winterfire666 Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 i have just acquired an early westone thunder 1 a in light oak finish, its a real player im looking to have it refinished with some custom 1 colour detailed artwork which is being done for me by a tattoo artist who has not had any experience with guitars before. where to start though im not sure what kind of lacquer is has, there is a mark on the back of it where it has reacted to the rubber on a guitar stand at some point over the years if that may be a clue. does anyone have any suggestions as to what to use, weather it might be better to put the artwork on top of the existing lacquer finish or strip it down first? any advice on the matter would be appreciated. many thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 I refinished allighatt0r's Westone a few years ago. I'll have a peep at the photos when I'm next on the desktop - I might be able to find the thread too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterfire666 Posted August 16, 2017 Author Share Posted August 16, 2017 Thanks. Any info would be really helpful :^) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 (edited) Hi again, winterfire666 The basschat thread has gone (it was 2014!) but I still have the photos. This was Bryan's (allighatt0r) Thunderjet: The finishing turned out to be:[list] [*]Top colour coat - easily removeable, over [*]Poly-coat - tough as old boots, over [*]Black primer [/list] I used heat gun and scraper: Here you see the poly under the top coat. It really is VERY tough stuff: However, once you break through the poly (for this, for me, heatgun is the only way. Sanding is a quick route to insanity), the black primer is easily sanded off: On Bryan's, there was a thin ply veneer over the body-wood laminations...a number of makers do this, including some Squier models: Where there are cutaways (beer-gut carve at the back, arm relief carve on the top pictured here) you are down to the base timber but you can see in the above shot the ply on the flat surfaces. Same on the back. In my case, I was veneering the flat surfaces on the top and the back, but this was how it ended up: The veneer is over the top of the ply - the cutaway is the just the underlying wood, stained and varnished Hope this helps! Edited August 16, 2017 by Andyjr1515 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 The back looks [i]gorgeous[/i] - always a sucker for something green.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allighatt0r Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 (edited) Quite sad that I don't have that bass anymore, she was a real thing of beauty! I think it's still in the hands of a BC'er though. The thread in question is here, but the photos have gone AWOL [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/246859-thunder-jet-yesanother-westone"]http://basschat.co.u...another-westone[/url] Edited August 18, 2017 by allighatt0r Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterfire666 Posted August 18, 2017 Author Share Posted August 18, 2017 very nice job, love the green, thanks for all the info and pics, i think im going to bite the bullet this weekend and give it a go :^) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 [quote name='winterfire666' timestamp='1503063732' post='3355453'] very nice job, love the green, thanks for all the info and pics, i think im going to bite the bullet this weekend and give it a go :^) [/quote] If you are doing the artwork over the present finish, then actually you wouldn't need to strip the present finish off - just matt it off with fine wet and dry to provide a key, paint the artwork, then spray clear over the top? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterfire666 Posted August 20, 2017 Author Share Posted August 20, 2017 [quote name='Andyjr1515' timestamp='1503081154' post='3355630'] If you are doing the artwork over the present finish, then actually you wouldn't need to strip the present finish off - just matt it off with fine wet and dry to provide a key, paint the artwork, then spray clear over the top? [/quote] this has got to be worth a go, much easier to fix if i get it wrong haha, typically my weekend has filled up too, definitely looking forward to seeing how this comes out, the artwork is quite ambitious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maude Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 What is he using to do the artwork? If it's solvent based ink pens and you use a solvent based lacquer then the artwork could bleed into the fresh lacquer before it's dry. Test the artwork medium with your intended lacquer before all his hard work is ruined. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterfire666 Posted August 30, 2017 Author Share Posted August 30, 2017 Thanks for the info. Ill do a test before going for it. Im just getting the design adjusted a little before committing it to the bass :^) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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