a pickguard???
This went from Bob Villa to Chef Gordon Ramsay real quick.
Hey Phil... great tip! Do you have any tips for a low E that just doesnt seem to intonate correctly?
Love your channel Mr McNight, you come out with some real gem's! Thank you....!
Very useful, THANK YOU!
Pyrex glass pan. Pyrex is a trademarked brand, but common name like "Q-tip" or " Kleenex".