carlsim

Ha! I'm not a smoker so am going to bypass that option! The iron chloride I used to stain the wood left some dark patches so I'm quite happy with that look... I don't know if that was a just a thing on Clapton's strat though - or whether other famous relics suffered the same?

Yeah I noticed that… not sure what I can do about it to be honest….

So I finally finished my initial attempt at relic'ing and the creation of a 70s inspired p bass with TV logo. It's not a heavy relic as i didn't have the confidence to go all out, but I really like the vintage amber nitro on the neck and headstock... I'm hoping it will wear pretty quick and leave a dirty bare wood underneath... something I may help along it's way with a bit more research... So it started out as a standard squire VM p bass... now it certainly has a well worn in vibe to it... it certainly won't fool anyone but I like it! In time, I think I will look for some aged tuners and bridge as well... Or nickel hardware I can age with some Iron Chloride!

hi @Skybone - it seems to be there now...

I know this won't be to everyone's taste, but I have noticed that 'generally' everyone likes a little bit of mojo in a bass, particularly older ones. I do too, and despite a lack of finances recently due to house moves and extensions costing the earth I have hankered after a 70s P bass with the TV logo. Sadly, I can't afford one, plus I don't play 4 string much so it wouldn't get a lot of use. So I bought a 2006 Squire VM P bass in Olympic white which has nicely yellowed and set about creating my own relic p bass. The one thing I wanted to do was to re-do the headstcok with a period correct logo (I'm not trying to fool anyone here and have kept photos of the bass in it's original state) and a look that harks back to the vintage, amber-y headstocks of that period. I'm not fussed about absolute period correctness, but have ordered a decal online which I like and set about sanding down the old decal. Man that was a pain! Anyway... What I wanted to share was a little tip which I kind of discovered by accident. I'm trying to aged the hardware as well and found online that Iron Chloride works well to age nickel hardware. None of the parts I currently have are nickel but thought I would try it on Chrome but it does absolutely bugger all! Anyway... I thought, what about wood? I was trying different things to darken the fresh maple (tea and coffee) and this did very little. I was given quite a weak mixture of Iron Chloride and using a cotton bud I dabbed it onto some bare wood and it instantly stained quite dark. Ooh! Quite cool but too much... however, after another lot of sanding i was quite please with how it looks! Very aged and I chucked on a quick bit of tinted amber nitro from NorthWest Guitars and I am really pleased with how it looks compared to where it started. It's only had a very thin coat of the nitro but I will add the decal and then add a few more layers of the nitro. It's never going to look like an authentic 70s bass but I don't think it will be far away without close inspection. I just thought I would share a little insight into something I discovered by accident. I'm experimenting quite a bit with different ideas but will post anything else I find plus some pics of the bass when it is finished, but if anyone wants to ad their own discoveries about relicing, it would be much appreciated. I know a homemade relic is not going to be close to a custom shop but where is the fun in that! Some pics of the original headstock and where I am currently at. Just waiting for the decal to arrive.

@bremen yours if you want it, I have just picked up a VM Squire Precision from 2006 which is going to be the basis of my project... Thanks guys!

So he did!! Could be the way to go… I guess I’m hitting the thomann website tomorrow!

I looked at this but this is a neck swap between HBs... I am looking between a HB and a Squire or similar to keep the precision headstock shape as authentic as possible...

hi all... i need a little project to give me something to do and I have always lusted after a relic'd 70s precision bass with the 'TV' logo so that will be my next thing to do. I fancy having a bash at relic'ing myself, not on something expensive so was looking at getting a Harley Benton MV-4P in a cool colour. However, the neck I would be looking to replace with either a Squire or Fender neck. Mainly for the shape of the headstock which I would want to sand back, add a new decal and the tint / age and relic. Not legit I know, but more for funsies plus I love a relic'd P bass but don't really play 4 string much so it won't get much use other than noodling at home. So, will a fender / squire neck fit a HB p bass body? Could anyone check physically? I can find general information about p bass neck pockets online, but nothing about the HB MV-4P. Could anyone measure one? Anyone offer any help? Thanks!