Everything You Need To Know About Guitar Shielding... Almost

[@barbmelle3136]

From Leo: You did a good job and it worked fine. Nothing wrong with that. Turn your meter to the X 10K scale. The shielding paint IS conductive at a higher resistance. It still conducts enough noise to ground to matter. If you ran a jumper from the hot of the output jack to the shield paint, the signal would die. Been repairing guitars and amplifiers for several shops since the mid 1970's as a side business. I tap a small phillips screwdriver and make a row of dents along all seams, that insures the pieces are electrically connected. I have used paint, aluminum tape and copper tape with satisfying results. I have see more than a few where the shielded cover does not make electrical contact with the cavity shield. Always make sure the cover foil touches the cavity shield at least a couple places. I also shield the pickup cavities on most single coil guitars.

[@TexasToastGuitars]

One can spend a lot of time with shielding, I don't think it is that big a deal but we have started doing something

[@richardlaplant271]

I like your water skiing aircraft carrier analogy.

[@TexasToastGuitars]

Thank you Alton Brown

[@peterschmidt9942]

Its more an issue with single coils than humbuckers. Shielding their control cavity helps, but shielding around the pickups themselves gets rid of the noise but can also affect the way the pickup behaves. That's a whole discussion in itself. Matt, you might consider using a star roller over the two joining pieces of aluminium tape. It puts tiny holes across it (like a perforation) so you're not relying on just one point of contact. Otherwise you're making a capacitor. Copper tape prices these days isn't too bad. I got a 50mm wide x 20m roll off ebay for about $10-11AU a couple of years ago and still going through it. But the aluminium tape is easy to get from the local hardware.

[@TexasToastGuitars]

Thanks Peter, we pretty much decided that some shielding is all you need. The continuity thing is pretty much bunk. One of the advantages of geeking out about this topic in the shop is that we came up with our own way of doing this on future guitars.

[@peterschmidt9942]

@@TexasToastGuitars Now its warming up a bit, I bought some different metal powders a while back (aluminium, copper and graphite) and going to give making my own shielding paint a go. The stewmac stuff works but it's expensive to get it shipped over to Oz.

[@davidmorse1519]

I had the same problem with my "copy" Les Paul Standard. I used copper tape because that was what I had available in the pot hole and pickups. When I put it all back together there was no sound from the guitar. What I found out was that it was a grounding issue in the pots area, to be honest, I had not reconnected the ground wire from the bridge. Unfortunately I am not living in America at this time and am in Asia so there's not much chance to get advice from guitar makers here (language issue). Once I removed the copper tape from the pot housing it worked fine, even though I still have not reconnected the ground line. I do plan to get more guitars from China because its easier being here. So I do a lot of repairs and modifications myself, kinda jumped into the deep end of the pool without really having any training or experience. Thank you, because your videos have been of great help.

[@TexasToastGuitars]

Thanks for watching David, glad to hear you are enjoying the videos

[@JohnShalamskas]

My first guitar was a Chinese copy of a Les Paul, and it had several issues that I gradually figured out, including a bad tone pot. Now I have practically rebuilt it, and it is an excellent guitar. And I learned a decent amount about building and troubleshooting guitars.

[@glassbox7761]

Probably that paint in the PRS is conductive, but its resistance is higher than the trigger inside the continuity tester. Put it in the Ohm function and you'll see some low value, but not low enough to trigger the continuity tester. It works.

[@TexasToastGuitars]

You got me man

[@ebandcamp]

I looked it up . A cheaper way to do shielding paint . Graphite powder ( cheap ). Acrylic paint ( cheap ) , mix until you get continuity . stewMac can get expensive . I’m planning a build soon and will definitely be doing it .

[@TexasToastGuitars]

Great tip!

[@cheapskate8656]

Hi Matt. I have something to add :) The thing about a "Faraday cage" is that it does not have to be a solid sheet. It can in fact be a cage like mesh. Hence the word "cage" in the name. This is the reason why we don't need shielding on the top of pickups. The guitar strings make a "Faraday cage". So, the wavelengths that create the noise are lowish frequency and so the wave pattern is fairly large. Too large to pass to the top of the pickup without hitting at least one string and getting earthed. Thats why the back plate that had the letters cut out still works and why some fairly patchy jobs can still work out OK. I like the way you did it because it leaves no room for error. Great video as usual. By the way ...... I laughed pretty hard when you compared over the top shielding to water skiing behind an aircraft carrier.

[@TexasToastGuitars]

Sounds right to me man. That aircraft carrier line is pretty funny HAHAHA

[@JohnShalamskas]

Guitar strings are great antennas.

[@cheapskate8656]

@@JohnShalamskas Not sure what you mean. You could use one for an antenna, thats true.

[@JohnShalamskas]

@@cheapskate8656 That's why you will find a wire soldered to the Strat trem claw that connects to ground in the control cavity. It grounds the strings through their contact at the trem/bridge.

[@jvin248]

Really nice fabric top and back! ...Since I build guitars from scratch too, here are some shielding hints: I'll use the flashing tape in the cavities instead of the paint and avoid the three days drying multiple coats delay and get better performance. As you found by bench marking other guitars the paint has really sketchy performance. ...Any wire runs outside of the Faraday cages should be shielded cables (couldn't tell on the wires going to the switch in your video), you can be tricky and wrap the wire bundle in the aluminum tape for any pass-through holes then ground it. ...Key however, that I find is 50% of noise reduction in most guitars: The wire run from the volume pot to the jack needs to be a shielded cable! That's where Fender MIA does a disservice to their customers as even $80 import Epi Specials get shielded cable there. Or why even bother using a shielded cable from the guitar to the amp? Twisted pairs, a myth, are useless in a guitar or again we'd use twisted un-shielded cable from the guitar to the amp. ...The aluminum actually provides a higher performance Faraday cage than copper (there are research reports floating around for those that really need to prove it, all the electrical and radio and cell device folks have done exhaustive research far beyond any guitar factory) so if you put copper down also put aluminum tape! ...One item often missed: covered pickups provide a Faraday cage themselves if they are properly grounded, open faced humbuckers recording in front of a computer will be noisier than you can believe even if all the rest of the guitar is properly 'caged'.

[@peterschmidt9942]

Twisted pairs aren't a myth. It's just that it doesn't make much of a difference with the short runs inside a guitar, but it is still good build practice (and helps keep paired wires together for easy runs). These days we've figured out much better ways of reducing noise by using shielded wires instead.

