basshead56 Posted August 11, 2013 Share Posted August 11, 2013 Hi All, Have recently been thinking about having my Baby bass clone repainted, as the old white finish (which i suspect is not original) is flaking and coming away in places on one side. While I do like the mojo'd look, I would also love something a little more rockabilly-since it's mainly a slappin' machine anyway. (Red Wheedwhackers on it). I'm thinking of having it done Candy Apple Red with white Pinstripes around the edges and inside at the front. My questions are: Will this effect the sound in any way? What are the steps involved- prep, paint, finish etc or would I be best in having it done in an auto shop that can do it? What about the finish on the neck? Any help at all would be greatly appreciated guys and gals Colin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maude Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 (edited) Ok where shall I start? Firstly how competent are with manual tasks? Don't take that the wrong way but if you're not a hands on type then it might be best to take it to someone. Secondly, if the white is flaking then it hasn't been prepped properly and will all need to come off or you'll be fighting a losing battle. Thirdly a proper candy paint is not something you can really do yourself with rattle cans, it consists of a metallic base coat (usually silver or gold) with a tinted lacquer built up over the top to give you your final colour, the amazing depth of colour is achieved by building up layers of lacquer. As the translucent colour is in the lacquer it needs to be be applied in very even coats or it will look patchy, something which aerosols don't do well. Also because aerosols harden by the solvent evaporating as opposed to adding a chemical catalyst you run the risk of the finish never hardening properly, the many layers of a candy will just harden on the outside and not let the solvent underneath evaporate. You could choose very metallic or pearlescent paint which could be applied by aerosol easily with a couple of coats of lacquer which would work fine, there are some quite crazy colours out there that are standard 'clear over base'. Painting it shouldn't affect the sound really as it's already painted, you'll be removing the old paint and replacing it with fresh. Edited August 13, 2013 by Maude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basshead56 Posted August 13, 2013 Author Share Posted August 13, 2013 That's all great advice. Thank you very much indeed I reckon I might price taking it to an auto shop that I took a P Bass to last year-they were great and not very expensive. What do you think about the neck though- anything different need to be done there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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