Cheap/Easy ways to strip and refinish a cheapo bass

[bungle]

Hi,

A month or so ago I picked a Kay shortscale bass, for a whopping £30. It's this model: [url="http://www.bass-guitar-museum.com/bass-7883-Kay-3-4-Size-Bass-Guitar-with-Hard-Case"]http://www.bass-guitar-museum.com/bass-7883-Kay-3-4-Size-Bass-Guitar-with-Hard-Case[/url], but is in need of a bit of repair, a new scratchplate and a refinish.

The current finish looks pretty bad - it's probably a tin of white dulux gloss, poorly applied with lots of runs and marks in it and I was wondering what the most cost effective way to strip and refinish it is?

Obviously, considering how much I've spent on the instrument, I'm not expecting it to have a dazzling finish and am just planning on a very simple solid colour that looks acceptable.

Is it best to strip it chemically?
Is something like some car spray paint the way to go? I'm aware that it's probably not the best time of year for that.
What's the best way of making a new scratchplate? The current one is made out of some strange felt-like material with some thin plastic on top.

Any and all advice is welcome - I'm not much of a DIY fiend but my dad started life as a joiner and spends his free time restoring a car so with his help I should be able to make a decent fist of it.

Cheers,
Andy

[brensabre79]

Depends what the current finish is but I have used both Nitromors and heat gun/scraper methods. Some of the poly finishes are pretty resistant to chemicals but if it looks like Dulux you'd probably be ok. You could test a small area under the scratchplate. The other way is good old fashioned sandpaper and elbow grease but if you take it back to the wood you'll need a sealer/grain filler before you apply paint or it will soak it up like a sponge and leave you with a woodgrain texture.

Car paints are perfectly fine, this is what Leo used on the original Fenders - hence they used to come in a variety of DuPont colours that were popular on American cars from the 50s. These days you can go into Halfords and take your pick! You will also need to clear coat on top of the colour to get the shine up, again Halfords clear laquer will do the job fine but its poly based so won't come off too easily. Also, wear a mask when you're spraying and don't do it outside unless you like bits in your paint

Best thing I know for the scratchplate is that there are lots of companies who make them and some will do custom shapes if you send them a tamplate, google bass scratchplates and you should get a few. not sure where you can get the raw material and how you'd get the bevelled edge etc. If you want a cheap option, just get some thick plastic sheet from a stationers.

[icastle]

[quote name='brensabre79' timestamp='1324311744' post='1472883']
not sure where you can get the raw material and how you'd get the bevelled edge etc. If you want a cheap option, just get some thick plastic sheet from a stationers.
[/quote]

Most guitar spares places seem to do blank scratchplate material - try [url="http://www.axetec.co.uk/axetec%20guitar%20parts%20spares%20pickups_092.htm"]http://www.axetec.co.uk/axetec%20guitar%20parts%20spares%20pickups_092.htm[/url].

As for the bevelled edges, it's time consuming without the right tools, but I guess that with time and effort you can get a 45 degree slope on the outer edges.

[Ou7shined]

[quote name='brensabre79' timestamp='1324311744' post='1472883']
Depends what the current finish is but I have used both Nitromors and heat gun/scraper methods. Some of the poly finishes are pretty resistant to chemicals but if it looks like Dulux you'd probably be ok. You could test a small area under the scratchplate. The other way is good old fashioned sandpaper and elbow grease but if you take it back to the wood you'll need a sealer/grain filler before you apply paint or it will soak it up like a sponge and leave you with a woodgrain texture.

Car paints are perfectly fine, this is what Leo used on the original Fenders - hence they used to come in a variety of DuPont colours that were popular on American cars from the 50s. These days you can go into Halfords and take your pick! You will also need to clear coat on top of the colour to get the shine up, again Halfords clear laquer will do the job fine but its poly based so won't come off too easily. Also, wear a mask when you're spraying and don't do it outside unless you like bits in your paint

Best thing I know for the scratchplate is that there are lots of companies who make them and some will do custom shapes if you send them a tamplate, google bass scratchplates and you should get a few. not sure where you can get the raw material and how you'd get the bevelled edge etc. If you want a cheap option, just get some thick plastic sheet from a stationers.
[/quote]

Couldn't have said better myself... although as an ecologically minded fellow I would never use a chemical stripper. Most of the time I sand - if I'm lucky I'll get given a thick poly finish to do, which more or less chips right off.