[@TexasToastGuitars]

Thanks jvin248, we pretty much decided that some shielding is all you need. The continuity thing is pretty much bunk. One of the advantages of geeking out about this topic in the shop is that we came up with our own way of doing this on future guitars.

[@JohnShalamskas]

I would love to see a link to any study claiming Aluminum shielding is electrically superior to Copper. Copper has a lower resistance than the same thickness of Aluminum, so the "skin" depth at radio frequency is reduced. For the purpose of shielding a guitar electronics cavity, there will not be a noticeable electrical difference. Also, copper is much easier to solder than Aluminum.

[@tracyc7813]

Yes I do have experience shielding guitars. I've shielded many. You did it basically the same way I prefer to do it. Sometime I use tape instead of shielding paint if the guitar is "vintage" because the tape can be removed without much fuss.

[@TexasToastGuitars]

Thanks Tracy, we pretty much decided that some shielding is all you need. The continuity thing is pretty much bunk. One of the advantages of geeking out about this topic in the shop is that we came up with our own way of doing this on future guitars.

[@onpsxmember]

@@TexasToastGuitars Is there a video on your own way you came up with or is that a wonderbread secret?

[@imtxn]

Sheilding works because a guitar’s strings and electronics act as receiving antennas to electromagnetic & electrostatic fields that they come close to. I.e. fluoresents(static), motors (magnetic). Twisting source and return wire from single coils eliminates the electromagnetics because any magnetic field coupling to both wires induces opposite polarity current in each canceling the interference out. The sheild provides a barrier to any static field by providing an easy path to ground shunting any interference away before it gets into the signal path. SO, the better conductive the material is the more rejection you get. Copper is only a slightly better conductor than aluminum, but costs way more. $$$ is why the industry used alum to shield tuned ckts in radio & TV instead of copper.

[@shawns9410]

Picking up some AM Radio! Nice

[@stephenhookings1985]

@@shawns9410 my single coil J pickup in Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar did this. Even after shielding - cos the pickup itself is doing the magic. The workaround - humbuckers or move a few feet either side to get into a trough from the induced signal. In my case it was the induction loop for hard of hearing - someone was piping the band thru it ... Alternative workaround ... Convince the sound engineer to stop it - get some help. Pedals can pick up RF too.

[@wearytraveler3524]

Hey Matt! I'm an old fart who's been building this crap for decades! Not braggin' just fact! So here's my $.02 worth! The only time you really need body shielding is if you use single coil, split or tap your coils or shift your phasing in any way! That being said, you should ALWAYS shield your output wire no matter what, because it also acts as an antenna and will pick up any and all magnetic frequencies within the area (that means it's gonna hum!)! Anything conductive can be used for the body shielding as long as you can shape it to the hole and make it cohesive with all the other shielding, including the output wire by the way! Most guys miss that little point! Like you did! You still had a slight hum and it was because you didn't shield the output! (No blame just an FYI)! As far as your looks are concerned....It's been my experience that some people will f@#k anybody! So you're good!

[@shawns9410]

Thanks Weary Traveler... more ideas / data to check my ~grounding issue.

[@davidf8749]

You can get the adhesive copper tape from a local garden centre. It's also used to stick around plant pots as the slugs don't like to move over it. The adhesive isn't conductive though so if you overlay one piece over another, you need to put a blob of solder which connects the two pieces together. With it being copper, it's real easy to solder to.

[@daddyosink4413]

Hobby Lobby sells the same (gardening variety) tape cheap as dirt in different widths ! It's funny because I shielded a guitar with aluminum one time and the guy took it home, took it apart, and came back yelling at me because "what is this cheap shit???" And made me put copper tape in.... it buzzed more with the copper. The problem was not the guitar, it wasnt the wiring, it wasnt the shielding.... it was the set of pickups that he had hand wound out of a cheap Chinese kit, and there was a break in the coil wire. 🤣

[@TexasToastGuitars]

Thanks David, we pretty much decided that some shielding is all you need. The continuity thing is pretty much bunk. One of the advantages of geeking out about this topic in the shop is that we came up with our own way of doing this on future guitars.

[@paulblackman3936]

Shielded wires are the most efficient way to go, if they are unshielded they act as arials inside the guitar. I am with you on the cover plates, they should be foiled to prevent any stray signals getting into the control cavities.

[@TexasToastGuitars]

Yeah, we have pretty much decided that the shielded wire is the important part of this equation.

[@bobjeaniejoey]

Beautiful craftsmanship on that fabric guitar! It's not my style, but it is gorgeous. I can picture my recently departed 98-year-old mother rockin' heaven with it. Good tip with the aluminum tape. Use what works.

[@pulaski1]

@14:40 Despite what you might think, a Faraday cage can be made from wire mesh (though perhaps impractical in a very small space such as a guitar control cavity), so even if the paint or foil is full of holes it may provide effective radio frequency screening, so long as all the paint/ foil/ lining is connected to a ground.

[@TexasToastGuitars]

We came to that conclusion after much debate. It occurred to me that the whole notion of a cage isn't a box at all.

[@daddyosink4413]

I have found that guys that own "way too expensive guitars" can never be pleased, luckily this guy is the exception to the rule apparently. I generally use shielding paint on wood in the cavities, and heavy duty aluminum foil and spray glue on pickguards. It's cheap, it's easy, and it easy to trim. As long as you have a good bridge ground, the buzz is never that bad. I dont trust a man that doesnt like a little bit of a buzz 😉 I will use copper on request, but it is kind of overkill in bucker equipped guitar. Just my 2 cents, your mileage may vary.

[@TexasToastGuitars]

I hear ya on all of that, the guys who play on stages never noticed. We pretty much decided that some shielding is all you need. The continuity thing is pretty much bunk. One of the advantages of geeking out about this topic in the shop is that we came up with our own way of doing this on future guitars.

[@0MyWay01]

Good video. I use the HVAC aluminum tape for shielding also. You don’t need copper foil ( although it does look cool). We’re talking micro volts of EM noise here so it really doesn’t take much. Mike Faraday famous British physicist ie the farad in .047uf 👍

[@TexasToastGuitars]

Guitar players who spend time on internet forums do not understand that the best is the enemy of good enough hahaha

[@johnpotts548]

I've used the paint from Stewart McDonald a few times and found it to work well, and it's a bunch easier than fiddling with the copper sheets. I've even painted the inside of the cavity covers and had that work fine. It seems to adhere to the plastic well. The flashing tape or whatever is a pretty good idea tho I'm gonna have to try that.

