Bitsa 1970's P Bass finished! Well, almost....

[mart3442]

I did put something up about this months ago but I got sidtracked. Anyhow, its come together real quick over the last week and a half.
1977 neck (had been badly defretted and relacquered over the headstock to make it darker...). Couldn't do much with the headstock, but the boards now been cleaned, refretted and relacquered.
The body was a very poorly refinished "1976" P body that I took a chance on from the states, purely because I had a vibe about it. Don't ask, I can't explain!
After stripping several coats of paint, including would you believe, white emulsion!!!! I got down to what was definitely looked and felt like the remains of Fenders own Clearcoat. Then, after carefully stripping the neck pocket, I did find the hoped for stamps and even a bit of pencil writing.
After careful comparison of the routing with my 1978 P bass fretless, I've come to the conclusion that this is a genuine '70's Fender body. What year? I just can't tell unfortunately. Weight is not too heavy, I'd say a medium.
My mate Tom, very kindly rubbed the body down properly and refinished it in 2 pack "BMW" black, before finishing it in clear gloss lacquer. I wanted to try and replicate Fenders mid to late '70's "Thick skin" finish and I think its worked pretty good.
I threw in a Seymour Duncan Antiquity2 "Pride" pickup that I've had knocking around for years, a couple of old pots and a jack from my long gone '78 fretted P, which surprised me by still working! The scratchplate was sourced from a fellow basschatter, its nice enough but its a temporary stop gap as are the control knobs. The bridge is stolen from my 1971 Jazz, and will stay on until I find a suitable replacement.
Heres some pics from the last couple of days, I have more from earlier in the process if anyones interested...
Cheers,
Mart.

Edited August 1, 2014 by mart3442