Westone Thunder re-finish goodness

[hamfist]

Well, this is my second attempt at a re-finish. It's not perfect but I am very pleased indeed with it. As a bonus, this Thunder 1A plays absolutely magnificently.
I do prefer these version 3's, with the pickup (still a P pickup under that cover) a bit nearer the bridge.
Anyway, I got the bass as a slightly tatty natural oak finish. Now's it's a satin "Pistacchio" finish.
Painted with Plastikote super, primer and satin finish paints. I find these much nicer than Halfords acrylics, which do tend to sputter a lot when only half full. Also, the Halfords pain is not as durable as quickly as the Plastikote super (still an acrylic).

The bass is completely standard apart from the obvious re-finish and a lovely rosewood thumbrest from that very nice chap Guy Lewis at http://www.classicguitarboxes.com/

I do ove the tone and punch of the Westone pickup (more in it's passive state I think at the moment). Although I'm not sure about the sloping pickup end. My thumb doesn't sit nicely there.

I have a MIJ Westone Spectrum with the pickup in the same position and I have an EMG 40DC pickup in there, which is the standard square-edged rectangular shape and my thumb sits very, very comfortably on it. So, ultimately I might well tinker with putting an EMG (40 series) pickup in there, maybe even with one of their tone control systems too.
But for the moment, I'm well chuffed with it. Will try it out at rehearsal this evening.

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[allighatt0r]

Wow! I really like that colour, it compliments the wood of the neck really well both sides. lovely!

[Ou7shined]

NIce colour - I have a WEM bass in the same.

[CHRISDABASS]

Awesome!! What a great colour!

[Jonnyboy Rotten]

Lovely looking bass - good colour choice!

Did you add the pup cover or is that standard too?

[hamfist]

[quote name='Jonnyboy Rotten' timestamp='1380099937' post='2220669']
Did you add the pup cover or is that standard too?
[/quote]

Standard pickup cover.

I wasn't absolutely convinced about the colour until I put all the parts onto the body. As a plain body, the green was almost "too much", but with all the black and chrome (and the wood of the neck) I love the effect.

[Leon Transaxle]

As a Westone owner I am really impressed with what you have done here.
Did Westone change other hardware as well as the pickup? I have a brass bridge and a brass nut on mine.
Mine is tatty but I'll not do anything to it. Partly as I lack the necessary ability and partly because all the dings on it are mine.

[Martin E]

That looks fantastic, what a nice colour.

Interested in your comments regarding Plastikote as I'm about to embark on a similar project.
If you have a moment grateful if you could briefly give a bit more info on preparation, priming, drying time etc and how many coats/cans of paint it took.

Thanks a lot

[hamfist]

[quote name='Leon Transaxle' timestamp='1380102066' post='2220704']
As a Westone owner I am really impressed with what you have done here.
Did Westone change other hardware as well as the pickup? I have a brass bridge and a brass nut on mine.
Mine is tatty but I'll not do anything to it. Partly as I lack the necessary ability and partly because all the dings on it are mine.
[/quote]

Thanks for your comments !

There were 3 versions of the THunder 1a I think.

v1 had the brass nut and bridge and traditional P pickup, V2 lost the brass nut.
V3 added the different pickup (also nearer the bridge) and a big, chunky cast bridge instead of the brass Fender-esque bridge.

THey are all great basses as far as I can tell, but V3 has rather a different character to the other 2.

Edited September 25, 2013 by hamfist

[davehux]

Colour not quite my cup of tea, but you've made a good job of it

Thanks for the info on the V3 - there was one on The Bay recently and I was thinking that it didn't look like any Thunder 1 I'd ever seen before. I thought the pup might have been a single Magnabass humbucker like the ones I had on my Thunder III. That bridge was a one off as well, I think.

Never seem to see any Thunder II's or III's around for sale. It's always I and IA's

[hamfist]

[quote name='Martin E' timestamp='1380107769' post='2220832']
That looks fantastic, what a nice colour.

Interested in your comments regarding Plastikote as I'm about to embark on a similar project.
If you have a moment grateful if you could briefly give a bit more info on preparation, priming, drying time etc and how many coats/cans of paint it took.

Thanks a lot
[/quote]

Thanks.

As for my "technique", the key, key thing is to get the initial surface as absolutely smooth as possible. Any ridges, grain etc etc showing before you paint will almost certainly carry through to the finished surface.
Fill any dings/holes with wood filler and allow to dry overnight before sanding and priming.
It's useful to have various wet & Dry paper grades. I got by with 120, 240 1000, 1500 and 2000 grades, and work your way up the grades to get smoother and smoother. You'll only need the 1500 and 200 for the final polishing.