[@TexasToastGuitars]

Thanks John, we pretty much decided that some shielding is all you need. The continuity thing is pretty much bunk. One of the advantages of geeking out about this topic in the shop is that we came up with our own way of doing this on future guitars.

[@amitsapir2]

Matt, shielding paint is expensive! Will'seasyguitar has a recepie for a homemade shielding paint using titebond hideglue and graphite paint. Also, if I am not wrong, if the guitar is not buzzing when you touch one of the guitar parts the bridge is not grounded property.

[@TexasToastGuitars]

Will's channel is a good one

[@DragonofLimerick]

I bought some of this shielding paint from stew mac and copper shielding tape for the covers (couldn't find aluminum tape anywhere), so glad it worked because I haven't soldered the components in yet, looking so forward to that day now!! Faraday cage is correct. Awesome!!

[@TexasToastGuitars]

You got all the tools right there my friend good to go

[@TomH_YT]

A Faraday cage can be mostly air - just like the steel truss bridges that cut out your old AM car radio. So next time I shield a guitar, I'm going to try narrow foil tape to make a mesh.

[@TexasToastGuitars]

Sounds good to me man

[@kylemoran4343]

Hey handsome... Every guitar I've built, I've used that same aluminum tape, with no shielding paint, and no problem with humming noise even under fluorescent fixtures. The biggest thing people forget, is to run a ground wire to the bridge ! Old Gibson's were notorious for not grounding the bridge.

[@TexasToastGuitars]

I think people make too big a deal about what is used. A little something is all you really need. You could also switch over to EMGs they don't have a ground wire

[@JohnShalamskas]

@@TexasToastGuitars I think Kyle means he grounds the metal bridge that the strings are attached to. Guitar strings are antennas.

[@jimmpanik3402]

If you wrap the wires around each other sort of like a braid, it will also protect from 60 cycle hum.

[@TexasToastGuitars]

Good tech tip

[@pauldaume8574]

Matt I busted up laughing when you almost started laughing after saying watersports. thanks for the good laugh

[@TexasToastGuitars]

Glad you enjoyed it brotherman

[@jasondutchman6736]

If you were trying to shield for high frequencies(RF), areas where there are gaps or low continuity between the pieces of aluminum tape might not work very well or at all. But since the frequencies we are worried about here are the ones we can hear and therefor are much lower and have longer wavelengths and likely won't make it though those gaps anyway.

[@TexasToastGuitars]

Good to know

[@JohnShalamskas]

That's true until it isn't. I use my cellphone to control a couple of my pedals, so it sits on the desk with my computer and monitors, less than a yard away from my guitar when I am playing. So it's a pretty strong RF field in the GHz region next to mic level guitar pickups. A good Faraday cage will keep out the 3G/4G/5G cell signal as well as bluetooth and square wave garbage from my monitors.

[@edwardmonsariste4050]

I don’t have the patience to wait 3 days for 3 coats of conductive paint. In my experience, it takes 3 coats to get a good shield. I use to do it that way, but not anymore. That Warrior guitar looks to have proper conductive shielding paint. The absolute biggest hum buster is a shielded wire from the pot to the output jack. After that, whatever floats your boat. Thanks for the video!

[@TexasToastGuitars]

I don't really believe that conductivity is that important anymore.

[@edwardmonsariste4050]

My 1978 Les Paul Custom has a metal box that fits inside the control cavity. It came that way from Gibson. I think a metal box is overkill, but Gibson deemed it necessary. I guess most manufacturers have experimented with different methods of shielding the pots and wire contacts.

[@johnhorning2506]

I’ve had good success with spraying Elmer’s spray adhesive on that back of good old reynold’s wrap aluminum foil. It’s a lot cheaper than copper tape and shielding paint. Great video as always.

[@J__C__]

Aluminum foil ducting tape removes that step and works fine. Just used it on my Strat and I literally thought I pulled a wire loose because it was so quiet. There's absolutely zero buzz now.

[@DavidRavenMoon]

I’ve used the aluminum shielding tape for years. Aluminum is a better shield than copper. The shielding paint should be conductive. I stopped using it because a lot of it isn’t. Glad to see the StewMac stuff is. You might get a resistance reading on the stuff that seems non conductive. The silver shielding paint is nickel Super Shield from MG Chemicals. Very expensive!

[@TexasToastGuitars]

I like the aluminum tape too works great for us as well

[@MHeck-iu8ct]

Not sure if it's in here already but: Wood glue + graphite powder Cheap + super cheap = cheap conductive paint

[@TexasToastGuitars]

Sounds like a good idea

[@geoffcowan2384]

Always caused me more problems than it solved, at least for humbuckers. I use that aluminum tape too. Made a lot of difference for you. Nice job!

[@TexasToastGuitars]

We pretty much decided that some shielding is all you need. The continuity thing is pretty much bunk. One of the advantages of geeking out about this topic in the shop is that we came up with our own way of doing this on future guitars.

[@geoffcowan2384]

Texas Toast Guitars I never bought into that whole “you have to solder all the copper together” thing either. Don’t get me wrong, a copper lined cavity looks cool, but really the aluminum has always worked fine for me. I’m too lazy to paint the cavity and too impatient to wait for it to dry, so I just tape it all. Enjoyed the video, thanks for the info!

[@J__C__]

All you need to know is that normal aluminum foil ducting tape works great. It removed ALL of the buzz from my Strat. I didn't scratch anything and I actually did get solder to stick to it after a few tries so it's grounded to the same place everything else is. I also didn't check it with the multimeter when I got done, either. Yea. I forgot about that. Edit: you know that already. 🤣 Nice! 👍I used the exact same brand, even 😄

[@TexasToastGuitars]

The notion that it all needs to be tied together is something that we decided is bunk YMMV

[@johneapleseed6876]

That instrument is beautiful. You're so blessed. Also The Born Readies. 👍👍👍

[@TexasToastGuitars]

Thanks my friend those guys are cool

[@GosselinCreative]

The aluminum tape has worked fine for me so far. Been using it for years. However, I've never measured the voltage going through the circuits inside the guitar.I probably should. In house wiring (with 110 v), you should never mix copper and aluminum wiring because, the joint of the dissimilar metals can corrode over time, leading to arcing/fire hazard stuff. That actually happened in my last house, which had aluminum wiring from the 60s. That's probably the best argument for the expensive copper stuff.

