refinishing (amateurishly) a Jazz bass body... Capri Orange!

[apa]

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1340042684' post='1698193']


yeah, I never considered orange until recently when I saw one orange jazz and i thought... "that is warm looking and nice"
It also brings me feelings of... warmth and fuzziness... maybe because it was a popular colour when i was child

So, are you getting ideas for a new bass project?
[/quote]

Way ahead of you . You like Antigua right? See 'Lucie' in my sig for a teaser!!

A

[bertbass]

I'd of thought that orange was a bit of a no-no colour for a bass but seeing yours it looks great!

[mcnach]

[quote name='apa' timestamp='1340045208' post='1698261']
Way ahead of you . You like Antigua right? See 'Lucie' in my sig for a teaser!!

A
[/quote]


Antigua, as in the island? yeah!
as in what some people refer to as... "snotburst"? erm... not so much
But then I have never seen an example in detail. Got any pictures yet?

[lettsguitars]

It will flake off the plastic can but not off your bass. The can lid is probably still covered in silicon from the factory. You can nitro over pretty much anything that isn't oily. As many coats as you can be bothered with. Usually One can, a week to dry, sand, and dump another can on before drying again and wet sand then buff (by hand with t-cut and swirl remover).

[uncle psychosis]

[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1340033963' post='1697967']
Sure
It's a 78P which had been stripped before I got it (originally white). I wanted a funky colour that was faithful to the year of the bass, and Skank pointed out the International Series to me. Capri Orange it was:
Before:

After:



As you can see, I put on an off white scratchplate to be in keeping with International Series.
Since these pics were taken, the pickup cover now is a P one, after someone pointed out to me that the one on there was a J one
It now also has black screws, as per the International Series. Oh, and black nylon strings, which is because it's conducive to the reggae sound I'm after, but also looks great on the bass.
[/quote]

This bass makes me feel funny inside

[mcnach]

[quote name='lettsguitars' timestamp='1340057514' post='1698574']
It will flake off the plastic can but not off your bass. The can lid is probably still covered in silicon from the factory. You can nitro over pretty much anything that isn't oily. As many coats as you can be bothered with. Usually One can, a week to dry, sand, and dump another can on before drying again and wet sand then buff (by hand with t-cut and swirl remover).
[/quote]


you give me hope!
so you think it would attach reasonably well to a *very clean* poly finish, and not flake off if I cough next to it?
I like the idea of showing shiny shoreline gold under the orange when it eventually gets some scratches etc.

[lettsguitars]

Go for it. I would lightly sand first to give it a key. Nitro isn't the hardest material in the world and will easily ding up. The wet sanding is the tricky bit which is why you need a lot of coats to stop you sanding through, very easy if you aint careful. It's a lot of fun though and very therapeautical. Good luck. Your first is usually the best coz you tend to be over cautious.

[mcnach]

[quote name='lettsguitars' timestamp='1340058847' post='1698620']
Go for it. I would lightly sand first to give it a key. Nitro isn't the hardest material in the world and will easily ding up. The wet sanding is the tricky bit which is why you need a lot of coats to stop you sanding through, very easy if you aint careful. It's a lot of fun though and very therapeautical. Good luck. Your first is usually the best coz you tend to be over cautious.
[/quote]

Thank you!

I need to get some sandpaper for this, I meant to do it at the weekend but other things got in the way. I will do some fine sanding on the existing finish then, and start applying coats of the orange nitro.

[apa]

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1340057375' post='1698572']
Antigua, as in the island? yeah!
as in what some people refer to as... "snotburst"? erm... not so much
But then I have never seen an example in detail. Got any pictures yet?
[/quote]

PMed

A

[BassTractor]

That's a lovely refinish! Congrats and just send it to the address I PM'ed. ;^)

[umcoo]

Any progress on this?

[mcnach]

[quote name='umcoo' timestamp='1343063403' post='1744628']
Any progress on this?
[/quote]

oh, you shame me in public!!!

No, no progress.
I bought a bunch of wet&dry sheets, I have paint... but I keep getting distracted so I have not done anything at all about it yet.

But I will!

[umcoo]

haha, no trouble...just making sure you haven't forgot!

[mcnach]

Hmmmm...
I just located a nice looking natural, unfinished, ash body...
It looks like the course of action will be:
sand the new body, *may* stain it, and apply oil to it for an easy satin finish. I'm lazy and I like these finishes.

The shoreline gold one? Either I sell it or I try painting it anyway to see what it is like. Hmmmm. Decisions decisions.

Edited January 7, 2013 by mcnach

[mcnach]

Like many of my "projects", this advanced very very slowly. As in... zero for several months and suddenly a tiny baby step. But it's moving!

I decided against the ash body. I have it. I may use it in the future. Or not. But for the fretless, I'm going with the original idea. And today I tested it briefly.

I decided to spray a little bit of Capri Orange on the back of the bass, without even prior sanding, as it seems in pretty good condition.

The results are promising.

