Installing Pots help

[JimBeed]

Well im considering about when i install the pots to the body,
i know id tighten the nut on the inside of the body,
but when it comes to the one showing on the outside of the body, how do you achieve it being as tight against the body as it needs to be without scratching any of the surface of the guitar?

I was considering covering where the hole is and the surrounding area with low tac masking tape, installing the pot, then using a wrench, which im hoping to get rubber tipped ones from a hardware store to fasten it on.
Would the rubber tip and masking tape combination protect the finish well enough for no scratches or would it still possibly get damaged through the masking tape?.
I had a similar experience with install the neck tuners, however i neatened up the slight scrapes on the surface of the headstock. so that looks fine, but scratches on the body finish is a different matter
So any better suggestions or known ways of doing said job?  :dontknow:

 

[TroubledTreble]

The pots should come with a very thin washer. That washer should go between the nut and the guitar body. It is big enough to not let the nut driver or socket touch the finish.

Do you have this washer?

 

[JimBeed]

Ah yes i do, it came with two metal nuts and a black washer which is a bit bigger with teeth on the inside, like not a complete circle of plastic on the inside. but i looked at some pictures and they said this went on the inside of the guitar, or is that just for top routed bodies and it goes on the top on rear routed?

 

[JimBeed]

Also you said nut driver or socket. do you mean one of the certain size wrenches which usually have one on either end hexagonal shape? if so what size would it need? as i tried to get one to use with the tuners but the sizes were either too big or too small, is there a size for the nuts that came with the pots from warmoth? or is it a different tool?

 

[Cagey]

That black "washer" isn't a washer, it's a locknut. You definitely don't want to put that on the outside - it'll tear up your finish. He's talking about a flat washer. If your pots didn't come with any, then you can usually get them at the local hardware. I think it's a 3/8" inner diameter.

The socket/wrench you need to tighten the pot's retaining nut is 1/2", and if you use a socket rather than a wrench it needs to be a deep-well type to clear the shaft.

The nuts on your tuners were almost certainly 10mm, which you might not have in an "imperial" toolbox.

 

[JimBeed]

ah right i didnt think it was after a diagram said the inside, and ah ok, well i need to go get some low tac tape for something else so ill try pick some up, thanks for the size roughly.
ok thanks ill try get a hold of a 1/2" one,

The nuts on your tuners were almost certainly 10mm, which you might not have in an "imperial" toolbox.

Yeah, i mean even taking it to the hardware place here couldnt find the right size one.
as for an "imperial" toolbox, its more like a "how long has that thing been in there" toolbox  :icon_scratch: