addictedtobass Posted January 30, 2017 Share Posted January 30, 2017 Hi folks. Been browsing the intraweb thing and i have got myself in a real tizz . Far too many people that know best followed by bitchy one up comments to rubbish the previous posters comments. My problem is thus. I am in the process aquiring a squier P bass body and J bass neck , with a view to building a bass as a father and son project for my lad to start learning properly on.I am expecting it to need a lot of TLC and It will be a long term project , i have half an idea of the hardware i want to fit on to it, but starting at the very beginning i need to take care of the body. now in an ideal world it will be free from gouges in the woodwork at which point its simple , i will strip , sand,stain and laquer to keep it a natural finish (wood grain permitting) but i am expecting the odd knock chip, which means stripping , filling blah blah and eventually Painting, laquering. I have promised the esteemed member of this very forum that is sending me these a build diary and intend to do my damnedest to turn it into something he would be chuffed with. so Easiest way to get a good even high quality / high gloss finish . a step by step of the "should do" bits would be great. and on a lighter note any suggestions for an out of the ordinary but nice colour ? cheers Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Bay Posted January 30, 2017 Share Posted January 30, 2017 I used cellulose car paint on my project EB3. Colour and shine are gorgeous (I think so anyway) but the paint is a little soft even after two weeks and has been marked under the bits I refitted. I have done some further research and it seems it can take up to a month to fully harden. It's very easy to work with and I would happily use it again, but I would have to factor in the wait time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted January 30, 2017 Share Posted January 30, 2017 I've painted a few basses with Halfords car paint. The secret is in the preparation: Loads of sanding, filling , sanding, a good finish in primer and only when it looks amazingly perfect should you go for the top coat. Then lacquer. Or buy a half decent one and don't have the hassle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
addictedtobass Posted January 30, 2017 Author Share Posted January 30, 2017 Time is not a problem , i was warned off of cellulose paint as being difficult but i have seen some lovely colours in cellulose laquer. is it any harder to apply than normal poly paint ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Bay Posted January 30, 2017 Share Posted January 30, 2017 [quote name='addictedtobass' timestamp='1485806238' post='3226883'] Time is not a problem , i was warned off of cellulose paint as being difficult but i have seen some lovely colours in cellulose laquer. is it any harder to apply than normal poly paint ? [/quote] Not at all in my experience. It's lovely to work with. To get the really high shine you need to lay the first coat of lacquer before the base coat has fully gone off, but other than that it's as easy as any other paint I have used and easier than many. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manton Customs Posted January 30, 2017 Share Posted January 30, 2017 All finishes have their downsides. Nitro (cellulose) is a good choice as it's readily available in aerosols (I'm assuming you don't have spray equipment) in lots of guitar colours. It can punish you, but that's finishing! If the body comes out good enough for a natural finish you could look at doing an oil finish, which is much easier! If you go the Nitro route make sure you spray somewhere that isn't too damp or you'll get bloom (cloudiness). Also keep everything scrupulously clean...both the work area and the body itself or you'll have problems. Make sure you build up enough finish, a thin finish is nice, but if you haven't got much experience it's easy to burn through when you come to level the finish. As mentioned above, the prep is the key and it's best to give it a month to cure before wetsanding and buffing. There's lots on info on rattle can Nitro finishing on the Reranch website. It's an American site, but the info is good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
addictedtobass Posted January 31, 2017 Author Share Posted January 31, 2017 Niteo it is. thanks for the sage advice fellas. now for a colour.lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted January 31, 2017 Share Posted January 31, 2017 Manchester Guitar Tech do a nice range of coloured nitro and are not too expensive. They can also mix custom colours if you want. If you use a spray you will need good ventilation, whether poly or nitro. The advantage to nitro is that each coat will merge into the previous. Poly will form distinct coats, which will be visible if you sand through. Basically nitro is a bit more forgiving. For less noxious methods, oil as Manton suggested is easy to apply and can be buffed to a good gloss. Also check out some of the Andyjr1515 build threads for his use of dyes and brush on/wipe on varnish - it might be a little more "house friendly" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
