Stripping and staining walnut body - advice please

[Grooverjr]

I got a Kramer 450b last year and despite the fact that it weighs a ton and it's not exactly the easiest thing to play I love it. What I don't love is the colour of the body (and the less said about the wooden inserts on the back of the neck, the better). I don't know if it was originally a kind of orangey-brown or if it has changed over the years but I suppose it is 'period corect' for the 70s - i.e. nasty. It also has quite a few little dings and chips, but nothing serious.

It's a 4 piece walnut body and the pieces match pretty well but they're not all that interesting, figuring wise. In the neck pocket where it hasn't been varnished the wood looks quite pinky-red and I am thinking of stripping it down to the bare wood and seeing if I want to keep it that colour or, if not, staining it black. With the ebanol board and the aluminium I think it would look pretty good. Certainly better than what it is now.

I am hardly an expert at woodworking (a couple of pieces of furniture rescued and revived is my lot) and I have no decent tools but I think I can manage a sand down and refinish if there's no spraying involved. That said, I have a solid history of underestimating the difficulties of just about everything so before I mess it up completely I thought it best to check if any of you far more experienced lovely people have any advice / top tips / recommendations. 

 

[Beedster]

Mmm, that could be a quick and easy job or it could be a lengthy nightmare. It will almost certainly look better stripped and oiled but as you say, it's not an interesting or even especially attractive grain, so the improvement might be marginal at best. I stripped an ash body a while back and used black tinted wax, which lifted the grain nicely, might work on this bass?

 

 

[Grooverjr]

Thanks @Beedster. I wasn't aware of wood wax, but that looks really nice. Agreed on the grain being a bit dull but it might be better once it is stripped and revealed and almost anything looks decent in black! 

[Norris]

Ash has a very pronounced,  textured grain, so looks good as a single colour or with a grain filler and translucent top coat. Walnut has a much smoother grain and you might struggle to see it.

[BigRedX]

The poly finish applied to Kramer instruments from the 70s is a complete bastard to remove. Don't ask me how I know.

 

You'll need a good power sander, a LOT of course grit sandpaper, a well ventilated space to work in, and MANY hours of free time before you'll get to see any bare wood.

 

And be very careful removing and replacing the wooden pickup surrounds as they are prone to damage and the ones on your bass still appear to be complete which is a rare thing in itself.

[NJE]

Poly is a pain, heat gun maybe to see what you can get off before taking a sander to it? 
 

I have just done some furniture in a lovely oil and wax finish, and I might try and do a guitar using the same kind of finish one day. Got my finished from a company in Devon? https://gilboys.co.uk/collections/beeswax-wood-furniture-polishes

[Grooverjr]

1 hour ago, BigRedX said:

The poly finish applied to Kramer instruments from the 70s is a complete bastard to remove. Don't ask me how I know.

 

You'll need a good power sander, a LOT of course grit sandpaper, a well ventilated space to work in, and MANY hours of free time before you'll get to see any bare wood.

 

And be very careful removing and replacing the wooden pickup surrounds as they are prone to damage and the ones on your bass still appear to be complete which is a rare thing in itself.

Ah, I was dreading that kind of answer, but at the same time it was exactly why I asked the question so thanks for the warning.

I can see from the area under the neck screw plate that the finish is very gloppy. I don't have a power sander or a well-ventilated space to work in (small flat, basic toolbox - good name for an experimental album 😁). Looks like I might need to just live with it being an ugly duck until we get going on a building project we have in mind for the next year or two and then I should have access to both.

I have been warned about the surrounds and the whole pup fixing / height adjustment sensitivity so I will be very careful with that when the time comes.

[Grooverjr]

35 minutes ago, NJE said:

Poly is a pain, heat gun maybe to see what you can get off before taking a sander to it? 
 

I have just done some furniture in a lovely oil and wax finish, and I might try and do a guitar using the same kind of finish one day. Got my finished from a company in Devon? https://gilboys.co.uk/collections/beeswax-wood-furniture-polishes

That looks like nice stuff. I used mineral oil (stuff they use to help seal chopping boards, not the brake fluid!) and beeswax on a table with a rather uninspiring grain and colour and it does a great job of accentuating what is there without changing anything too much, so that may also be an option when the time comes, although it does need quite regular retouching. 

[Beedster]

Having sanded a similarly finished bass - and regretted both the time and the results - I'd recommend a stripper, it will take a few coats and some elbow grease, but it will be a whole lot less hassle and will significantly reduce the risk of over-sanding  

[Beedster]

5 hours ago, Norris said:

Ash has a very pronounced,  textured grain, so looks good as a single colour or with a grain filler and translucent top coat. Walnut has a much smoother grain and you might struggle to see it.

Yes agreed, but the right degree of finishing (I went fine but not too fin with the sandpaper), and the right oil and wax and even a linear and relatively low contrast grain can look good, I'm about to do the same to this walnut body, although as you can see, I've been slightly more fortunate with the grain.....