backwater Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 (edited) A few weeks ago I bought a 1978 Fender precision bass from Volume on the board here as a project. As it arrived it looked like this : I started by stripping the bass down to see what was there. S/N on the head is S87xxxx which would date it to 1978. Pickups are dated 10/08/78 and 17/10/78 Pots are dated 1377808 which decodes to Week8, 1978 Neck stamp is very faded but appears to read 01032485 which is Week 24, day 5, 1978 All of the body markings are missing except for some stamps in the pickup cavity which are the same as the stamps on the neck (round stamp which I assume is quality control. Neck is straight and cleaned up nicely with just a few minor dings here and there. All the hardware looks right although the thumbrest and pickup/bridge covers are missing (I'll use reissue ones for these). The body is another matter : Originally Sunburst, it has been partially stripped and resprayed blue, the partially stripped again and a very thin clear coat put on. Basically my project is to sand the body back down to bare (except the pickup cavity which I will preserve to keep the stamps intact) and respray the body. For 1978, authentic colours would be Black, White, Sunburst, Natural or transparent Red. Depending on how well the wood cleans up I am planning to go for either Natural or the much rarer transparent red. I'll update as I make progress - I suspect that stripping the various layers of paint off may take a while! Andy Edited December 18, 2019 by backwater Replace Images Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Mmm, tasty. Looking forward to seeing the progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJA Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 (edited) trans red is nice- Tim Butler of the Psychedelic Furs has one (trans red, maple neck, black pickguard), and I saw one like it in Vintage & Rare, denmark st. Edited June 19, 2008 by SJA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-soar Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 [quote name='SJA' post='220153' date='Jun 16 2008, 07:37 PM']trans red is nice- Tim Butler of the Psychedelic Furs has one (trans red, maple neck, black pickguard), and I saw one like it in Vintage & Rare, denmark st.[/quote]Trans Red, P.F.'s are cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
backwater Posted June 20, 2008 Author Share Posted June 20, 2008 Update 20-06-08 After many hours of sanding I have most of the front and back down to bare wood, or so I thought! I suspect that after 1 factory finish and at least 2 refinishes there is so much paint/sanding sealers/etc in the grain that I would have to sand a fair bit out of the wood to get a finish suitable for staining so I am looking at giving up on the transparent/wine red and going with the natural finish. Having given the front and back a very light wipe with a damp cloth the grain looks good so I suspect the natural will look good. Still a lot of sanding to do as I haven't got the whole back down to bare(-ish) and still have the edges to do. Whatever the clear finish was, it stinks pretty badly as you sand it! Most of the sanding has been done by hand or with a detail sander but the original Fender finish was scraped off with a screwdriver then sanded. Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stinson Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 Good stuff. Did the same to my 76p, took ages to strip by hand and my hands were f*cked at the end. Got a pro re-fin, well worth it, looks the business! Look forward to the progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 78? Antigua all the way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert43 Posted June 22, 2008 Share Posted June 22, 2008 Looks good I cant wait to see the end results Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
backwater Posted July 4, 2008 Author Share Posted July 4, 2008 (edited) There has been some progress with the project! I've sanded the body down to the original sanding sealer (at a few points I've sanded through the sanding sealer to the wood) and have smoothed the finish down with P180 sandpaper. After wiping the body down with Naptha (lighter fluid) it looks like this (The white in the pickup cavity is masking tape to preserve the markings there) : Next job is to start applying sanding sealer (which has been lying at the local sorting office waiting for me since wednesday as they delivered it in the couple of hours I was out!). I'm using a water based sanding sealer by Chestnut Products and I'm looking at probably 6-8 coats of that followed by a similar number of coats of waterbased/acrylic clear lacquer (Halfords standard car lacquer). I was going to go for the transparent red finish but I can only get trans red paint in nitro and I'm not sure it'll work with the waterbased sealer. When wiping the body with the naptha you get to see the grain and it looks fine (there are a few patches which stand out but those are where I have sanded through the original sanding sealer - you can see one to the right of the ribcage cut on the back view). More updates once I get some coats of sealer on and see how it looks then. Andy Edited December 24, 2017 by backwater Replace Images Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jono Bolton Posted July 5, 2008 Share Posted July 5, 2008 That's a nice grain, I reckon natural might be the way forward, but white would be pretty sharp too, especially with the maple neck, it's a great combination. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayfan Posted July 5, 2008 Share Posted July 5, 2008 I admire you guys who have the motivation to do these kind of builds. I'd love to mod a bass but I can't even get myself organised to clear out the garage! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