[@daddyosink4413]

Aluminum works fine in a guitar, I actually use heavy duty aluminum foil and headliner spray adhesive often.... there is no "real voltage" in that circuit, so it wont fail or combust. You're overthinking it. Just my 2 cents.

[@GosselinCreative]

@@daddyosink4413 Honestly, I hadn't thought much about it till this discussion.

[@daddyosink4413]

@@GosselinCreative yea, it's one of those things that "this is just how you do it" and "if it ain't broke....".

[@TexasToastGuitars]

We pretty much decided that some shielding is all you need. The continuity thing is pretty much bunk. One of the advantages of geeking out about this topic in the shop is that we came up with our own way of doing this on future guitars.

[@paulfrombrooklyn5409]

I'd like your opinion on what I have found. If the wiring in the room is not quality, it can cause excessive noise and no matter how you shield the guitar you will get that noise. Have you experienced anything like that?

[@TexasToastGuitars]

The only way to have a totally quiet guitar is to use pickups like EMGs... it's okay to have a little bit of noise, that is the price you pay for being cool brohterman

[@stanburtt]

Technically, what you are really making is an antenna. You are not making a cage as such because you cannot fully isolate the electronics inside. The “shielding” is simply offering the RF, and other, interference a quicker way of getting to ground, rather than going via the electronics (which is why you get the hum sometimes) . But it does work, and great job, that guitar looks killer.

[@TexasToastGuitars]

Thanks Stan, we pretty much decided that some shielding is all you need. The continuity thing is pretty much bunk. One of the advantages of geeking out about this topic in the shop is that we came up with our own way of doing this on future guitars.

[@stanburtt]

Texas Toast Guitars , exactly, you are offering that path to earth that wasn’t there (or wasn’t sufficient in this case.) Keep up the awesome, fun an informative vids!

[@JohnShalamskas]

You should do some reading about how a Faraday Cage works. It allows the external electric field lines to flow around the cage without penetrating it. Grounding is not required for it to work, but the cage should have electrical continuity all the way around. Once you start poking holes in the cage, its efficiency will degrade depending on the size of the holes and the frequency of the signal you are trying to shield,

[@sean4586]

Hey Matt Don't have anything to add and can't really say your handsome but should the pickup cavities be shielded also? Thanks as always Sean

[@TexasToastGuitars]

I don't think so but you certainly could

[@TexasToastGuitars]

If we used a lot of single coil pickups it would probably be a good idea

[@J__C__]

I did mine just to be safe.

[@J__C__]

@Guestar yea, I'm guessing what I got rid of was mainly EMI from all of the electronics, etc...and from any wiring issues in my old ass house from the 50s. Whatever it was, it killed the buzz in my inexpensive Strat-style guitar completely until I turn the gain up on OD. I believe I posted this before but it was so quiet when I plugged it in, I initially thought I had pulled a wire loose when I had it apart. Nope, all wires intact. Its really that quiet now, and I genuinely enjoy playing/learning with it that much more because of it. I couldn't have asked for better results.

[@phatmanoflove]

I'm an electrician but I have no experience with guitar shielding. Though, I do understand the Faraday cage theory. I just wanted to acknowledge that you are, indeed, a handsome man. :)

[@TexasToastGuitars]

HAHHAHA thanks Scott, we pretty much decided that some shielding is all you need. The continuity thing is pretty much bunk. One of the advantages of geeking out about this topic in the shop is that we came up with our own way of doing this on future guitars.

[@samlelowitch]

My maternal grandmother of blessed memory would have appreciated that guitar. I like it too because it’s so unexpected.

[@billybiggs6766]

Hate to admit it but I did buy the copper tape for my projects just because of some of the hype over copper vs aluminum. I have heard a lot of good things about shielded wire. Just need to see if the shielded wire is cheaper and/or easier than adding shielding to cavity. Also to really test the options need a device that just give unshielded guitars that hum like crazy and see what works best.

[@TexasToastGuitars]

We pretty much decided that some shielding is all you need. The continuity thing is pretty much bunk. One of the advantages of geeking out about this topic in the shop is that we came up with our own way of doing this on future guitars.

[@JohnShalamskas]

Shielded cable from the pickups to the selector switches makes a huge difference. If that link is unshielded, then you should replace it with shielded cable, or shield the pickup cavities and the area between them and the selector switch.

[@brianstrawser5695]

I didn't know about the brush on shielding. Awesome.

[@TexasToastGuitars]

It's a thing man, give it a try

[@lenwoodrichardson3422]

This is just what I needed! Got a bass that maks so much noise , this should help. Thanks

[@TexasToastGuitars]

Give it a try brotherman, it is really and easy process

[@stephenhookings1985]

I used to do all this - decent results and therapeutic. But then I got a cheap J & D bass (it was surf green ...I had to) and out a set of EMG J Pickups. Super silent at rest, no need to shield. I also like the tone. My next project is a cheap Strat style with a set of EMG DG20. Hoping for similar results.

[@lloydpittonet]

It's a Faraday cage. It's doing what it does. I proved grounded chicken wire will block noise, but I doubt anyone would let me use it in a guitar for them.

[@lloydpittonet]

Also, that PRS is shielded like crap! I've seen schecters that are done better.

[@TexasToastGuitars]

We pretty much decided that some shielding is all you need. The continuity thing is pretty much bunk. One of the advantages of geeking out about this topic in the shop is that we came up with our own way of doing this on future guitars.

[@paulfrombrooklyn5409]

@@TexasToastGuitars I guess you just need to send the noise signal to a good ground and it doesn't have to be built like a vault with 3 foot think walls.

[@Wildman9]

Humbucking pickups don't have 60 cycle hum.Unless you didn't put in a ground wire to your bridge?None of my guitars with hummers make any noise .🎸✌👍Great video for those that suffer from those noisy pups.

[@TexasToastGuitars]

We normally don't do shielding and it isn't a deal depending on the hardware

[@rexricciardi7703]

T Toast - that freaking guitar is gorgeous. I mean hats off guys. I am a Jersey Big time fan !!! Stay cool guys !!!!

