son of frog Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 (edited) Ive been woking on this for a while now in my spare time, (and money) Its my own interpretation of a Fender 1962 P Bass, The only things left to come in the mail are the Vintage type machine heads, the String tree, Neckplate "F" style, as im going for the 1965 onwards model, i think it was late 1965 they started to issue the F plates, but in 1965 they still had the 1st design of headstock type logo, Dont worry people i'm not trying to fool anyone, and i'm not planning on selling it at all, it has no identification or serials and the skunk stripe gives it away, but thats how i like my basses with the skunk stripe, also considering photoshopping myself a "Frog Custom Shop" logo Oh and the neck now fits perfect and snuggly in the pocket thanks to my handiwork with sandpaper. I've given it Seymour duncan 1/4 pounders and a Badass II bridge. This has all been done relatively cheaply, The body and neck together only set me back around £150. Hope you like it, i hope to have it finished either this week or next depending on the shipping for some parts from the US. Pics: Any comments and / or opinions are welcomed! cheers. -Frog Edited May 24, 2011 by son of frog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 Like it and will look forward to seeing the finished job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibob Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 You want a tort pickguard Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillbilly deluxe Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 What parts did you use ? IMO,it would look better with the gloss knocked back a bit.And another reccomendation for a tort guard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbayne Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 Yes, another one for the tort pickguard. Really nice work mate! Its almost identical to my 1977 P Bass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 (edited) [quote name='son of frog' post='1243309' date='May 24 2011, 07:22 PM']I've given it Seymour duncan 1/4 pounders and a Badass II bridge. Any comments and / or opinions are welcomed![/quote] SDs and a Badass? Long sustain, perfect intonation and zingy highs have no place in Vintage Precisionland mate. Please don't tell me you're going to use rounds as well Seriously though, nice work, great doing it yourself isn't it? C Edited May 25, 2011 by Beedster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
son of frog Posted May 25, 2011 Author Share Posted May 25, 2011 (edited) [quote name='hillbilly deluxe' post='1243993' date='May 25 2011, 10:42 AM']What parts did you use ? IMO,it would look better with the gloss knocked back a bit.And another reccomendation for a tort guard.[/quote] Yeah definitely needs a tort pickguard, thats on the list too, the neck came from here by the way, actually great quality and not too pricey, [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/60s-Retro-P-Bass-neck-rosewood-fingerboard-skunk-str-/250796075408?_trksid=p5197.m7&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D4%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D182127655563384374#ht_500wt_737"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/60s-Retro-P-Bass-nec...74#ht_500wt_737[/url] and i like seymour duncans... lets just say it was a 1962 p bass that someone decided to disgrace with aftermarket parts! As for the gloss, yeah, i'm currently halfords lacquering the logo in place to make it sink in and look flush against the wood, so thats knocking some of the glossy finish off, but i need to polish it up again after that. I was told that after about 10 or so coats of lacquer when the decal finally sinks in i should leave to dry (48 hrs) sandpaper the headstock face and then polish it up, this seems like a bit of a risk, is there no way i can just T-Cut and polish it after leaving the lacquer to dry for a couple of days or so? now off to add another coat of lacquer!... Edited May 25, 2011 by son of frog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillbilly deluxe Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 I use the finest grit wet and dry paper to sand back,if you do put 10 coats of laquer on it will be ok.then polish back up with an abrasive polish to remove scratches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
son of frog Posted May 26, 2011 Author Share Posted May 26, 2011 [quote name='hillbilly deluxe' post='1245259' date='May 26 2011, 09:48 AM']I use the finest grit wet and dry paper to sand back,if you do put 10 coats of laquer on it will be ok.then polish back up with an abrasive polish to remove scratches.[/quote] cool, sand dry and then wet or just wet? about 1200 or 1500 grit? also i've done about 15 light coats now and the decals still doesn't seem to have sunk in to a factory finish... should i just keep going? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 When i laqcuered the head on my recent p bass project, three or four coats was sufficient to mask the edges of the decal. I guess it must depend on the thickness of the film used for the decal, but fifteen coats does seem rather a lot. Use the wet/dry Wet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Vader Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 [quote name='son of frog' post='1246104' date='May 26 2011, 07:22 PM']cool, sand dry and then wet or just wet? about 1200 or 1500 grit? also i've done about 15 light coats now and the decals still doesn't seem to have sunk in to a factory finish... should i just keep going?[/quote] It won't go flat until you sand it down. It's like a little hill under the finish, the lump doesn't flatten out as you put more on, it disappears as you sand it out through the many layers. Also, it helps if you attached the decal to a fully finished headstock, as if it's not shiny under the decal, it won't match. Hope this helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillbilly deluxe Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 (edited) Sand wet,a tip from my custom motorcycle painting friend is to use a little bit of soap in the water,even with the finest grit paper. P.S,im almost sure the early decals were'nt laquered over,but am willing to be corrected if this is not right. Edited May 27, 2011 by hillbilly deluxe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Vader Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 [quote name='hillbilly deluxe' post='1246742' date='May 27 2011, 10:16 AM']Sand wet,a tip from my custom motorcycle painting friend is to use a little bit of soap in the water,even with the finest grit paper. P.S,im almost sure the early decals were'nt laquered over,but am willing to be corrected if this is not right.[/quote] He's right, a real 62 wouldn't be buried. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
son of frog Posted May 27, 2011 Author Share Posted May 27, 2011 (edited) it literally just pops out a bit, but i kind of like it, and when i sand yeah it will probably disappear... thanks for he great advice so do you think i should use 1200 grit wet? or go with something more abrasive? after i sand i was planing to leave it for about 48 hours to let it harden again before T-cutting it then polishing, is this okay? please forgive all my questions... i'm just very concerned i'm going to screw it up... it seemed like such a good idea at the time... Edited May 27, 2011 by son of frog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillbilly deluxe Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 You dont need to leave to harden after wet sanding.Depending on how much you T-Cut will determine the ammount of shine you end up with.1200 grit and above should be good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
son of frog Posted May 27, 2011 Author Share Posted May 27, 2011 [quote name='hillbilly deluxe' post='1247533' date='May 27 2011, 08:19 PM']You dont need to leave to harden after wet sanding.Depending on how much you T-Cut will determine the ammount of shine you end up with.1200 grit and above should be good.[/quote] fair enough. cheers for the help, i'll post some pictures after the weekend, it'll hopefully be done by then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
son of frog Posted June 15, 2011 Author Share Posted June 15, 2011 (edited) Right well its finished, finally! ...Practically anyway! some parts took ages to get here from the US. just needs a tort pickguard etc. really happy with it... had to sort out the truss rod... it was completely loose, so i assume straight off the factory floor! it actually plays and sounds better than my genuine fender which i am quite shocked about really considering its probably cost me less than £300!!! EDIT: also i have used the lemon oil on the fretboard, and it has darkened it to some extent, now its just how i like it! -Tom Edited June 15, 2011 by son of frog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Nice job Tom, looks great. Headstock turned out well with the decal and lacquering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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