Just got a brand spankin' new American Deluxe Strat (first Strat I've ever owned). Need to remove the protective skin from the pic guard. Is there any best practice for this? Should it require removing the volume & tone knobs (if that's even possible)? Or, should I just try to pull the skin out from under the knobs?

Thanks,
Chuck

You will need to remove the knobs for sure.I backed the screws out a little to get the plastic out from under the screws too.

Thanks for the quick reply. On the volume knob, it has the push-button S-1 switch, which is scaring me from trying to take that knob off ... Do you know if that knob should come off OK?

Thanks Again,
Chuck

Hi chuckhenry, and congratulations on the new Strat! We'll want to see pictures, but first things first.

It might be a little easier to remove the film if you take the knobs off first. This is not only possible, it is actually pretty easy. If you can't just pull them off (without rocking or twisting!), you can use a couple of spoons to gently pry them off. I hope this helps, and I hope you enjoy the guitar!

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I really like all them "Aster" guitars. You know, like the Stratoc, Telec and Jazzm.

Thanks for all the help. How do I post pics? I went to my profile page to see if there was a place to add a pic there, but didn't see one. Thanks.

Be careful if you try pulling off the S1 switch. I've heard it's not that easy. I agree that the easiest way to do this is to remove the knobs and back off the screws, but I haven't worked up the nerve to try and pull of my S-1 switch yet. There's still a tiny piece of plastic stuck under there, and I'm just hoping that eventually it will wear itself away. If you are able to get the S1 off, please let us know how you did it.

I use a piece of string - butcher's twine works great - wrap around the post and pull gently up.

I ended up NOT attempting to pull the volume knob & S-1 Switch -- just too scary. Once I had one of the tone knobs off and saw what the situation was -- where the protective skin just went around the underlying pot (or whatever it's called) -- I just carefully tugged on the skin to get it to separate around the base under the knob.

I just got up enough nerve to take mine off the other day. The Volume/S-1 switch wasn't too hard to get off. It's a bit tricky gettin' it back on again but no real problem as long as you're careful. The screws that bugged me the most were the ones for adjusting the pickup height. I really didn't want to mess with them. Still some tiny strands of plastic there.

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Donnmac

'09 American Deluxe Strat Sunburst Rosewood
'63 Les Paul Jr SG body
'80's Fender F 15 Acoustic
'09 Larrivee D 03RE
'09 Squier Affinity J Bass
'10 Martin D12X1AE
'66 Traynor YGM1 (tube)
'08 Traynor TRM30
'11 G-DEC 30 Blues
'09 Fender Rumble 15

Just got my second Strat, I guess I'm addicted. If you want to see a picture just look at budglo's, they are twins.

I'm going to actually leave the clear film on untill it's to beat up and starts to look bad. The less scratches on it the better my new toy will look.

An American Deluxe is certainly a great "first" Strat. Good luck with it and post some pics. Mike

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The blues ain't nothin but a good man feelin bad.

You can leave it on if you want. I am adventurous. When I remove the protective film off...I unscrew everything all at once. Then I take the unloaded pickguard off and take the film off at one time and reassemble. But I have been around guitars for a few years, so I am not afraid to do this. I was more nervous replacing the pickup on my Highway 1 than tearing it apart.

S-1 switch...knobs are knobs, it just has more pieces.

It also lets me see under the hood and see what I have exactly too.

RK

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RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head

Good point. I always have a strange pet peeve to rip that stuff off the minute I own it: guitar, cell phone, dvd player - I hate having that one there. But you're right about knowing your guitar better. I've ripped apart so many guitars and customized them that you learn a lot in the process. I can challenge you all to find someone that can solder worse than me, but I've done it a lot in the past, if for no other reason than to just do it and try things. I end up giving it to my tech and saying "Hey, just redo all the connections, change whatever pots you need to, so I don't have to worry about it for years." I dont' want to be in the middle of a gig or tour or something and have my main guitar crap out on me.

I really would advise about leaving the plastic on. The last Tele deluxe I bought was a NOS model from a store in S.F that never sold and though everything was just like any other brand new ax the plastic was becoming one with the pickguard and I could not get it off for nothing. I brought it to my friend Mikes shop and he had it off in 5 minutes with a little trick of the trade. Remove the pickguard and rub lighter fluid into the plastic and BAM it comes right off. So theres one for those who ever have that problem.

Well, wish I could post a pic of this beautiful thing, but I guess I'm not allowed to is the only thing I can figure.

Anyway, it's beautiful. Montego Black w/ Maple Neck. I thought I wasn't going to be that crazy about the gold-colored pickguard, but it has grown on me quickly. I noticed that the Montego Black has a gold flake in it that goes with the pickguard. Maybe that's the Montego part? (I don't really know what the "Montego" in Montego Black indicates.)