It took me 20 years! When I really finished this guitar in 2001, I made a conscious decision to see where wear actually occurred before I installed a pick guard. I had a nice piece of Indian rosewood to use--I can't abide those clear plastic things--but I wanted to make it as small as I could, so it didn't act as a mute. I was pleased to see that I had never hit the top with a pick scrape, but just my right hand fingers brushing against the top did start abrading it a little. Here is the guitar, photographed a few years ago. You can see the abrasion in the pick guard area, especially if you click on the photo.
I started by making the rosewood pick guard, then I masked off the area and spent a long time carefully scraping until I got down to wood and got a perfectly flat surface. I was surprised at how much work it was getting the finish to match (I'm using Tru-Oil, a hand-rubbed oil finish).
I strung it up this afternoon, and it sounds like its old self!
