Sanding an American Jazz

[Shambo]

Just throwing this out there, my bass is in no imminent danger.

I'm looking at my american jazz circa 2006/7 with a maple board and thinking it would look lovely with a natural finish, (it's shoreline gold ATM). I'm just wondering, if I were to get it stripped and given a finish like the AV '75 reissue body, what would I find underneath the paint? A nice one piece of alder, or several unsightly pieces stuck together?

Also, I've got no intention of DIY, would anybody have a rough idea about how much something like that would cost?

[chris_b]

I would imagine you're more likely to find "several unsightly pieces stuck together". I think the good stuff will be used to make basses where the wood is intended to be exposed.

A strip and refinish won't be cheap and won't add any value to the bass, but if you've got money.....!

[Al Heeley]

Have to agree with chris-b; the less pretty lumps of timber get the thick opaque paint jobs! Best leave well alone, save your money and buy a lovely trans warmoth body

[Lfalex v1.1]

+1 to both previous posts, AND be aware that Alder is not the prettiest body wood, and is seldom used for natural finishes. You [i]may[/i] get the odd 'burst, but that's it. The '75 RI Jazz is Ash bodied. A nice body might be a 2-piece with well matched pieces or even a 1 piece if you're lucky. With an opaque finish, you can sometimes see the glue lines if you look at the back of the body in strong light. Not always easy with lighter colours, but on my black 'Ray 5 (which is another ugly wood- Poplar) and Vigier, they're quite obvious.

[Happy Jack]

For some reason, I feel like starting a New Topic called [i][b]Jazzing a Sandberg[/b][/i] ...

[Shambo]

Thanks guys. I should probably just start saving for another bass.

[eightball]

nnnnnnooooooooooooo! shoreline gold is one of my fave fender colours!

[thepurpleblob]

[quote name='Shambo' post='865927' date='Jun 13 2010, 01:44 PM']Just throwing this out there, my bass is in no imminent danger.

I'm looking at my american jazz circa 2006/7 with a maple board and thinking it would look lovely with a natural finish, (it's shoreline gold ATM). I'm just wondering, if I were to get it stripped and given a finish like the AV '75 reissue body, what would I find underneath the paint? A nice one piece of alder, or several unsightly pieces stuck together?

Also, I've got no intention of DIY, would anybody have a rough idea about how much something like that would cost?[/quote]

You'd probably struggle to get all the primer off anyway as it will have soaked into the wood to a certain extent. Think what stripped doors look like (a 1980s fad if ever there was) - still bits of paint on and lots of gaps.