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i want to make a pickup cover


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i really want to make really cool covers for my humbuckers. I want to cover the 4 pickups in the 2 humbuckers with a translusent blue plastic. If i have the plastic as a solid how do i make the pickup cover

when you say that you have the plastic in solid form do you mean a big lump of plastic?

PS whats the color of the pups giong to be?

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sorry im new at this customizing thing. I mean i have like little beads that i can melt together to form 10 covers and still have left over. Whats a pup

no apologies needed : Iam still in the same beginner state that i was 70 or so posts ago... this site is great for learning

. HOwever i fear that i am becoming addicted to the site :D

oh sorry, me and my guitar slang, pup is short for pickup

how hard is the plastic? you could try getting a pickup cover size block of your plastic and routing it out, the sanding it to make it exact.

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well I'm no expert on this..but if you have plast bead media.... your going to need to make a mold of the pup cover.... most likely out of metal.... I guess you will have to heat the plastic beads up to a high temp. Your looking at an awful lot of work . Do you have to use plastic beads ? I think a thin sheet of acrylic would work better and easier .... Heated to the right temp. the acrylic will conform to pretty much any shape ..... that's how we (the company I work for) make acrylic bathtubs and jetted tubs. Just an idea... Having to build a mold for the plastic beads to melt together may be very time consuming.... Just my opinion. Again... I'm no plastic expert... but I do have $0.02 to spend...lol

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I'm almost positive it's going to be prohibitively expensive. I've looked into plastic casting, since I already do some metalcasting, and it's really expensive. You could get someone to make you a mold, but it will be expensive, and after the amount of work you'll have to do for two pup covers, I don't see it being a good idea. I think you can get blue bobbin covers (Brian sells colored bobbin tops) rather inexpensively.

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Well I never tried it ..but you could probably use those nifty "chrome" cover like the ones on Universal Jems page. You could use that as a "base mold" or a starting point, so to speak. I think they are 100% metal...which can withstand heat from a hot sheet of acrylic ... Like everyone else is stating... If you plan on making a couple hundered to sell or something... it may be worth the time and $$$ to invest.... If it's going to be a one time thing.... Fasten your seatbelt, get comfortable, and leave your wallet at the front door it's going to be a long and expensive ride..... Only you can decide which the best way to spend your time and $$$.

Also .. just think .. you may need to make 12 or more .... just before you get the process down and a perfect cover that is usable .... that's a lot of scrap materials that will be wasted for a "one time" cover.

Another thought that just popped in my head.... You may be able to use Lexan or a polycarbonate (sp) kind of like RC car bodies .... it may be easier and cheaper to work with..... plus you could paint / tint it whaterver color you want ... making the covers more universal.... than just making one color.... in your case trans. blue. It just a thought.... :D

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