As for the scratchplate get Howard/Bass Doc to make you one to your own spec. It's not expensive and from what you've said he'll do a better job than you will.

[Billy Apple]

The active ingredient in (old) Nitromors, [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dichloromethane"]dichloromethane[/url], has been banned by the EU, making the new stuff next to useless. Best just to use sandpaper and elbow grease. Beware Halfords car paint, with respect to the earlier post, the paint that Leo F put on his guitars in the 50's and 60's was Nitrocellulose based, henceforth that is why it is still used on guitars now. Modern car paint is mixed with a hardener (2Pack) and heat cured. The Halfords stuff is acrylic and has a tendency to stay soft on wood (Bought it, did it, stripped it back off!)... and you don't want soft wood! . Get a few spray cans of pre-cat nitrocellulose from [url="http://www.tonetechluthiersupplies.co.uk/"]http://www.tonetechluthiersupplies.co.uk/[/url] . It's a little pricey, due to delivery, but is easy to use, dries fast, and if you take the time can polish up a treat.

Have a look what a complete amateur did with a cheap P body from eBay..[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/158550-p-bass-refin-body-off-ebay-neck-from-mike-dirnt/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/158550-p-bass-refin-body-off-ebay-neck-from-mike-dirnt/[/url]

Good luck!

[brensabre79]

[quote name='billyapple' timestamp='1324419750' post='1474142']
...the paint that Leo F put on his guitars in the 50's and 60's was Nitrocellulose based, henceforth that is why it is still used on guitars now. The Halfords stuff is acrylic and has a tendency to stay soft on wood...
[/quote]

I didn't know that about Halfords paint, thanks billyapple

Actually even Fender have switched from nitro to poly. In fact since 1963 they have polyester coated all their bodies. Laquer is put on top of the poly to satisfy customers belief that Nitro finishes let the wood breathe.The trick is in the sealer, since the early 60s they used something called Fullerplast. Fullerplast is a spray on plastic sealer which is impervious to solvents once it has set. Essentially they plastic coat the bare wood body before applying the colour and then laquer.
Years ago I stripped my '60s Mustang bass with (old) Nitromors, the paint came off really easily but the Fullerplast underneath was rock solid! Made it really easy to respray, but the paint alone will come off pretty easily so you have to put a clearcoat on top which sets rock hard!

Theres some more info about it here: http://www.caraguitars.com/fullerplast.asp

[Billy Apple]

[quote name='brensabre79' timestamp='1324548339' post='1475380']
I didn't know that about Halfords paint, thanks billyapple

Actually even Fender have switched from nitro to poly. In fact since 1963 they have polyester coated all their bodies. Laquer is put on top of the poly to satisfy customers belief that Nitro finishes let the wood breathe.The trick is in the sealer, since the early 60s they used something called Fullerplast. Fullerplast is a spray on plastic sealer which is impervious to solvents once it has set. Essentially they plastic coat the bare wood body before applying the colour and then laquer.
Years ago I stripped my '60s Mustang bass with (old) Nitromors, the paint came off really easily but the Fullerplast underneath was rock solid! Made it really easy to respray, but the paint alone will come off pretty easily so you have to put a clearcoat on top which sets rock hard!

Theres some more info about it here: [url="http://www.caraguitars.com/fullerplast.asp"]http://www.caraguita...fullerplast.asp[/url]
[/quote]

Interesting link.. I bow to your superior knowledge of Fender paintwork! How about Gibson tho? Both my TBird and Les Paul give off a wonderful aroma when pulled from the cases, I've always thought this is the Nitro finish, which is absent from Fenders. Do Gibbo cheat on the sealer (another topic maybe?)?