[@ResoBridge]

Man I cringed when you used a huge adjustable wrench to loosen those pot nuts. Anyway, it is quite hard to tell what you can get away with as far as shielding is concerned. When they build Faraday cages, usually of very fine copper or brass mesh, for testing electrical interference they have to make sure that there are absolutely no gaps and that all joins are electrically connected along their entire length. Even small gaps will allow high frequencies through the screening. I suspect that with guitars you don't have to be so meticulous. Screening paint has to be applied in several coats (as you did) to arrive at a resistance low enough to get a consistent beep out of a multimeter continuity check. However I suspect that the thinner coatings you looked at still provide a higher resistance skin and that may be good enough. Using screened cabling inside a properly screened control cavity is really belt and braces and not necessary. However any cables running outside the cavity should be screened. Something that is often missed is that the output jack should be screened. The large area of bare brass contacts on a standard Switchcraft jack WILL pick up hum. Single coil guitars may benefit less from screening than those with humbuckers because the single coils often pick up so much hum themselves that the contribution from unscreened electronics is drowned out. Even so I screen all my single coil guitars. Ground continuity throughout the screening is essential, just plastering all the cavities in your guitar with copper tape with no continuous ground connections (as shown in many KZbin videos) is a waste of time. You will often find that you get continuity past the adhesive (and there is that fancy stuff with conductive adhesive that StewMac sells) on both copper and aluminium tape on a fresh screening installation, and the screening may get grounded via the control pot shafts (pots do loosen) but I don't know how reliable that is over time. I use low cost slug repellent self adhesive copper tape from a gardening supplies outlet and then solder across the joins in numerous spots.

[@TexasToastGuitars]

You ever watch Yan Can Cook? That guy uses a big knife for everything

[@paulfrombrooklyn5409]

@@TexasToastGuitars Yan Can Cook was one of my favorite cooking shows. Stir fry, not stare fry!!!!

[@stephenhookings1985]

+1 on the conductive glue. Easy to test. Take a piece of the copper. Stick another on top. Can you get continuity - great you got the conductive glue. Noise killers are quite good too.

[@ResoBridge]

@@stephenhookings1985 BUT - As I said I have found you can use self adhesive copper tape from any source (I use gardening centre anti-slug tape) and, providing you smooth it down well, immediately following application you will get continuity from one piece to another. I assume that is because in odd spots the copper touches through small gaps in the adhesive. I don't know how reliable that is over the long term. I also wonder just how conductive the conductive adhesive is. I doubt it provides a low resistance connection. i prefer to run solder across all the tape junctions, then I know it is connected.

[@stephenhookings1985]

@@ResoBridge yeah snake oil is oil whether it be security, guitars etc. I did find with cheap aluminium foil and the spray contact adhesive that did stop the continuity. Plus hard to solder onto it. So the sticky copper was for me a better solution. But as Texas Toast showed... a meter and two hands are your friend. I found the graphite paint is ok but messy and you need a ton. The copper tape here in UK was about £15 and I did 12 guitars/basses so far. There again the EMG J pickups...wow. what a beautiful piece of American engineering. £122 onto a £125 bass ...only hard cos i had to widen cavities - all captured on my channel. Thanks for your advice - appreciate it.

[@timort2260]

Get some baby wipes you can slap that paint on quickly and wipe off the paint from the finish. Works great for stuff like that.

[@TexasToastGuitars]

Oh that is a good idea

[@donvanco3078]

You can buy the copper stuff from China via eBay for the same cost (if not less) than the aluminum stuff from the bog-box stores, so I just use copper. Hell, tinfoil and contact cement will work..... Tape in general has become stupid expensive for no apparent reason other than "because we can". I need to get a DMM that beeps - holy shit that's super handy.

[@TexasToastGuitars]

Super handy... We have pretty much rethought our whole deal when it comes to shielding after this deep dive

[@donvanco3078]

@@TexasToastGuitars The paint looks awesome, but it's stupid expensive. I recall the old stuff in the late 80's - smelled like Satan's butthole and wasn't all that good. At least the current product works.

[@TexasToastGuitars]

Yeah man the old stuff was really stinky

[@allentroxel9719]

Thanks for the shielding video. Believe it or not, I was in the process of finding a video about Shielding.

[@TexasToastGuitars]

Thanks Allen, we pretty much decided that some shielding is all you need. The continuity thing is pretty much bunk. One of the advantages of geeking out about this topic in the shop is that we came up with our own way of doing this on future guitars.

[@happyads9439]

Mmm Tropical adventurer is double sexy.. had issues with shielding too. i use paint now, then lacquer over that too because on strat style pickguards that bottom bridge pot can touch shielding.. Then the swearing just gets louder my friend.

[@TexasToastGuitars]

I'm pretty sure the PRS has clear over the shielding paint and that is why it didn't show conductivity

[@LordKaos666]

Hi Pal. Thanks for your video. In my country just can get "ALUMINUM REGIRERATION TAPE"...Do you think it's the same?

[@Doug_Seidlitz]

Gorgeous guitar btw.

[@TexasToastGuitars]

Thanks Douglas

[@nsjguitarsakascotsman6989]

I like shielding paint, seems to work perfect and is so easy to apply, also who doesn't like a black cavity! On one guitar I built, I did a bit of rewiring when I changed the pickups and that seemed to make a big difference to a buzz it had beforehand. My thought is maybe I had a bad solder joint but it gets shielding paint anyway cause I think it looks cool lol

[@TexasToastGuitars]

I like it too amigo

[@stevereed7954]

That's really cool and unusual artwork on the body of the guitar!

[@TexasToastGuitars]

Thanks Steve

[@TheElrondo]

Call me a snob... I want so see copper in my cavities when i open them 😆 But nothing wrong technically with aluminum and shielding paint. I shielded the whole housing of my Fender Reverb Tank clone with aluminium and it's doing well.

[@TexasToastGuitars]

We spent WAY too much time thinking about this yesterday and have come up with a technique that will work for us. People make this into a much bigger deal than it needs to be... just look at the comments section in a few hours hahaha

[@TheElrondo]

Texas Toast Guitars Don't feel offended. I told you, nothing wrong how you do it. It's my snobbery to pay attention to every little detail on my guitars and i'm it a bit over the top with little details, even on spots you rarely see on the first look.

[@Inkfliktedtattoosandpiercings]

Beautiful guitar

[@TexasToastGuitars]

Thanks Jack

[@Inkfliktedtattoosandpiercings]

@@TexasToastGuitars You're welcome

[@simontwycross3449]

Sweet video! Simple stuff but shows how easy and important this stuff is! 🤘

[@TexasToastGuitars]

Thanks Simon we pretty much decided that some shielding is all you need. The continuity thing is pretty much bunk. One of the advantages of geeking out about this topic in the shop is that we came up with our own way of doing this on future guitars.