backwater Posted July 9, 2008 Author Share Posted July 9, 2008 (edited) The sanding sealer has now been applied. Sequence was : Smooth body with P180 sandpaper Wipe body down with Naptha (lighter fluid) 4 coats of sanding sealer (at around 45 minute intervals) Allow to dry for 2 days "Scuff Sand" with P320 sandpaper 5 coats of sanding sealer (again, at around 45 minute intervals) I did get a few runs from putting too much sealer on at once but I lightly sanded these with 600 grade sandpaper before the next coat of sealer. As you can see the grain is beginning to show nicely - there a few spots on the edges which are a lighter colour as the original factory sealer has darkened slightly over time. It shouldn't be too noticable once the job is finished. In the meantime, I've started cleaning the other parts up. The bridge has been dismantled (there is a little corrosion on it and one screw isn't original). The bridge parts have been cleaned using my usual technique - a couple of hours soaking in coca cola (preferably flat!), wash and then soak in WD40 overnight. The neck has a couple of dings which I will drop fill but the pickups, machine heads and knobs are ready to use as they are. Spraying the lacquer should start monday (weather permitting!) so more pics once it's had the 10-12 coats of lacquer! Andy Edited December 24, 2017 by backwater Replace Images Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
backwater Posted July 14, 2008 Author Share Posted July 14, 2008 (edited) The saga continues....! I've now completed the clear lacquer coats. The whole body has had around 12 coats with some bits having had up to around 18 coats. As you can see from the pictures, the pressure on the spray can began to drop when doing the last few coats so there is a bit of an "orange peel" finish but I'll sort this when I do the final sanding & polishing. There was one small disaster (which became 2 small disasters as shall be shown!). After I'd finished the final coat and let it dry I unclamped the bass from the vice to hang it up and managed to ding the inside of the lower horn on the vice. Doh! No problem, I clamped the body upright in the vice and drop filled the ding (it's not perfect but it'll be fine). So far so good. When I unclamped the body from the vice I discovered that the vice had left two big marks on the body (even through the protective padding)! So I had to lightly sand the marks down and do a few more coats of lacquer. Sorted now though. The body now needs to be left for about 2 weeks to allow the lacquer to set completely before I sand it down with P1200, then P2000 sandpaper, then the final polish. More pics once the polishing is done. Andy Edited December 24, 2017 by backwater Replace Images Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
backwater Posted July 31, 2008 Author Share Posted July 31, 2008 (edited) Finished (Almost)! After waiting the two weeks for the lacquer to dry, I set to yesterday and started the final sanding and polishing. After soaking the wet'n'dry paper for a few hours in water/soap the progress went like this : Sand with P600 wet'n'dry to remove "orange peel" Sand with P1200 wet'n'dry Sand with P2000 wet'n'dry Leave to cool and dry for an hour Polish with T-Cut Scratch remover. Rub finish down with a soft cloth. The shine that comes up when you follow this through it great - looks really good. Today I put all the hardware and electrics back in - a few solder joints needed fixed and I may need to go back in and put some more foam under the pickups as they are a bit low but otherwise it's finished. Some shiney pictures - Front : Back : Full Frontal! : The project has taken a while but it's been theraputic and enjoyable so I can't complain. Hopefully it'll encourage others to have a go at a refinish - the only specialist equipment I needed was the sanding sealer and P2000 sandpaper, everything else can be bought at halfords (paint, T-cut) or B&Q/wickes (sandpaper) Andy Edited December 24, 2017 by backwater Replace Images Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stinson Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 Congrats Andy, that looks like a superb effort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squire5 Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 Nice job mate! Its amazing what a bit of elbow grease and dedication can do.She is looking good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brave Sir Robin Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 well worth the effort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Protium Posted August 2, 2008 Share Posted August 2, 2008 Very very nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted August 22, 2008 Share Posted August 22, 2008 can i ask what the sanding sealer is for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
backwater Posted August 23, 2008 Author Share Posted August 23, 2008 [quote name='LukeFRC' post='268247' date='Aug 23 2008, 12:19 AM']can i ask what the sanding sealer is for?[/quote] The sanding sealer is lacquer with a thickening agent in it. It is used as a grain filler to get a smooth finish on the wood and also allows you to build up a reasonable thickness of lacquer in fewer coats. It also prevents colours from bleeding into the wood grain. From the manufacturers website : To seal open pores of timber prior to application of lacquers, waxes or polishes. Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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