I'm serious. The tea-chest bass has earned its place in bass culture on both sides of the Atlantic. It's good for a laugh, granted, but it's also something that got impoverished would-be musicians into the game
I genuinely thought that was a scorched finish. Although it's not a look I'd go for unless I was looking for wall dressings for a pub that does Sunday lunches, it is striking.
Nice reclaim job... even for a guitar. (spits on the ground).
Your next one looks, er, distressing though. I think you might have scorched it accidentally.
I agree re: the pickguard. My eye keeps going to the lower right hand corner of the unfinished body as seen in the image above. It's different to the bass on the left.