(henceforth referred to as "Boots") had a project; to recreate to

exacting specifications a pickguard from a '65 Fender Jaguar for a longtime

customer. He did all the normal stuff guys do age guards, the

widening of the bevels, the staining of the edges, etc, but the original

pickguard had these beautiful rounded sloping inside edges that Boots  couldn't figure out. It wasn't until the owner

told him he'd actually sanded it down about 20 years ago to try to get rid of

some deep scratches that it dawned on Boots. He would need to sand down and re-polish

out the new guard to reproduce that look. So he did. And the result was glorious.

So glorious in fact that I asked Boots to do one like that for my '73 Thinline

Tele. And so he did. And again, the result was glorious. It didn't just look

like a typical "aged" pickguard you normally see, there was something

more to it. These guards had a look and feel to them that seemed more genuine

somehow. It had a jewel-like quality to it. It definitely gives it a more authentic look than the run of the mill

"aged" pickguard you see for sale on Reverb and eBay. He has made

about a dozen of them so far for friends and clients. A while back I convinced

Boots to do a run of them and see if anyone else out there looking for

something a little more authentic looking would be into it. And so he did. Boots

made 11 of them; an 8 hole Stratocaster, a 11 hole AVRI '62 Stratocaster, standard Telecaster, Telecaster Thinline,

Musicmaster, P & J Bass, AVRI 62 Jaguar, Jazzmaster, Mustang, and one for the

Vintage Modified Bass VI. We still haven't thought of a better name

for them than "Boots Aged"; maybe "double aged" or "Re-Aged."

"Twice Baked?" Making them is a time-suck, for sure, but it's worth

it. We couldn't really make a realistic profit on these unless we charged $130

or more for each one--and that's crazy--so we won't do that. Boots refuses to

be a pickguard "ager" full time. It's really just a fun side project.

The Process:

The 4 ply celluloid tortoise guards came in from WD with the

wide bevel option, that saved Nick some time. Boots stained the bevels

first then used a tinted lacquer to seal the stain and give the edges that

aged amber tint. Then he set them in the back of the shop in the sunlight for a

night and day, to make sure the lacquer was dry and to maybe impart a little UV on them

at the same time- I haven't actually heard the whole story on that part; Boots

was a little ambiguous when I asked. Then he set about the sanding down and

polishing back out. First with 1200, then 1500, and a round of 2000 before it's

finally polished with 3M Finesse It II and then cleaned. They

definitely reflect The Right Amount Of Only Vintage Light ;)

This pickguard is GUARANTEED TO AMAZE.