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Repairing Pickguards
 
Hi Steve,  
       I have a 70's Gibson Flying V, and the tip of the pickguard has broken off at a screw hole. I have the piece, but I recall reading some years ago that there was no glue made that would work on this type of plastic. Is this true? Thanks for your time
E. Hester

       I don't know.  I would dab spots of glue on the back of the pickguard until you find something that works. Duco cement would be a good place to start.  Then move on to acetone.  When I patch cracked or gapped binding I chop up some matching binding, fine, and the melt it with a few drops of acetone.  I stir it into the consistency of tooth paste and trowel it into the gap.  A cheating trick, if nothing will melt the plastic, would be to glue the loose tip to the top.  Super Glue would work fine, but it is real easy to mess up your finish.  I would use contact cement.  Don't worry about reconstituting the broken joint.  Just let glue hold it in place.  If there are gaps, try tooth pasting them with binding paste.

       Remember, the plastic broke because it was under stress from shrinkage.  You will need to needle file one edge of the screw hole to relieve the stress and allow the crack to close properly.
 
Steve Mason

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