It was a little tricky at first to produce a thin even coat, so I got a bit of overpainting giving a couple of small runs... but I think once you get the hang of it it's not that hard.
It dries fast, which is nice, and what's even nicer is that once dried, it flattens very nicely, giving a pretty uniform shiny surface: the runs, unless very big, get disguised. I can see how after a few coats the result will not be bad at all, so I'm optimistic that I can produce something that will not be horrible.
The paint sticks to the poly body, no doubt about that. It wont flake easily. Nice.

The only negative point is... spraying directly over shoreline gold does not give me a very bright orange. So I have decided I should spray it with white primer first. I just ordered a can of primer, so hopefully I'll get to that soon. That will allow me to get the bright orange finish I'm after.

It's not going to be a professional finish, but it's not going to look as terrible as I was fearing.

[uncle psychosis]

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1357530538' post='1924091']
Like many of my "projects", this advanced very very slowly. As in... zero for several months and suddenly a tiny baby step. But it's moving!

I decided against the ash body. I have it. I may use it in the future. Or not. But for the fretless, I'm going with the original idea. And today I tested it briefly.

I decided to spray a little bit of Capri Orange on the back of the bass, without even prior sanding, as it seems in pretty good condition.

The results are promising.

It was a little tricky at first to produce a thin even coat, so I got a bit of overpainting giving a couple of small runs... but I think once you get the hang of it it's not that hard.
It dries fast, which is nice, and what's even nicer is that once dried, it flattens very nicely, giving a pretty uniform shiny surface: the runs, unless very big, get disguised. I can see how after a few coats the result will not be bad at all, so I'm optimistic that I can produce something that will not be horrible.
The paint sticks to the poly body, no doubt about that. It wont flake easily. Nice.

The only negative point is... spraying directly over shoreline gold does not give me a very bright orange. So I have decided I should spray it with white primer first. I just ordered a can of primer, so hopefully I'll get to that soon. That will allow me to get the bright orange finish I'm after.

It's not going to be a professional finish, but it's not going to look as terrible as I was fearing.
[/quote]

Nice work.

I really want an orange precision (see above for the reason why)...and you're giving me ideas

[mcnach]

Well... it´s happening!!!

girlfriend is away for a long weekend, and I convinced her to let me use her place to do the deed (it makes it easier to ventilate if you dont have to stay there cold all day).

So, a suitable corner in the kitchen was chosen. Removed table and chairs, and proceeded to prepare the area, Dexter-style.

I covered the walls and floor with cut bin bags held with masking tape. I covered two chairs too, and used a broom stick between them to hold the bass body. For this I inserted a hook into one of the neck screw holes, which happened to be the sam thread, and used a little bit of rope to hang it. I found I could turn it a few times, and let it spin one way and the other while I spray... cool!

I´m on my fourth thin coat of white primer. It seems the trick is to lay it thin, as many times as needed, but thin, to avoid having runs and paint it uniformly.

I did nothing to prepare the body. It was in really good condition, so I just cleaned it a bit, dissolving any possible finger grease with a bit of alcohol soaked in a paper towel. I did not even sand the bit of orange lacquer I had test-sprayed on the back... if it looks bad, well, it´s at the back.

Pictures to follow. I´m starting to think that it´s not going to look too bad...

[mcnach]

A few hours later (dinner, rehearsal, get back...) I fine sanded it (1200 grit). Smooth. Dusty!

I then tried grit 600 on a couple of small areas that were uneven, with a run, at the bottom of the bass. argh! 600 grit goes through the finish much faster, so the gold started to show!

another coat of primer then, after removing all the dust. The can is almost finished by now.

[mcnach]

more fine sanding, 1200 grit only this time. Definitely better than before. I can see how I would get a better result if I added more layers of primer, but I ran out. I probably wasted a lot, being inexperienced in spraying... but I´m positive the results will be much better than I was anticipating.

I applied one fine coat or Capri Orange nitrocellulose lacquer... ooooh, this is startng to look funky now It definitely needed the white primer underneath to come out as bright as I intended.

Another 30-40 minutes, and I will apply another orange coat before going to bed. Exciting!

Now I want to finish that 5-string Stagg Stingray clone I have in fiesta red!

[apa]

Ahh I love the optimisum of your use of your GF place

This all sounds really cool. Hope I get to see the results in the flesh! (Weather permitting)

Im not one for bright coloured basses but that Capri orange does have a certain charm - like it

A

[mcnach]

Well, I applied the last coat of Capri orange. Not last as in "definitely it does not need any more", but last as in it started spluttering, so I stopped before I spoiled what was looking pretty uniform spraying.

Definitely, one can is enough if you are a bit careful. Next time I will do it better.

It looks great. Matte, but I´d be happy using it as it is already.

I guess I will fine sand it in a few hours, 1200 grit only, making sure I don´t over do it this time! and then... I should really buff it to get it glossy, but it looks nice already! Hmm.

