Scratch Guard

[adhamh]

I have a Lowden s35c western red cedar/claro walnut guitar i just bought a short while ago. It's one half of a millenium twin I'm told...so I guess it was made around 2000-2001. Anyway, I'm not sure how many owners the guitar had before it came into my very welcome arms but it was evident that the guitar had some nice character marks. There was no scratch board on the guitar (I thought Lowden fitted a clear scratch guard as standard) and whoever had played the guitar before me was obviously a keen strummer as there is an area below the sound hold where the lacquer has chipped off, in one or two parts right down to the bare wood. Of course I didnt really mind this at all at first, I was just happy to have a great guitar, but now its becoming a bit of a problem. Since I've been playin it it has rapidly become more chipped. I play about 60% strumming 40% picking, but I'm an aggressive strummer. I've started to wear away at the lacquer in a few more locations including directly below the 1st and 2nd strings..which i found a bit bizarre. Now, I dont mind a few scratches on my guitar, in fact a guitar without some working scratches is just an ornament, i play my thing like there was no tomorrow, and what I dont want to happen is to shortly end up with a hole in my guitar (like Damien Rice has managed to do to his Lowden). I was told that re-lacquering the guitar would be very expensive. Can anyone give me an estimate as to how expensive? I also thought about maybe just putting a scratchboard on over the scratches, but maybe this wouldnt be advisable. Any opinions or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks,
Adhamh

[JB]

Hi Adhamh,

There's two ways to approach this ... bringing it back to original as new condition or protect it from further damage.

Restoring to the "as new" condition will mean taking the bridge off, remove the current lacquer, re-spray the soundboard, fit new bridge and Bob's yer uncle ... however, your wallet will be about £350 lighter.

Protecting it could be as simple as fitting a scratch-plate but what type ?
A clear one can look messy if it's being stuck on over existing bad dings and dents, the sticky side can't stick to the dents which leaves air pocket marks not very nice but will protect the guitar.

Using a coloured scratch-plate like tortoise shell will do the job but probably detract from the beauty of the guitar a bit ... but it's all a matter of taste.

[adhamh]

Thanks Jim,

The idea of fitting a coloured scratch guard sounds good to me. The question is where do I get one? Do you have any at the factory? And will putting on a scratch guard have much effect on the tone of the guitar?

Adhamh