Installing a Pickguard on a Guitar with No Pickguard

• 1). Determine if you need a pickguard. While the classic Stratocaster has a pickguard, many Strat-style guitars (including many made by Fender) don't. You should consider a pickguard for your guardless Strat if (A) you use a pick and (B) you pick or strum with a strong hand. Fingerpickers and jazz players need not worry. In general, if you see light pick scratches in your guitar's finish when you hold it at an angle to the light, you need a pickguard.
  
  
• 2). Minimize the guarded area. You need a pickguard at least as large as the area displaying pick marks, but not much larger. The idea is to keep your guitar pretty by eliminating wear caused by picks, not to obscure every inch of your guitar's surface.
  
  
• 3). Use a removable, clear pickguard. Many acoustic guitars without pickguards use a clear pickguard that affixes to the guitar top with an adhesive that holds the pickguard tight but allows for blemish-free removal. Such material is available from Stewart-MacDonald (stewmac.com). Measure the area showing pick marks and trace a pattern on paper. Cut out the pattern and lay it on the guitar to make sure the pick-marked area is covered. If it is, transfer the pattern to the material, cut out a pickguard and position it carefully on the guitar before removing the backing paper.
  
  

Replacing a Pickguard

• 1). Measure the old pickguard, or the area covered by the old pickguard. Strat-style guitars may look alike, but they don't always share the same dimensions. You cannot assume an off-the-shelf replacement pickguard will fit. Get the dimensions of the old pickguard as best you can, including the dimensions of the pickup holes. If it's in pieces, save the pieces. You'll need them.
  
  
• 2). Determine whether you can buy a ready-made pickguard. Using your set of measurements, check out Allparts (allparts.com), Carvin (carvin.com) and Stewart-MacDonald for a suitable replacement pickguard. Buy one ready-made if you can---it will save time. Buy pickguard material if you can't use a ready-made. Allparts and Stewart-MacDonald sell sheets of multi-ply plastic designed for pickguards. It looks good, it's easy to work with and it's not very expensive. If you want some material other than pickguard plastic---wood, Masonite, bleach bottle---the same rules apply.
  
  
• 3). Remove the old pickguard. Save the screws, knobs and switch tip in a plastic bag and tape the bag to the body cavity. Take this opportunity to spray contact cleaner in the pots and switch. Hold onto the old pickguard. Place the top of the old pickguard against the bottom of the pickguard material---the side not covered with shiny film---and trace the outline. If the old pickguard is gone, trace the pickguard area (usually visible as a different shade of finish) with a sheet of tracing paper. Cut out the paper and trace the outline on the pickguard material. Trace it a little generously to allow for a bevel and a wide cut.
  
  
• 4). Rough-cut the pickguard material using a bandsaw, jigsaw or laminate cutter. Cut the inside holes at the same time, or clamp the pickguard and drill holes with a drill press. While it's still clamped, bevel it slightly with a router, laminate cutter or Moto-Tool, then drill the screw holes. Cutting a bevel for the screw heads is easy with a drill press but hard using anything else. Use a saw head on a Moto-Tool to cut the slot for the five-way switch.
  
  
• 5). Finish off the pickguard edges with wet-or-dry sandpaper, and then mount the pickguard.