...I think that there's purpleburst lurking under that refin

[Axolotl]

I thought I'd give an update on this little guy. I loved this thread and bass from the moment I saw it, so Imagine how I felt a few months later when will decided to sell it and I just happened to have some money available. I bought this gem over a little over a year ago, but I've got it last August when a willing friend brought it to me all the way down to Argentina. Since then it's got a refret (plays like butta!!), a replacement screw in the bridge, a pearloid guard and finally yesterday I was able to stick in there the much wanted, hard to get black pickup covers.

What can I say? It's an amazing little beast. I always wanted a short scale and this guy has pretty much retired my Jazz Bass. Since I got it I've been playing bass a lot and I've gotten much better at it. It's been a really inspiring instrument, which is the thing I value the most when acquiring new gear.

The pearloid guard looks nice, but it was stark white and glossy when I got it. I was bummed since I had ordered specifically an aged white which was more yellow. Also I had to cut it a bit to make it fit against the control plate. I also wetsanded it a bit to take off the gloss and left it for a night on a mixture of very strong tea and a bit of curry, which basically didn't do shit. But the guard does looks duller because of the scuff and matches the body better. When not under a bright light it kinda reflects a certain yellow (see pics) so I think I'll be fine with it. Too bad because just of lately a seller on ebay started selling really nice aged mustang guards. If available then I would have gone for one of those.

I had to enlarge a bit the pickup holes since the covers I've got were a couple of mm longer than the original/previous one. But here it is, today. Gotta say overall I'm pretty pleased with these final touches of the restoration. Just need to finally get the original case that is waiting for me somewhere in Queens. One day. Thanks again will for rescuing and then letting go such a fine specimen with a such cool story behind it. Best bass ever

[will]

Thanks for the update!

It's nice to see that something that I put work into has been an inspiring instrument!!

[øøøøøøø]

Aaaaah looks wonderful!!!

[sallikaan]

Looks awesome! I love the color, thanks for sharing.

[DeathJag]

Amazing work, I’m super impressed.

Got a couple questions for Will that may be impossible to answer - did the tone change when the refin came off? If so, how would you subjectively describe the tone differences between the two?

I ask because I’ve got a refin job and I was curious the effect having a double poly coat would have.

[will]

Amazing work, I’m super impressed.

Got a couple questions for Will that may be impossible to answer - did the tone change when the refin came off? If so, how would you subjectively describe the tone differences between the two?

I ask because I’ve got a refin job and I was curious the effect having a double poly coat would have.

I don't think I played it in it's double-finished form. Too curious to see what was under the paint! (Also, I don't think I have sensitive enough ears to hear small tonal differences. Whenever I listen to one of those "Does wood effect electric guitar tone" videos, they all sound the same to me!)

[NachoMan77]

@will that's an amazing save! well done sir!

[Danley]

Boring question, what grades were used (or should be used) when attempting a sand-down through an over-finish?

[will]

Boring question, what grades were used (or should be used) when attempting a sand-down through an over-finish?

Here's the order I would go with:

1. In an inconspicuous area, use a fresh razor blade to gently scrape the repaint away until you just barely begin to be able to see the original paint. You may want to scrape until you see wood in a super-inconspicuous area - just to be sure what the first layer is.

2. Pay attention to the layers. sometimes the layers are super thick, or super durable. Some guitars are painted MANY times over the years. What I do is use rougher papers, 220 or even 120, and sand until you see the layer that is just above the original finish. Be careful around edges and radiuses because these surfaces are going to sand through much faster than flat surfaces.

3. I don't use a sanding block - you're not trying to create a flat surface here, you're trying to get back to the original finish, which probably isn't totally flat anymore!

4. Once you get to the layer above the original finish, use 400 and a small amount of water. If water gets into screw holes, the wood will swell and the paint in those areas will sand away more easily. use 400 until you begin to see the original finish peeking through in many areas. Don't try too hard to get paint out of dings - you'll wind up sanding away the paint around the ding, and have a ring of wood showing around a dot of original color. If you want to be super-fastidious, you can wrap sandpaper or a bit of fine steel wool around the end of a rounded dowel to get into dings.

5. switch to 600 and 800 as you wear away more and more of the non-original finish. Work your way up to 1000 or even 2000, and then use some polishing compound to get some shine go back. Don't expect perfection. Most likely, there was a reason why the original finish was painted-over, so things will wind up kinda relic-y!

[Danley]

Awesome - thank you! The fear with my ‘66 Mustang is finding spots of vast wear beneath the over-coat; I’m wondering if it is too adventurous to try to keep portions of the overcoat intact, if and wherever such wear is evident (Dakota over Dakota - So I’m guessing prob. original finish issue given the refinisher didn’t want to change the shade. There seems to be a bit of tone difference between the original and second coats and I can deal with that; at least more than any worn areas to the wood, or obscene words that may be carved into it.)

[Con-Tiki!]

Awesome - thank you! The fear with my ‘66 Mustang is finding spots of vast wear beneath the over-coat; I’m wondering if it is too adventurous to try to keep portions of the overcoat intact, if and wherever such wear is evident (Dakota over Dakota - So I’m guessing prob. original finish issue given the refinisher didn’t want to change the shade. There seems to be a bit of tone difference between the original and second coats and I can deal with that; at least more than any worn areas to the wood, or obscene words that may be carved into it.)

so,
we bought this cool table at an antique shop. It came from a school, and had been used in the art classes. Beautiful oak base, painted, with a red composite insert in the top.
stripped the paint, and found that some jackass kid had scratched swastikas all over it.

[Axolotl]

Thought I'd write an update on this bass I love so much. I was lucky enough to get an original 71 pearloid pickguard in great shape!! And at a decent price too!. The original 71 (same year as the bass) is whiter and with a pattern of bigger rectangles in the pearloid. The repro wasn't bad but it had a coat of yellow lacquer over to look aged. While the difference is not dramatic, I like it a lot better and there is no thing like the real thing . The vintage guard is the one installed in the bass:

[will]

Nice to see that you're still playing and enjoying the bass!

[MattK]

My eyes bugged out at the original post in the thread complaining about $800 being too high for a 70s Mustang Bass, even the refins are north of $2500 six years later …

[Axolotl]

Nice to see that you're still playing and enjoying the bass!

Will, it's one of my favorite instruments! (and I'm a guitar player!). I'll always be grateful for you saving it and selling it to me. I love this bass to pieces and play it/cheer it most of the days. Everything about it feels, sounds and looks great. It's also an eye catcher and I showed countless peeps this thread to see what amazing save you did .