[@simontwycross3449]

@@TexasToastGuitars I took it that the paint in the cavity and tape on the cover is the way to go! At least that's what I'm going to do from now on 😜

[@rjpike75]

I don't know about handsome. But I do know that some cheap (free from job site) aluminum tape definitely did the trick with my cheap MIM strat. Great video. Shielded wiring will definitely do the trick too. As a low voltage/cable guy, I can testify to using shielded wiring. It's just a much smaller version of the cable that makes your TV and internet work.

[@TexasToastGuitars]

You don't have to hide how handsome you think I am.

[@rjpike75]

@@TexasToastGuitars LoL.

[@yosemitesam4549]

Yes, you are a very houndsome man.

[@andymandiak603]

If you overlap aluminum tape over a screw hole, wouldn't the screw provide continuity?

[@TexasToastGuitars]

It probably would though I'm not convinced it is important to have continuity after all.

[@Steinstra-vj7wl]

Somehow I can not find a video anywhere on KZbin that shows the shielding of a Strat style guitar without a pickguard ( so direct mounted single coils ) in which such a guitar is best shielded. Matt, can please you show us how to go about ?

[@TexasToastGuitars]

We don't do many Strats and only one guitar in the last year with 3 single coils direct mounted. We did the mounting from the back and built the guitar a little different. You could paint shielding paint in that. Actually, we may have used EMGs for that guitar?

[@Steinstra-vj7wl]

@@TexasToastGuitars OK, get it. Thanks very much !

[@lynnritchie70]

I Spy a Prince guitar template back there!!! 5:02 :-)

[@TexasToastGuitars]

There is a whole Prince Cloud guitar off camera

[@Samulisami]

Alrighty! Great I don't have to spend my cash for those expensive copper foil thingies. Thanks for the vid :)

[@TexasToastGuitars]

After much debate, we have decided that the products used are less important than doing it with something

[@markpell8979]

Exactly. Faraday Cage. You shoulda shielded the pickup cavities too while you were at it. Why not, right? Well if it ain't broke... but on the other hand why do this? A lot of folks have bad old house wiring, play in dive bars with flourescent and neon lights PLUS bad wiring, etc. Guitar electronics, especially pickups, especiall single-coil pickups, are great rf receivers and also can transceive between themselves. And as you noted, verify ground continuity including your amp, lead and jacks. I'll shut up now.

[@TexasToastGuitars]

Angus Young didn't have shielded pickup cavities. Like I say, if you are into the whole deal than you should do the whole deal but all the music I liked in high school was recorded with pretty ho-hum gear. I like it sloppy fast & loud... but I'm probably in the minority

[@choplass]

Beautiful guitars.❤

[@jonnatanpena8243]

When I did the research for Faraday Caging my SSS Strat and a Tele I was thinking the same as you, why copper? well Copper has higher conductivity than Aluminum, meaning a better electron flow. But hey, I am with you, if it ismcheaper and works is fine with me. I amnot heading a concert in Donnington UK. Cheers.

[@TexasToastGuitars]

The best is the enemy of good enough my friend

[@JohnShalamskas]

Radio frequency signals will penetrate less deeply into coppper than just about anything else. Aluminum is a close second though. Either is an excellent choice.

[@bevo65]

Shielding one's cavities is a prison favorite!

[@TexasToastGuitars]

I'd imagine it is a good idea

[@stephenhookings1985]

Didn't Will Ferrel so that in Get Hard? Kiestering ??

[@shawns9410]

What if it's the opposite: added buzz when I Do touch a metal part on the guitar (not when I do Not touch a metal part). Worst is pick guard screws. What should I look for when I examine ("guess"--noob here). Maybe a bad/lose solder joint. {new Gretsch G5230LH Electromatic Jet FT Single-Cut with V-Stoptail}. Thank you in advance TTG.

[@JohnShalamskas]

Is your output jack wired backwards? Audio from the volume pot should go to the tip, and ground to the Sleeve.

[@haqq4257]

The PRS & Zerberus (sp?) Are quiet because they both have humbuckers in them. So the shielding in the control cavities may work or may not, but I suspect that they are quiet because they have humbuckers. Hence the name of those pickups & why they are named as such. Hum buckets because they "buck" or reduce 60 cycle hum. Or, maybe Gary has a really good place in his home that is super quiet electrically speaking. Did you guys try plugging those guitars in your shop under all the fluorescent lights, Etc? Are they as quiet they're in your shop as they are at his place.. just curious.

[@TexasToastGuitars]

The guitar we shieded in the video also had humbuckers... We pretty much decided that some shielding is all you need. The continuity thing is pretty much bunk. One of the advantages of geeking out about this topic in the shop is that we came up with our own way of doing this on future guitars.

[@haqq4257]

@@TexasToastGuitars yea. It sometimes seems that there is no rhyme or reason . Every guitar is unique and there are so many factors that go into a particular outcome, such as a buzz. So all one can do as a builder is build. As little things arise, we can try to fix them which you guys obviously were successful in doing with that guitar which is also beautiful by the way which most of your Creations are. Keep up the great work you guys and all the best!

[@JohnShalamskas]

Gibson builds guitars with humbuckers, and adds coil split switches that remove the humbucking quality. They do not shield the cavity. The noise does increase when in coil split mode, but not enough to force me to shield the cavity. Maybe it has something to do with the PC board wiring - is there a ground plane or some other anti-noise feature there? My Strat is noisier (more coil turns than half a humbucker?) but still not too bad. Maybe I'll shield it next time I am changing strings.

[@neiljohn622]

Hi, great show. Did you paint the pots? Cheers

[@TexasToastGuitars]

Hi Neil, we do not. The idea is that the housing of the potentiometer grounds to the shielding

[@dane6k6]

SO do you need to do both paint and foil or just paint or just foil? most videos do both.

[@TexasToastGuitars]

I would recommend one or the other but both is pretty cool too

[@sykko.exit2348]

I use the same tape. However some time ago I saw a Jackson Soloist - it had the cavities shield painted, but they were connected with a separate wire (screwed to the body) to keep the continuity, and then connected to the pot. What do you think about that kind of solution?

[@TexasToastGuitars]

We pretty much decided that some shielding is all you need. The continuity thing is pretty much bunk. One of the advantages of geeking out about this topic in the shop is that we came up with our own way of doing this on future guitars.

