Natural wood finish on a budget? Advice needed.

[Veganarchist]

[color=#141414][font=verdana, geneva, lucida,]Hey guys.[/font][/color]

[color=#141414][font=verdana, geneva, lucida,]Well I've decided to strip my bass down to the natural alder wood body purely because I hate the color of it. It's my first bass (been playing about 9 months) and given that money is tight at the moment, i'm likely to be playing it for the next 12 months before I can consider an upgrade to a bass I would like. I like my bass fine, but the color of it (blue) almost puts me off practicing. I find it very uninspiring. Blue is probably my least favorite color for anything.[/font][/color]

[color=#141414][font=verdana, geneva, lucida,]I have been snooping about internet land about finishing guitars and although I have learned a lot, i'm just as confused about which route to take. All I want is a cheap, easy and relatively quick way to finish the guitar which also protects it while bringing out at least some of the natural beauty of the wood.[/font][/color]

[color=#141414][font=verdana, geneva, lucida,]I'm aware that because my bass is a low-end model (Yamaha RBX270J) the wood may be mis-matched, but I honestly wouldnt mind that at all. It would actually be an improvement in my eyes.[/font][/color]

[color=#141414][font=verdana, geneva, lucida,]Thanks very much![/font][/color]

[3below]

You might be in for a tough job removing what is probably a polyester finish. It might be better to apply a new solid colour over the blue (after suitable sanding).

[Grangur]

That's a lovely colour!!



What you can do to re-finish it could depend on what you find under the colour finish. If it's got wood with grain, then you could simply oil it. That would be easy and low cost.

[Grangur]

[quote name='3below' timestamp='1432237270' post='2779649']
You might be in for a tough job removing what is probably a polyester finish. It might be better to apply a new solid colour over the blue (after suitable sanding).
[/quote]

You're probably right there. You can get it off using a blow-lamp, But doing that without leaving signs of darkened wood due to the heat can be a challenge.

[Veganarchist]

[quote name='3below' timestamp='1432237270' post='2779649']
You might be in for a tough job removing what is probably a polyester finish. It might be better to apply a new solid colour over the blue (after suitable sanding).
[/quote]

From what I can gather a heat-gun and some good old fashioned elbow grease is the easiest way. Obviously I have to be mindful to keep the gun moving so as not to scorch the wood but that shouldn't be a problem. I dont mind if its an arse of a job. A little hard work to end up with a bass I want to play more will be worth it.

[Veganarchist]

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1432237346' post='2779651']
That's a lovely colour!!



What you can do to re-finish it could depend on what you find under the colour finish. If it's got wood with grain, then you could simply oil it. That would be easy and low cost.
[/quote]

Honestly, I cant stand it. It's like its been coloured in with a blue bic pen lol, but as I said i'm not a fan of the colour blue anyway. I could oil it but oil alone offers no protection and I can be a bit clumsy sometimes

(A friend gave me the bass btw, I would never have bought a guitar this colour)

Edited May 21, 2015 by Veganarchist

[landwomble]

Tru oil? Never done it but gets a good write up and loads of YouTube videos with examples...

[3below]

[quote name='Veganarchist' timestamp='1432237448' post='2779654']
From what I can gather a heat-gun and some good old fashioned elbow grease is the easiest way. Obviously I have to be mindful to keep the gun moving so as not to scorch the wood but that shouldn't be a problem. I dont mind if its an arse of a job. A little hard work to end up with a bass I want to play more will be worth it.
[/quote]

I tried that on a bass body (bought from BC at bargain price). Having done it successfully to a 1970s Fender in the 1970s (youthful stupidity) I thought it would be easy. However lady luck was not with me this time, it seemed very easy to 'burn' the body.

[jazzyvee]

I had a blue stratocaster and called John Diggins, (JayDee), to get advice on how to strip it back to the basic wood. He advised me against burning it off and recommended removing the finish using nitromors. It took me a few days to get it all of but eventually it did, sanded it down as advised and he re-assembled and sprayed it with clear finish for me.
Here are a few pix to show the process.
[attachment=192531:BOB_F6GW2059.jpg][attachment=192532:BOB_F6GW2069.jpg][attachment=192533:BOB_F6GW2071-2.jpg][attachment=192534:BOB_F6GW2077-2.jpg][attachment=192535:BOB_F6GW2084.jpg][attachment=192530:Bob_6GW2741-2.jpg]
[attachment=192536:BOB_IMG_0077.jpg]

[Matt P]

having done this a couple of times (stupidly I didn't learn the first time) I'd go for a respray in a more appealing colour, far less work and probably about the same price once you factor in all the sandpaper.


