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Restoration advice


DazzaB
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Hi all, im an electric/ acoustic guitar player but have acquired a bass and i find it quite enjoyable so im gonna teach myself to play better 👍🏻 The bass i have is a fender precision bass, possibly 77-78 going by serial number but not sure if its original. Scratch plate certainly new cos it doesnt fit that well! Anyway, it plays perfectly well for me and stays in tune so thats not a prob. Its the paintwork and the varnish/laquer on the neck and a slight chip on the top. The paint has chips in it which i dont mind but also has some cracks lines in the paint which dont look too good. The underside of the neck has had the finish worn off presumably from a lot of use. This is shown in pics. I’d like to know if i should get a respray and neck repaired, or just the neck and leave paint, or do nothing and just play it 😀 id also like to know how much it would cost to get it up to standard if poss. Im not gonna sell it so not worried if someone says it’ll cost £600 to repair/restore and it will only be worth £200. Thanks for any advice that gets thrown my way 👍🏻

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If it is genuine any remedial work on it will affect its value negatively. You speak of the 'paint checking' : many try to replicate this to make a Bass look older.

However it looks as if the paint may not be original as I think I can see the indentations for bridge cover holes are covered in paint: if this was original paint you would either see wood in the screwhole or no indentations if the bridge cover was not fitted from new.

Just do as others have suggested re the pickguard and chrome knobs, an old bass does not have to look perfect!.

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As mentioned above, the body looks like it’s already been refinished, the original finish wouldn’t have worn/checked like that either. So you could do what you want with the body colour wise (within reason!) without detracting from the value anymore than the current refinish already has done. A body refinish would likely be somewhere in the £250-£350 range depending on the type of finish you go for.

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Thanks for replies, think i’ll replace the pickguard to start and use spare cash to get myself a fender amp to go with it 👍🏻 Also regarding the bare wood on the neck and fretboard, is there something i should apply to it or will it be ok left as it is?

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I would love to see my bass in a bit better condition, but this style is very sought after nowadays. Do not know or understand why.

The wood will be impregnated with that thing called "mojo" which is plain sweat and dirt from your fingers.

No, you do not have to cover the bare wood, if you keep the instrument in decent place and conditions. Not close to a radiator or shower, that's it.

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You posted some nice pics. I could zoom them with good quality. As others mentioned this bass has been refinished. There are some falkes of the red paint where we can see it's original white colour.
If this was my bass i would be picking up a plastic spatula with no sharp corners and try to scrape out the red paint making it a beautiful black&white bass. Damn! I would be looking for a pearl time-correct pickguard to put in it and make it shiny! Chrome pots, yes!

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As others have said, don't do much to this – if, once it's refinished, you drop it and it gets damaged you may cry for days – while it's like this you won't worry for a second.

I have a 70s jazz that looks like crap, but plays beautifully and gets knocked over all the time – and nobody bats a eyelid 🙂

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