[@sykko.exit2348]

@@TexasToastGuitars As I thought. Too much VooDoo crap has accumulated around making guitars. Shielding is not an exception.

[@johndeaux3703]

What happens when tiny pieces of that conductive shielding paint start to flake off and work themselves into the guitar pots and switches?

[@TexasToastGuitars]

The world stops spinning

[@JohnShalamskas]

That's one reason why you would cover the conductive shield with varnish or some non-conductive paint. Another reason is to prevent accidentally grounding your signal if a bare lead touches the cavity wall.

[@bilalnachabeh]

Hey Great video, I already have copper foil around and I want to shield my telecaster. Do you recommend shielding only the pickup cavities or everything on the guitar? like the pickguard and the electronics cavity?

[@TexasToastGuitars]

We only shield the control cavity... but you got to do you my friend

[@bilalnachabeh]

Texas Toast Guitars Only the control cavity! interesting.. I will experiment today with that

[@Metalbass10000]

@@bilalnachabeh I always completely shield the control cavity, and if the switch is in a separate location, I'll shield that too. I apply the black "shielding paint" to the pickup cavities in three situations: one, always if the client asks for it, two, if the pickups are noisy in any switch position when the instrument is first plugged in during our inspection process, and three, if it looks cool (and it usually does look good to have the pockets behind the pickups all blacked out!)

[@bilalnachabeh]

Metalbass10000 I finished the project last week. I shielded everything with copper foils and connected them all together, neck bridge and controls cavities. the only thing that was left unshielded is the jack cavity

[@JohnShalamskas]

@@bilalnachabeh You might get some more benefit from shielding the output jack cavity. Cellphones in the 4+GHz range have a wavelength short enough that the jack itself inside the cavity is a decent antenna. The wires leading to the jack are (hopefully) shielded, so there's not much to worry about between the jack cavity and the control cavity.

[@currituck]

Awesome video as always guys!!

[@TexasToastGuitars]

Thanks Jack

[@UBRLND-X]

Chris knows things, Man. a faraday Cage!

[@TexasToastGuitars]

He does know things

[@riconadjar6221]

Hey guys, can the shielding paint be applied to the underside of a strat pickguard with the same results? Thanks

[@TexasToastGuitars]

We normally use the tape of pickguards

[@JohnShalamskas]

The tape would be a lot more survivable when attaching all the pots and switches.

[@oqsy]

The basement of my house is all old stlye T12 bulbs, so I have recently been considering shielding at least my most played guitars. Started wirh a late 80’s Samick Strat style that I got cheap at Goodwill. I did everything by the book and it still hums like a bridge pickup attached to a garbage disposal. All shielding connected to common ground (vol pot), pickguard rear taped up solid and touches foil tape overlapping the edge of the cavity. Continuity tests are good. The pickups in this old Samick have metal back covers which I “assumed” were connected to ground/shield in the pickup wires, but I have no proof because I haven’t taken it apart again to test continuity from common to the backs of any of them yet. This is the only variable I can think of that could be the issue. Any thoughts from the gallery?

[@TexasToastGuitars]

You might have created a ground loop with all that shielding? I wish I could help you more but you know how it is without seeing it myself

[@oqsy]

Texas Toast Guitars I hear ya. It would be nice if youtube allowed photo replies so the TT fandom could yell at me what I did wrong, but photo replies on the internet always lead to goatse. Always. Anyway, I’ll poke at the pickup backplates and see if they are connected to the ground or shield in the pickup wiring and carry on from there. My (limited) understanding of ground loops is to tie all grounds to a single point (in this case, rear of the volume pot), which I am pretty sure I did, including the wire to the trem. No matter, I’ll keep after it and toss the foil if I can’t make it work and go with paint plus small foil strips like most factory setups and see where that gets me. Hell, I may have shitty wiring in my basement and the ground on my amps may not be going anywhere.

[@paulfrombrooklyn5409]

@@oqsy I found that wiring in the room or old style lamps or bulbs can effect the noise and no amount of shielding will stop it. Just what I have found.

[@oqsy]

Jim Morris likely the case here

[@JohnShalamskas]

Is there a conductive layer on the back of the pick guard? (Foil or a thin aluminum sheet) Does it use a shielded cable from the volume pot to the output jack? Ground wire from instrument cavity ground point to the bridge/claw?

[@TheChasFred]

use a nutdriver to loosen the nuts on the pots not a crescent wrench.

[@TexasToastGuitars]

Or what?

[@michaeladamcaira9174]

Great Job Matt,I love that guitar top

[@TexasToastGuitars]

Thanks Michael, we pretty much decided that some shielding is all you need. The continuity thing is pretty much bunk. One of the advantages of geeking out about this topic in the shop is that we came up with our own way of doing this on future guitars.

[@barryhaynes103]

Experience is all we really have ... the rest is philosophy, theory, and opinion ....

[@TexasToastGuitars]

You got that right Barry, I get comments all the time from people who are pretty obviously just parroting things they read on the internet... We pretty much decided that some shielding is all you need. The continuity thing is pretty much bunk. One of the advantages of geeking out about this topic in the shop is that we came up with our own way of doing this on future guitars.

[@Livelaughlimpbizkit]

Do you have to run an additional ground from the switch cavity to the main cavity or will the ground on the pickup switch do the same?

[@TexasToastGuitars]

If you have continuity in the cavity and the pots you should not need to.

[@JohnShalamskas]

@@TexasToastGuitars Yep, the jack ground is connected to the shield braid of the cable and should also contact the inside of the cavity.

[@brucer261]

Hey Matt. is it just as effective to use the silver tape in the cavities or is it better to use the paint?

[@TexasToastGuitars]

I like the paint, the tape is kind of a pain in the ass

[@Scott__C]

So, I'll ask the dumb questions: Why isn't the shielding a standard as part of all manufacturers' building process? Is there any down side to shielding? Thanks!

[@TexasToastGuitars]

That would be up to the manufacturer but I don't see a downside

[@JohnShalamskas]

@@TexasToastGuitars Money to buy and stock the shielding, and to pay someone to spend time applying it. And for humbucker guitars, it often doesn't make a lot of difference, they are pretty quiet without a shielded cavity, unless you coil split.

[@ronwilliams1094]

How do I get original music to you?

[@TexasToastGuitars]

email me a link

[@chadzillaification]

That's so smart I'm gonna do it myself

[@TexasToastGuitars]

It's easy and fun

[@spannerman4886]

It's a Faraday Cage Matt 👍🏼

[@TexasToastGuitars]

Faraday cage

[@pjwoodworks2651]

Everthing..? What about hollow archtops. How do you shield them?