OK, after initial prep, if you are down to bare wood, use primer first (I used Plastikote Super grey primer). Say 5-6 coats at 30 minute intervals until the wood is decently covered. By a "coat" I generally mean about 2 passes of the can. It's a fairly thin coat. I hung the body up using a sturdy coat hanger, a couple of bolts and some string to get access to the whole thing for each coat.
Let the primer dry and cure overnight.
Sand back with 1000 grade paper (wet) the next day, before putting your colour coats on.
It seems that you can paint directly onto an existing colour finish. The other bass I did worked out great, just prepping the original painted and lacquered surface and spraying directly over it. From what I can gather some paints will not "mix" well though and will not "take" well on some other types of paint. I haven't really got much experience of this though

For colour coats I use the PLastikote Super satin finish cans. About 2 x 400ml cans will do one bass body.
I spray the colour on over 3 days.
Each day I give about 8 coats at 30-45 minute intervals (the interval is not critical but don't go longer than an hour), and then let dry overnight.
Then repeat the exact same sanding and spraying protocol for the next two days. (always make sure the body is thoroughly smooth and dry after wet sanding before spraying again. Be careful not to get significant amounts of water into screw holes etc.)
After the end of the 3rd days colour coating. I hang the bass (in as warm a place as poss) for 48 hours.

Then do my final sanding through the grades of wet'n'dry, finishing off with 2000 grade. Then I use a rubbing compound (I use G3 professional paint renovator, from Halfords) to get the best polish and shine.

Then it all comes down to your patience as to how long you wait before putting the bass back together. I would advise at least a week, and then still be aware that the paint will still be relatively soft, and won't get it's full hardness for a while (not sure exactly how long, but after about 3-4 weeks it's pretty tough).

For a solid satin colour finish I have not used a separate clear coat.

Anyway it's worked for me. No doubt I will still continue to refine my protocol. I'm very much still in the learning phase.

Edited September 25, 2013 by hamfist

[Martin E]

Hamfist

Thanks for such a speedy and comprehensive reply and your time

I helped my son do a Strat body a few years ago and used Halfords paint if I recall. It covered a sanded and prepped gloss varnished body quite well but was not very durable and started to wear off after a while.
I have a P bass body I am hoping to tackle next so your reply is very helpful.

Cheers

Martin

[hamfist]

[quote name='Martin E' timestamp='1380117514' post='2221047']
Hamfist

Thanks for such a speedy and comprehensive reply and your time

I helped my son do a Strat body a few years ago and used Halfords paint if I recall. It covered a sanded and prepped gloss varnished body quite well but was not very durable and started to wear off after a while.
I have a P bass body I am hoping to tackle next so your reply is very helpful.

Cheers

Martin
[/quote]

I have no long-term knowledge of the durability of my finishes, as they are both very recent. I'm optimistic though !

[barkin]

[quote name='hamfist' timestamp='1380112490' post='2220940']
There were 3 versions of the THunders I think.

v1 had the brass nut and bridge and traditional P pickup, V2 lost the brass nut.
V3 added the different pickup (also nearer the bridge) and a big, chunky cast bridge instead of the brass Fender-esque bridge.

THey are all great basses as far as I can tell, but V3 has rather a different character to the other 2.
[/quote]

There were at least 4 Thunders. 1, 1a, 2 & 3

Thunder 1 was passive. Mine has brass bridge & nut. I've seen one with a plastic (or bone, possibly) nut, but that could've been non-original.

The 1a was active.

There were at least three different itterations of the 1A - 2 different P style pickups, or a Magnabass. I think the later ones, with the Magnabass pickup, had chrome bridges rather than brass.

The 2's and 3's were all active and AFAIK all had 2 pickups and thru neck.

Corrections welcome...

[hamfist]

[quote name='barkin' timestamp='1380121424' post='2221134']


There were at least 4 Thunders. 1, 1a, 2 & 3

Thunder 1 was passive. Mine has brass bridge & nut. I've seen one with a plastic (or bone, possibly) nut, but that could've been non-original.

The 1a was active.

There were at least three different itterations of the 1A - 2 different P style pickups, or a Magnabass. I think the later ones, with the Magnabass pickup, had chrome bridges rather than brass.

The 2's and 3's were all active and AFAIK all had 2 pickups and thru neck.

Corrections welcome...
[/quote]

When I said 3 versions, I was meaning of the 1a really, as that's what mine is. I'll edit my previous post to make it clearer.
I've been highly tempted by a Thunder II recently. Just a bit too pricey for my budget though ...

http://www.whitstableguitars.co.uk/1981westonethunderiibass.htm

[barkin]

[quote name='hamfist' timestamp='1380126654' post='2221243']
When I said 3 versions, I was meaning of the 1a really, as that's what mine is. I'll edit my previous post to make it clearer.
I've been highly tempted by a Thunder II recently. Just a bit too pricey for my budget though ...

http://www.whitstableguitars.co.uk/1981westonethunderiibass.htm
[/quote]

Ah - yes, I see that now.

That T2 looks very nice - don't think I'd pay that much for one though.

The refinish on yours looks great. I've thought about doing something similar to my T1, but always decided against it. I've had it for 30 years and, tatty as it is, it still plays great and feels kinda part of me as it is.

[hamfist]

[quote name='barkin' timestamp='1380129584' post='2221297']
Ah - yes, I see that now.

That T2 looks very nice - don't think I'd pay that much for one though.

The refinish on yours looks great. I've thought about doing something similar to my T1, but always decided against it. I've had it for 30 years and, tatty as it is, it still plays great and feels kinda part of me as it is.
[/quote]

A nice new re-finish and a 30yr old personally road-worn look are both great finishes. I think each finish means more if you've been involved in it yourself, which we both have for our basses !