White Scratchplate Materials: 17 different types of white (including parchment, mint, and cream) pickguard sheet materials to choose from!
We have well over 120 different sheet materials available, and it can be intimidating to select one that’ll refresh your guitar or add that final touch of class.
Some variation of a white pickguards go well with almost every colour of guitar- and with 17 different shades, we have a huge variety to choose from!
Each of our white scratchplate materials is either slightly or completely different, but by virtue of having so many choices, at least one will look awesome with anything.
The variety of scratchplate sheet materials we offer can be a little intimidating at first (SO MANY CHOICES!) but don’t worry- I’ll break them down for you now so you can see the difference between each one and find the perfect pickguard for your project!
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1-ply White (thin) scratchplate material
It’s 1.5mm thin. It’s the most basic material we do.
But it’s probably the closest material we offer to the original white plastic pickguards first offered by Fender when he unleashed the Stratocaster in 1954.
The original Strat scratchplate was a thin, 1ply affair with 90 degree edges… so if you have a Stratocaster and want that classic, factory-fresh, fifties flavour, this could be your guy!
1-ply White
Just like the thin 1-ply, but guess what..? It’s thicker! This material is 2.2mm thick, so that much stronger and less flexible. Most Squier Affinity series guitars have shipped with guards made from this material since the early 1990s… we think the 45 degree bevelled edges look a bit cheap and nasty though, so consider either upgrading to 90 degrees, or our 3-ply white or light mint materials!
2-ply White
It’s thin, it’s two layers thick (white atop black), and it looks GREAT as trussrod covers and on old 1970’s ‘catalogue’ guitars- Kay, Teisco, etc etc.
3-ply White
Classic. The single most common scratchplate material out there, and the most popular sheet material of all time! We think it’s a little boring… but if your original guard is damaged or discoloured and you want that factory-fresh look, than look no further!
1-ply Vintage White
Buy a guard made from our sheet of 1-ply white (thin), and then leave it in the sun or a smoky backroom for a decade or so. OR, buy a pickguard made from this stuff instead! Looks fantastic on 1950’s style Fender Strats and Tele Basses that have been worn-in a bit.
3-ply Aged White
Again, you COULD choose regular 3-ply white, and spend a decade or more staring at it waiting for it to discolour and look ‘vintage’…. OR, just choose this stuff instead! It’s off-white and prevents the ‘cheapening’ effect sometimes found when you put a stark white guard on an already worn-in guitar.
3-ply Light Mint
When most people think of an early 1960s Fender Strat or Tele, they’ll think of the light mint pickguards they came with. If that includes you, this one’s what you’re after… looks utterly delicious on 3-tone sunburst guitars.
3-ply Mint
Sometimes you need a REAL mint in your life. This is much greener than the light mint we offer, but not ‘glowing carbon rod from The Simpsons’ green like some of the cheaper stuff you see about sometimes. Looks fantastic on black and dark blue guitars!
1-ply Double Cream
It’s creamy. Twice as creamy as our Single Cream material, in fact. Seen an old Squier Affinity guitar lately? Remember that shade of yellowy cream the guard was? Yep. This is pretty much that, but designed to be that way!
1-ply Single Cream
Single cream- another great choice for black, dark blue, and green guitars just for starters!
3-ply Cream (cream/black/cream)
Like single cream, but classier- the black middle layer appears as a pinstripe when combined with a 45 degree edge. Not for every guitar, but when this works, it WORKS.
3-ply Vintage Cream
Our ‘aged white’ material not aged enough for you? But 3-ply cream a step too far? Step this way instead. It’s alarmingly similar to the 3-ply ‘parchment’ colour Fender offer, and a classy way of simulating an old guard, or complimenting certain coloured guitars.
4-ply White Pearl
The classic pearloid colour! Like all of our pearl materials, this one features a real celluloid pearl layer(ie, not a printed, repeating pattern) and is a great way of replacing original white pearl guards, or upgrading the 3-ply white guard on your new guitar! Cory Wong is probably the most famous user of this type of guard, off the top of my head… though sadly we didn’t make his!
4-ply Mint Pearl
This isn’t for every guitar! But when it works, boy does it work! Consider it a worthy upgrade for any guitar with an existing mint guard at the very least!
4-ply Ivory Pearl
The undisputed king of the pearloid sheet materials!
A lot of people find the regular 4-ply white pearl to look a little ‘cheap’ unless it’s going on a brand new guitar, as it’s so pristine. This is much more chilled- it’s still white, but it’s white after white’s spent an afternoon on an oversized beanbag listening to Oxygene by Jean-Michel Jarre and pondering the reality of it’s surroundings.
The main beauty of this shade of white is that it goes with much more stuff- it just looks right at home. It’s like a 1960’s British Secret Agent- suave, sophisticated, experienced- but also would probably struggle getting the attention of a waiter in a busy restaurant.
4-ply Cream Pearl
Another one that might not suit every guitar. But some guitars come from the factory with very similar material fitted, so if you need a replacement, or want to stand out with something a bit different, this could be the guy!
1-ply White Perspex (Acrylic)
It’s white. It’s 3mm thick. It’s extremely tough and VERY shiny. It’s also a really pleasing shade of white- not too blue-tinted so it looks expensive and classy!
This is a custom order item but I had to include it. It’s the perfect material for replacement guards for Rickenbacker guitars and basses- the closest thing possible to the sheet they use as standard- we normally just add a very light roundover, and logo engraving if required, and that sets it all up perfectly!
The image above shows a custom guard we made for Joe’s Squier Stratocaster- wanting to create the perfect guitar for pop-punk music, but with the added versatility of a neck pickup, Joe had us convert his Squier to feature a pair of ridiculously aggressive sounding Seymour Duncan Invader pickups, fitted to a white perspex guard- ready to take all kinds of abuse at high-octane gigs!
So there’s a dazzling array of materials on offer here at Tiny Tone- and those are just the white ones!
The only thing left to do is pick out the perfect scratchplate material for you! But of course there’s no ‘correct’ answer, or ‘ideal’ scratchplate for any guitar- you need to go with your gut and choose the one that you think best works for YOU- just because Leo Fender chose bakelite in 1949, doesn’t mean you need to in 2023 and beyond!
We have sample images of all the materials mentioned above in our gallery HERE so you can see for yourself which one will work best for you- have a look and imagine how they’ll all look on your guitar collection!
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