[@TexasToastGuitars]

Beats me man? That is a tricky topic

[@paulblackman3936]

@@TexasToastGuitars Simple answer - you don't! Just use shielded wiring.

[@TexasToastGuitars]

@@paulblackman3936 I'm with you man, that is probably the best solution

[@JohnShalamskas]

Shielded wire, and use humbuckers.

[@frostedhead]

The copper tape just looks cooler.

[@TexasToastGuitars]

I think so too

[@docsiltanen]

Hey Matt… if it works then what is there to complain about ??? I've used shielding paint and copper tape… both work great, but ultimately its whatever works best in your hands is the thing to use..if your just jamming in the basement, not playing Madison Square Gardens next week, then it probably doesn't matter that much….

[@TexasToastGuitars]

Thanks Doc, we pretty much decided that some shielding is all you need. The continuity thing is pretty much bunk. One of the advantages of geeking out about this topic in the shop is that we came up with our own way of doing this on future guitars.

[@docsiltanen]

@@TexasToastGuitars ..Just like most other things in a shop/creative environment ... you have a process that works for you... and you use it on most of your projects.. a template or "system"... as the business crowd would call it... we have the same type of situation in my line of work, might not be what the guy down the street does but it works for us....that was a fantastic looking instrument, by the way, nice work !!!

[@gregaltenhofel7326]

Good job man

[@TexasToastGuitars]

Thanks Greg

[@MosriteCharlie]

Mat, Isn't it important to also shield the pickups?

[@TexasToastGuitars]

I don't think so but I know a lot of people will disagree with me

[@JohnShalamskas]

@@TexasToastGuitars The signal from the pickups is carried in shielded cable. Negligible effect from shielding the pickup cavities, unless the shield on the cable is crappy. You want to see braided shield wire. You DON'T want to see just a wire wrapped around the insulation.

[@gulfcoastguitars2842]

I think you are on to something with the braided cable. I recently rewired a Stratocaster and used standard black and white cloth covered wiring throughout, including between the jack and the controls. The hum was the worst I ever heard. So, I shielded everything. I got a short to ground in the jack cavity, and pulled the shielding out of there... and didn't remove any other shielding. Then I tested and the hum was just as bad as with no shielding at all. Then I re-shielded the jack cavity, re-positioned the jack to avoid shorting the jack to the shielding, and no hum whatsoever. That got me thinking that the critical component to all of this is the cable from the jack. I have a couple other single coil guitars where the cavities are not shielded, but also don't seem to have a hum issue... turns out they have the braided cable wiring from the jack. The only other thing I do that may deter the effects of EMI is I twist my pickup wires together for ease of managing the wires and neatness. All I can tell you is that in my observation, proper shielding between the jack and the controls seems to be the most critical point.

[@TexasToastGuitars]

That is one of the things that is a no brainer for me... well it is now

[@JohnShalamskas]

Was your output jack wired backwards? That would cause a short to ground when you install the output jack in a shielded, grounded cavity.

[@uv77mc85]

Love that floral explorer. How much does something like that cost?

[@TexasToastGuitars]

There is a lot going on with that guitar, building another one with the same hardware would probably run 2500 (price subject to change)

[@a2235]

Is it ok to spray clear over shielding paint?

[@TexasToastGuitars]

I think it is better than okay to do that

[@a2235]

@@TexasToastGuitars Thanks! Im currently building a partscaster based on a Peavey Predator AX from 94. Its getting shielding with several coats of home made graphite paint, but im afraid it'll get dusty in the future.

[@JohnShalamskas]

@@a2235 It would be better not to insulate the contact area between the cavity and the scratch guard, but not the end of the world if it's already done.

[@TxStang]

are the pickup cavities shielded as well ?

[@TexasToastGuitars]

They are not

[@goodguystu]

How come it was not shielded when built?

[@TexasToastGuitars]

It has neve been a big deal

[@tiki_trash]

Because the shielding paint touches all parts of the shielding tape and the tape overlaps itself, there wouldn't be any reason to scratch the tape.

[@CaptainScarlet1961]

Overlapping the shielding tape only works if the adhesive is conductive, not all shielding tape has conductive adhesive which kinda defeats the objective of using it!

[@TexasToastGuitars]

We pretty much decided that some shielding is all you need. The continuity thing is pretty much bunk. One of the advantages of geeking out about this topic in the shop is that we came up with our own way of doing this on future guitars. The whole continuity thing is pretty much bunk

[@tiki_trash]

@@CaptainScarlet1961 It doesn't matter if the adhesive is conductive or not when taping the cover as long as each strip of tape comes in contact with the conductive paint. The adhesive doesn't touch the paint. Think about it.

[@CaptainScarlet1961]

@@tiki_trash: I was talking in the context of just using tape for the whole job as I myself do & therefore it does matter! If you put one piece of tape over another & the adhesive isn't conductive it will create a break between the two, that's simple logic.

[@tiki_trash]

@@CaptainScarlet1961 Ok, I see where you're coming from. I should also add the the "shielding" must be connected to ground at some point in order for it to be effective. Just coming into contact with the grounded pots would be enough.

[@teleplucker6802]

How would you shield an Epiphone Casino when you can't get to the cavities?

[@TexasToastGuitars]

I would concentrate on using shielded wire on everything you can get to. That should get the job done

[@cheapskate8656]

I saw a video of a kid who opened up his strat because it was humming. Got some of his Mum's tinfoil. tore off a big piece and folded it over the wires then scrunched it up. Hum gone. Not guaranteeing it will work for you but for the price of tinfoil it might be worth a try.

[@spannerman4886]

Oops! Should see the video out before I comment. Just so involved it felt like conversation🤭

[@TexasToastGuitars]

I don't know why you would do that, go ahead and chime in

[@cliffb2454]

All this talk about copper shielding; your amp probably has aluminium shielding, your effects pedals use aluminium boxes for shielding, aluminium is an excellent shielding material. If you really want the best you could always go for silver leaf!

[@TexasToastGuitars]

We have gold leaf

[@cliffb2454]

@@TexasToastGuitars LOL, it's not as good as silver or copper but, it looks real pretty and doesn't tarnish. I think your doing just fine with the aluminium tape.

[@JohnShalamskas]

Silver leaf is so thin, the Aluminum tape is going to beat it. :-)