Apa, you will definitely see the body, but I´m not sure I will have it reassembled by Thursday. You can help me choose pickguards

I have the original white one.
A black one, as I intended originally.
A dark blue pearloid thing, just because.
And... a metallic pickguard (great for shielding! ) in some kind of greenish blue, or blueish green. Not a pretty colour, but mixed with the bright orange I think it can look very funky... or say "look, I´m colour blind!"

I took some pictures with my mobile... althought I forgot to take pictures before I started painting it! I probably have some still from the original ad ´haimesy´put here in BC.
I´ll upload them when I am at home, later today.

I have some cleaning to do here first. My "Dexter" contraption worked quite well... but the spray produces some very very very fine dust and I have noticed it has settled on some uncovered wooden chairs a meter or two away from the spraying area. So I will have to dust the place and make sure there is no white-orange dust anywhere.

Next one... that 5 string Stingray clone. Question is: translucent red, or fiesta red????

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1358599685' post='1941928']
Well, I applied the last coat of Capri orange. Not last as in "definitely it does not need any more", but last as in it started spluttering, so I stopped before I spoiled what was looking pretty uniform spraying.

Definitely, one can is enough if you are a bit careful. Next time I will do it better.

It looks great. Matte, but I´d be happy using it as it is already.

I guess I will fine sand it in a few hours, 1200 grit only, making sure I don´t over do it this time! and then... I should really buff it to get it glossy, but it looks nice already! Hmm.

Apa, you will definitely see the body, but I´m not sure I will have it reassembled by Thursday. You can help me choose pickguards

I have the original white one.
A black one, as I intended originally.
A dark blue pearloid thing, just because.
And... a metallic pickguard (great for shielding! ) in some kind of greenish blue, or blueish green. Not a pretty colour, but mixed with the bright orange I think it can look very funky... or say "look, I´m colour blind!"

I took some pictures with my mobile... althought I forgot to take pictures before I started painting it! I probably have some still from the original ad ´haimesy´put here in BC.
I´ll upload them when I am at home, later today.

I have some cleaning to do here first. My "Dexter" contraption worked quite well... but the spray produces some very very very fine dust and I have noticed it has settled on some uncovered wooden chairs a meter or two away from the spraying area. So I will have to dust the place and make sure there is no white-orange dust anywhere.

Next one... that 5 string Stingray clone. Question is: translucent red, or fiesta red????
[/quote]

If it's nitro.... knock it back to 1200 or 2000 grit or whatever then leave it to cure for a week before buffing.


Stingray clone.... try the molotow? silver bottom coat, trasparent red top coat?

[mcnach]

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1358601092' post='1941959']
If it's nitro.... knock it back to 1200 or 2000 grit or whatever then leave it to cure for a week before buffing.


Stingray clone.... try the molotow? silver bottom coat, trasparent red top coat?
[/quote]


what would you buff it with?
It´s my next bit of "research". Did I say I´m new to this

metallic finishes... urgh. Guess why I painted this shoreline gold body orange?

[LukeFRC]

halfords has a set of fine finishing wet and dry papers- i took that from 800 down to 2000, then T-cut on the top. Let it cure first before doing the fine sanding and buffing though

have a fun weekend cleaning the gf's kitchen btw!

[apa]

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1358599685' post='1941928']
Well, I applied the last coat of Capri orange. Not last as in "definitely it does not need any more", but last as in it started spluttering, so I stopped before I spoiled what was looking pretty uniform spraying.

Definitely, one can is enough if you are a bit careful. Next time I will do it better.

It looks great. Matte, but I´d be happy using it as it is already.

I guess I will fine sand it in a few hours, 1200 grit only, making sure I don´t over do it this time! and then... I should really buff it to get it glossy, but it looks nice already! Hmm.

Apa, you will definitely see the body, but I´m not sure I will have it reassembled by Thursday. You can help me choose pickguards

I have the original white one.
A black one, as I intended originally.
A dark blue pearloid thing, just because.
And... a metallic pickguard (great for shielding! ) in some kind of greenish blue, or blueish green. Not a pretty colour, but mixed with the bright orange I think it can look very funky... or say "look, I´m colour blind!"

I took some pictures with my mobile... althought I forgot to take pictures before I started painting it! I probably have some still from the original ad ´haimesy´put here in BC.
I´ll upload them when I am at home, later today.

I have some cleaning to do here first. My "Dexter" contraption worked quite well... but the spray produces some very very very fine dust and I have noticed it has settled on some uncovered wooden chairs a meter or two away from the spraying area. So I will have to dust the place and make sure there is no white-orange dust anywhere.

Next one... that 5 string Stingray clone. Question is: translucent red, or fiesta red????
[/quote]

You know what Im going to say dont you.................. WOOD. Nice bit of Burr veneer would set that orange off nicely.

Oh and I wouldnt work too hard on the cleaning up - she'll know and find it anyway. Fine wine, Belgian chocolates and a big bunch of flowers is the price you pay Im afraid. Oh and a few years of reminders when she needs to

A