addictedtobass Posted January 31, 2017 Author Share Posted January 31, 2017 Thanks fella. I'm going the nitro route if the body is chipped. Fortunately in my line of work I have no end of masks , breathing apparatus and nasty stuff wear to sink a battleship.thanks for the advice. Once I get going I will post a build diary for those that are interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger2611 Posted February 11, 2017 Share Posted February 11, 2017 [quote name='Norris' timestamp='1485849517' post='3227096'] Manchester Guitar Tech do a nice range of coloured nitro and are not too expensive. They can also mix custom colours if you want. If you use a spray you will need good ventilation, whether poly or nitro. The advantage to nitro is that each coat will merge into the previous. Poly will form distinct coats, which will be visible if you sand through. Basically nitro is a bit more forgiving. [/quote] Totally agree, I have ordered loads of paint from them I have never had a bad can and the results I have achieved have way exceeded my expectations, I find Nitro much more forgiving than the current Halfords car paints Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassman Rich Posted March 15, 2017 Share Posted March 15, 2017 Filler question. I'm fitting 2 new Filtertron type pups to an old affinity squire Telecaster, glued wood blocks in the old holes, routed out new holes (thanks to Martin Dixon guitars of Otley, West Yorkshire), and am starting to fill the old scratchplate and dents with filler. I'm using plastic wood, and its ok but seems to leave a few micro size holes when I sand flat. Is there a better sort of filler I should be using?? I'm going to have a go with some custom car candy turquoise metallic paint for the top coat and no scratchplate, so the best finish I can get is quite important. TIA guys, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manton Customs Posted March 15, 2017 Share Posted March 15, 2017 (edited) Yes, plastic wood is crap. Fill the screw holes with hardwood cocktail sticks to almost flush, but ever slightly below the surface. Then fill the remaining void with West System Epoxy. Don't use superglue as Nitro doesn't like it! For dents just use the epoxy, and apply masking tape over the top of the fill to hold in place. Remove the tape when dry. Edited March 15, 2017 by Manton Customs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted March 15, 2017 Share Posted March 15, 2017 If you have any simple dents, its worth sweating them out, if you can: Damp the bare wood with a cloth and use the tip of an old clothes iron, or soldering iron on the wet cloth to steam the dents out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsJvrosibuE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassman Rich Posted March 15, 2017 Share Posted March 15, 2017 [quote name='Manton Customs' timestamp='1489614628' post='3258454'] Yes, plastic wood is crap. Fill the screw holes with hardwood cocktail sticks to almost flush, but ever slightly below the surface. Then fill the remaining void with West System Epoxy. Don't use superglue as Nitro doesn't like it! For dents just use the epoxy, and apply masking tape over the top of the fill to hold in place. Remove the tape when dry. [/quote] Thanks for that, I'll google that stuff and get some. I'm planning to use this for the top coat (https://www.specialistpaints.com/collections/kustom-canz-kits-custom-aerosol-can-kits/products/kustom-canz-candy-kit?variant=28206879239, ie not nitro, an acrylic type paint), is there any primer/filler you would advise me to use, and ones to avoid?? Thanks for the advice so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manton Customs Posted March 15, 2017 Share Posted March 15, 2017 (edited) I havent seen that range of paints before, they look nice. Metallics/candies/pearls are quite difficult as you can't sand any imperfections out and you need to dust on the "sparkles" so good luck with that, looks like it'll be fun . You can use the West Systems Epoxy as a grain filler also. I haven't done much with 2K (I use Polys and Nitro) so I can't personally recommend a primer. It's also probably worth saying that I haven't used the west systems with 2k either, though I'm fairly sure it'd be fine. I previously thought you were shooting Nitro for some reason! Edited March 16, 2017 by Manton Customs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassman Rich Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 Thanks for all that, I found some clear epoxy glue I'd bought for a work job, and as its only a few small screw holes i'm filling am giving that a go. Once I make a bit more progress I'll put up some pics of the thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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