Adding veneer to my old bass

[muttley600]

Polyester finishes on modern instruments are a pain. They are also not for the hobbyist. Nothing will touch them to get them off and as Lt says fixing chips or dropping in as we call it is a real pain. Polyester is used on many cheaper instruments because it is hard as glass and is best done as a factory finish. The only way to remove it is with a scraper.

Lt, all the aircraft fittings and burr work at rolls royce we did was polyester. I know exactly how you feel about repairing it and have spent countless hours colouring run throughs and repairing dings only to have to go back and do it again. Getting the colour right in the white and then under polyester is a real art. My piano is old enough to have a proper finish on it.. If only I could tune it..

 

[Lt. Bob]

Lt, all the aircraft fittings and burr work at rolls royce we did was polyester. I know exactly how you feel about repairing it and have spent countless hours colouring run throughs and repairing dings only to have to go back and do it again.

yeah ..... that's the worst ..... take a couple of days to get it done and then have to do it all again. Pissed me off every time. I actually got pretty good at it and had a couple of pianos with large chips ( say a couple of inches) that you can not see where I repaired them. I have to admit to being kinda proud of that. But I don't miss doing them.

 

[Chili]

well, the frikkiin paint peeled again on the neck when I sprayed on the clearcoat. Just certain parts of the neck.

So, now I'm going to sand down the whole neck to bare wood again. Must be something underneath that shouldn't be there. Maybe there was a clearcoat on it before that I didn't completely remove.

Temps are good tonight. The head came out good and I added more layers to the body and it's good.

This is taking longer than it should.

 

[creekster]

Chili - If you want to do the project as an experiment...great. If you are doing it because you don't like the current appearance, I would just get a different body. You'll end up spending less in the long run.

Example: Kurt @ Rondo Music Home Page frequently has bass bodies for very low prices. At the moment there was only one listed (Jazz/lefty/bare wood) for $45. If you decide to replace the body, be sure to check the neck pocket dimensions.

 

[Chili]

Chili - If you want to do the project as an experiment...great. If you are doing it because you don't like the current appearance, I would just get a different body. You'll end up spending less in the long run.

Thanks Creek. I already have a body and neck for my next project from GuitarFetish. This time was my first venture into doing a refinish. There's a lot to learn. And the big lesson is don't try to remove the undercoating from a metallic finish. What a pita that was. Like you said, get a new body and neck.

And while I didn't knock this refinish out of the park, it served its purpose as a learning tool. There are a lot of little noticeable mistakes and blemishes. But overall, it came out okay.



The Brit Union Jack is to acknowledge Mutt's help. Thanks man!! And thanks to everyone else who chimed in on this thread. Very cool.

Next project is a Jazz bass. I will be putting on the same veneer. (Because I still have 4 sheets of it to use.)

 

[Greg_L]

Shit I think it came out pretty decent. Well done.

 

[Lt. Bob]

looks good man ..... do a bit of relic'ing and none of those little things will catch your eye anymore.

 

[Lt. Bob]

My piano is old enough to have a proper finish on it.. If only I could tune it..

ya' know ..... if you really wanted to I could talk you thru one from a working tuners perspective ...... none of that stupid classroom crap that few actually use in the field.

 

[Chili]

Shit I think it came out pretty decent. Well done.

looks good man ..... do a bit of relic'ing and none of those little things will catch your eye anymore.

Thanks ya'll If you saw it up close, you'd say something slightly different. I hope I learned enough that the next project would be sellable. Not that I want to put Mutt out of business, but as a measure of how good a job I can do.

And... relic'ing to me means to play an instrument for 20 years for the aging process. None of that faux relic stuff.....

 

[Lt. Bob]

oh I see it. You can clearly see the edge of the veneer sheet for one thing and the finish around the edges look extremely rough and pebbly.

But man, this is your first one ...... it's the one for making those mistakes on ..... it looks fine for being your first.

 

[Slowrider]

this could end up muting your tone.


most veneers are added in combination with well-thought out tone woods underneath, and the overall tone is the function of both together.

granted, it's probably worth the experiment if you are planning on doing a more serious project in the future, but i'd bet money you'll hate the tone.

