hey guys... i'm trying to decide between 2 squier guitars to mod up and maybe (just maybe) use around college... i'm trying to decide between the squier bullet strat and the cv 50 strat (just because of the beautiful lake placid blue finish that i love so much) either way they both have 8 hole pickguards and i bought a black hss 11 hole pickguard so i'm gonna have to drill some holes and fill in other holes any one got any tips for this process?...
i also need help on deciding which guitar to get (this is more because i want to experiment with a humbucker on the bridge cause i play a lot of punk and grunge i also may want to use this live)

Put masking tape on the areas you plan on drilling for two reasons, it will help reduce paint chipping and you can mark the hole locations.

The wrap tape around the drill bit so only the same length of the bit goes into the wood as the screw. This keeps from over drilling.

Get a couple of towels and cover up any part of the guitar you are not working on. If you happen to drop something it will help protect the paint.

There's really no need to fill in the other holes, no one is going to see them anyways... and later on you may want to change it back and save yourself the trouble of drilling them again.

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Tune Low, Play Hard & Floor it!

now that i think about it it's true... what are the risks of paint chipping?

It could come off in a big flake and the pickguard may not cover it all up.

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Tune Low, Play Hard & Floor it!

After I had been repairing and rebuilding guitars for 30+ years I found a simple solution to the finish chipping problem. I mark the drill locations and very, very gently center-punch the center point. I then use a #2 or #3 (depends on screw size) machinists centerbore to drill through the finish by hand (held by one hand and spun by the other so as to keep it in the center point and to go slowly through), drill through the finish just enough into the wood to clean the finish out of the way of the pilot hole drill bit's diameter that you'll be using for the screws. I then drill for the attachment screws and have a very clean hole with no shattering of the finish.

Also, as mentioned above, use masking tape to help prevent any possible chipping.

there is a video series about building a strat from parts, i think this specific one talks about installing the pickguard. if not check out the others.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnsZSbuZepI

so the trick is to get the hole started and then drill into it

Tracker,

What the heck is a machinist's center bore? Not familiar with the term but it sounds like I could use one. Tks

i think he means a hand drill

Actually, it's not a hand drill. I just use them by hand so as to not take out too much wood. You can find them on the websites for major online tool sales companies. They are used for multiple metal fabrication processes, countersinking drilled holes for a flathead/panhead screw and for reaming the ends of 1/8 to 1/4 inch stainless steel tubing to re-open the tube's I.D. after cutting. I tried one for these freshly painted bodies and it worked fantastic. The result was very similar to what I've seen underneath pickguards on Fender brand solid bodies for 30 years. I'll go see if I can find a suitable picture of the counter bores to post here.

In my post above on the drilling tool to help prevent paint chipping on new surfaces, I referred to it as a counter bore/center bore. It is actually called a center drill in machinists terms. They sometimes are sold in sets of five. I have a #4, #3 and #2. I use the #3 and #4 almost exclusively for boring through the paint to prevent chipping when drilling for the pickguard attachment screws. The #4 is my favorite and results in adequate screw clearance on most Fender Guitars I repair.

ok this seems kinda scary lool hope this works out... can't you do that with a normal drillbit by hand?

I would add two other important items to the previous posts.

(1) A sharp drill bit, using a dull bit will ensure chipping.

(2) Use the highest speed setting on your drill.

Chipping should not be a problem since you'll be using a small diameter bit.
The drill bit diameter needs to be the same size as the screw shaft ( minus the threads. )
if you sight up the drill bit with the screw behind the bit, you should see the screw threads.

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

No one has yet mentioned the fact that if the body has the "vintage correct" routing from the '50s (when the Strat had 8 hole pickguards), then one hole of your new 11 hole pickguard will not have any wood beneath it ...

good luck with that ...

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.