Wooden pickguards: DIY-able?

HCQ

There's this which could probably be used as a backing for a thin wood veneer:

https://www.stewmac.com/luthier-tools-and-supplies/materials/pickguard-materials/3m-pickguard-adhesive-sheet.html

and this which I have used and can be easily trimmed to a more custom shape with a pair of scissors.

https://www.stewmac.com/parts-and-hardware/all-hardware-and-parts-by-instrument/acoustic-guitar-parts/acoustic-guitar-pickguards/acoustic-guitar-pickguard.html

The above can easily be removed later if you want. I have replaced the one I used on my Dell Arte a couple of times over the years. If you choose this route a caveat others have not mentioned is that wood finishes darken over time with exposure to light. When I replaced my pickguard with a new one, the area of the guitar top covered by the pickguard is noticeably lighter in color than the rest of the guitar's top.

See Youtube to see installation process.

Bones

Kling-on is the type I use. No adhesive, just stays on by static electricity I guess. They don't fall off.

Kling-On Acoustic Guitar Removable Pickguard, 2 Piece set, clear (stringsbymail.com)

Kling-On Guitar Products (kling-on.com)

ChristopheCarington

Hey @V-dub, I agree that it doesn't look bad, but I also agree that it gets under your skin (mine does too).

The guy with a store in L.A. gave me two things to help deal with it on my guitar:

1. Clear, thin Mylar pickguard that can be removed without hurting the finish (and still shows off the guitar)
2. Bottle of cream polish

The pick guard is only seen if the light hits it just right, but protects from scratches (though I wish I had adjusted it's placement based on my picking). The cream polish helps add back a bit of finish that I wear off with picking, keeping my guitar looking as close to new as possible. Honestly, you'd be able to see the pick-wear much more easily if I didn't use the cream polish every time I swap strings.

Below are some images I just took of my guitar, being my daily driver since July of last year. For reference, I had an Eastman for less than 1 year, and had very clear pick wear on it. You can't really see the pick wear except in the last photo. It's also hard to see the pickguard without light in the right direction.

bbwood_98

@V-dub and others,

So, now that I know which guitar it is, I'd be less concerned with adding a wood pick guitar (lebreton's are loud guitars), so It's a lot less likely to change the sound too drastically.

I'd start by looking for some small veneer pieces.

You will need to thin it (very carefully - to about half it's current thickness - they come at 2.7mm aprox, but I'd go thinner if you can do it), and then cut it to shape as you like, then attach it with a simple glue job. make sure you know what glue as getting glue's removed with out taking a lot of finish can be . . .well tricky; especially if you guess wrong (titebond, vs epoxy vs hide).

Also , depending on the thickness of the veneer you may want to try chamfering the edges . . .

Personally It wouldn't bother me, but that's just me; and I understand why it bothers you for sure.