Matt

[Truckstop]

Honestly, stripping poly is a massive pain in the arse.

If, however, you decide to go for it then there's a nice cheap way to get a decent finish. About 10 coats of Danish oil followed by 3 or 4 coats of bees wax will give your instrument a lovely sheen with the added bonus of offering protection too.

Apply oil thinly each time and polish lightly after each coat. Leave a few hours (preferably overnight) between each coat. Same with the wax, leave for a few hours after each coat and buff each time too.

You can keep waxing through the years to build up a lovely thick finish, make sure you buff properly each time otherwise it can end up feeling a bit tacky over time. Also, wipe down after each use, sweat can react with it and make it go cloudy.

But it's probably easier to find a replacement body off the internet.

[neepheid]

All the time you spend rectifying the colour which isn't to your taste could be spent playing/practising (as the bass will be out of commission all that time and there's always the possibility it won't go well). Sounds harsh, but I wasted years of potential development when I started being far more interested in how basses work and tinkering with them, building bitsas, changing pickups and hardware etc. and while I'm grateful for the technical knowledge that imparted, I think I spent far too long on it.

I'm sorry if I sound all preachy. Get inspired by the sounds you're making, not the colour of your bass? Get good enough and you won't even be looking at the bass when you play anyway

[bartelby]

[quote name='jazzyvee' timestamp='1432285213' post='2779960']
I had a blue stratocaster and called John Diggins, (JayDee), to get advice on how to strip it back to the basic wood. He advised me against burning it off and recommended removing the finish using nitromors.
[/quote]

How long ago was that?
Nitromors these days won't touch a poly coat.

[jazzyvee]

It was 2009 when I did the stripping and it took a few coats of the stuff before it all came off. I think it took about 4 days in all to get it from blue to sanded clean. I wiped it over with white spirit to get any grease off first then I used a regular flat scraper to get the paint off once the nitromors did it's stuff.
That is the one I used.
[attachment=192581:IMG_0856.jpg]

Edited May 22, 2015 by jazzyvee

[Maude]

Top tip.
If you give it a quick rub with 80 grit or similar first just to break the surface then the nitromors will lift the paint quicker.
Obviously don't sand enough to scratch the wood, just scratch up the surface so the stripper can get in there.

[alyctes]

My call would be to swap it for another in a bearable colour.

Or buy another and flog the blue one. There's a black one up for sale for £80 here: http://basschat.co.uk/topic/262757-fs-yamaha-rbx270j-in-black-l80/

Edited May 24, 2015 by alyctes

[Dad3353]

If you wear rose-tinted glasses, it'll appear a rich plum colour. Very fetching; very inexpensive. Other than that, I concur with neepheid; don't play about, play it. Just sayin'.

[DaveFry]

I see the new diy craze in the motorcycle world is a thing called hydro dipping .
It takes the "swirling" idea further by using a water transfer film which is laid on a water surface , then after a minute an activator is sprayed on which dissolves the backing . This leaves a ready-made design for dipping objects into like the swirling method but more regular or predictable. Kits are available with different sized films and patterns , such as camo , flames , woodgrain , marble etc .
Best to seal /finish after with a durable clearcoat .

I guess a poly-coated bass body would just need ;
Light sanding to provide a key ,
Bare wood ( eg neck pocket , cavity ) masking with waterproof tape,
Screw holes ( eg strap pin holes ) masking with blu-tac
-and a big enough bath !

Search YT and Amazon for hydro dipping .
I'm tempted to try a carbon-fibre pattern myself .


For a natural wood finish however , I would recommend an orbital palm sander to get the worst of the poly off , then hand sanding , followed by tru-oil ( or Sainsbury's Walnut Oil on a budget ).

[RickyV]

Now, I quite like that blue. Funnily enough I have the satin natural wood finish 270J. Wanna swap bodies?!!

[Andyjr1515]

RickyV may have the answer for you

If not, this is what I did to my yucky green RBX270F. Your bass's body (is not guaranteed but) should be of very similar construction:






Clearly, this is veneered, but the back is just plain....it will give you an idea of what yours would probably look like if you just stripped and varnished it:




I've got a thread somewhere that covers this one as I did it. It covers both the stripping and the veneering. I can track it down if it is of any help?

It takes a bit of patience, a bit of graft, a few cheap but important tools and a few important tips and tricks, but it can be done. This was my very first attempt on what used to be a boring red Ibanez:






Let me know if you want me to track down the thread.

Andy