Sorry, man.....that is just an "old wives tale".
Unless you do a extremely shitty job, at repair/refinishing work.

On an acoustic instrument, it could/might make a difference, even though you, or anyone else; wouldn't notice it.

 

[Slowrider]

Thanks Creek. I already have a body and neck for my next project from GuitarFetish. This time was my first venture into doing a refinish. There's a lot to learn. And the big lesson is don't try to remove the undercoating from a metallic finish. What a pita that was. Like you said, get a new body and neck.

And while I didn't knock this refinish out of the park, it served its purpose as a learning tool. There are a lot of little noticeable mistakes and blemishes. But overall, it came out okay.

View attachment 81981 View attachment 81982

The Brit Union Jack is to acknowledge Mutt's help. Thanks man!! And thanks to everyone else who chimed in on this thread. Very cool.

Next project is a Jazz bass. I will be putting on the same veneer. (Because I still have 4 sheets of it to use.)

Great job!
Don't worry about the few blemishes, you didn't want it to look factory perfect, did you?

Actually, there are "Zero perfect, factory, finishes".

They all have bad spots.

If you look close enough, that is.....

 

[rayc]

The end result is good for a DIY/learning project.
I'd have stopped after disassembling the axe. (In fact have done - that was in 96 - still waiting for me to finsih stripping the paint at present).

 

[Chili]

Great job!
Don't worry about the few blemishes, you didn't want it to look factory perfect, did you?

Thank you very much. In fact, I like the open pore look. But I would rather have had the interface between the veneer and the body a little better. I also would have liked the sunburst paint to not peel when I applied the clearcoat. I repainted the neck, but didn't put a clearcoat on it. Seems to be the only way to keep the paint intact.

The end result is good for a DIY/learning project.
I'd have stopped after disassembling the axe. (In fact have done - that was in 96 - still waiting for me to finsih stripping the paint at present).

Yeah, stripping the old paint really sucked. Never again.

I'm going to start a new thread for the next project soon.

Stay Tuned....

 

[GONZO-X]

Sorry, man.....that is just an "old wives tale".
Unless you do a extremely shitty job, at repair/refinishing work.

On an acoustic instrument, it could/might make a difference, even though you, or anyone else; wouldn't notice it.

like i've already said, i've heard the results first hand, many many many years ago...

and it's hit and miss.


it's no wives tale.
it's just physics.

 

[GONZO-X]

meanwhile, i wish chili good luck with it.
it looks cool....

 

[muttley600]

like i've already said, i've heard the results first hand, many many many years ago...

and it's hit and miss.


it's no wives tale.
it's just physics.

Like I've already said. You are wrong... You also do not understand the physics you refer to.

Nice that you are chilled though.

 

[GONZO-X]

Like I've already said. You are wrong... You also do not understand the physics you refer to.

Nice that you are chilled though.

i might be wrong, but i know my ears are right!!
heheh


plus, there's another tangible that is not talked about much..
and it's not as important with bass guitar, because of the nature of bass being kinda 'phat' to begin with...

but the bass i played at length, with an 'aftermarket' veneer, felt damp.

i don't mean wet, i mean the liveliness of the acoustic feel of the instrument, felt muted.

it did not translate that way thru a driven amp, but you could actually hear the difference when run DI, with a super clean boosted signal.


YMMV

 

[muttley600]

i might be wrong, but i know my ears are right!!
heheh


plus, there's another tangible that is not talked about much..
and it's not as important with bass guitar, because of the nature of bass being kinda 'phat' to begin with...

but the bass i played at length, with an 'aftermarket' veneer, felt damp.

i don't mean wet, i mean the liveliness of the acoustic feel of the instrument, felt muted.

it did not translate that way thru a driven amp, but you could actually hear the difference when run DI, with a super clean boosted signal.


YMMV

and that the sum total of the "physics" you eluded to? Much HAS changed since I studied and taught acoustics. I really should keep up with current understanding....

With physics and specifically musical acoustics,Your mileage DOES NOT vary.

 

[GONZO-X]

you win.