Pickguard tanlines

[Wade Hampton]

Hey Day wrote:

Originally Posted by Hey_day

So would a tanline go away as the unexposed wood goes through the same process or will the two forever be different?

Some claim that they've managed to get tanlines to blend in and become imperceptible once the pickguard's been off for a while, but I reserve judgement as to whether I believe them, because I've never EVER seen that. Tanlines CAN become less noticeable, and I guess if you can't spot it from across a room that counts as as a somewhat successful rehabilitation.

But the problem is that as the wood that was underneath the pickguard darkens, the wood that was never covered up continues to darken at the same pace.

Maybe if it's just a faint tanline to begin with you can hope for it to go away and blend in. But when the contrast is as pronounced as in this photo, that's NEVER going to blur and blend in and become unnoticeable.

Kind of looks like a bad case of "reverse mumps," doesn't it?


Wade Hampton Miller

[Hey_day]

Do guitars that have a sunburst finish have the same issues?

[sbeirnes]

They'll even up over time. The more light you give the guitar, the faster the tan lines will disappear.

[Wade Hampton]

First Hey Day (and his wealthy cousin, Pay Day) wrote:

Originally Posted by Hey_day

Do guitars that have a sunburst finish have the same issues?

Yes. Absolutely. Sunbursts also gradually change color with exposure to light, and if you take off a pickguard that's been on a sunburst finish guitar for some years, you will see a very visible tanline.

Then sbeirnes wrote:

Originally Posted by sbeirnes

They'll even up over time. The more light you give the guitar, the faster the tan lines will disappear.

Well, not in my experience, I'm afraid, because the wood that was never covered by a pickguard will continue to darken at the same pace that the wood that was once underneath the pickguard does.

Tanlines can become less noticeable, less dramatic you might say, but I've never seen one entirely go away.


Wade Hampton Miller