1984 Streamer repair

[HazBeen]

I have a very early Warwick Streamer, including the almost obligatory headstock (lol) repair. The repair is sound, but not the best looking ever (and in places too uneven for my liking) and I do feel that adding 2 Wenge splines and putting a new veneer on the headstock is a good mod/repair upgrade. Since I am building a neck with wenge, I should have the offcuts needed for the splines and a bookmatched veneer.

Does anyone know if the early Warwicks were wax finish only or oil + wax? Calling @warwickhunt and @Kev and any others who might know.

 

[warwickhunt]

12 minutes ago, HazBeen said:

 

Does anyone know if the early Warwicks were wax finish only or oil + wax? 

 

Warwick use a melted form of the wax when applying it to new timber.  I'm sure there's a video of the factory applying wax and it is simply warmed up wax applied to bare timber.

[HazBeen]

3 minutes ago, warwickhunt said:

Warwick use a melted form of the wax when applying it to new timber.  I'm sure there's a video of the factory applying wax and it is simply warmed up wax applied to bare timber.

Thanks, that makes sense. The feel is not that of mainly oil, so not surprised it is all wax.
Much appreciated!

[spacecowboy]

So with that said... my favourite basses I've owned where my '88 Stage II and my number 126 early Streamer, I loved their finishes... am I wasting my time putting a tung oil finish on my recent bass build and should I try this melted wax malarky?

[HazBeen]

38 minutes ago, spacecowboy said:

So with that said... my favourite basses I've owned where my '88 Stage II and my number 126 early Streamer, I loved their finishes... am I wasting my time putting a tung oil finish on my recent bass build and should I try this melted wax malarky?

Personally I think the best approach is to do 4 coats of Tung, let it dry for a week or 4 and then do a wax (hard wax) coat. That is generally what I do with all my builds. But I have no better reasons for it other than that is what I like and think is right. But most builders only do oil, so I may just be wasting effort

Edited September 7, 2020 by HazBeen

[Kev]

What Mr Hunt said

Most of these repairs are structurely sound (I've had two with the crack and both were fine throughout my ownership) but they can look at bit ropey.  Last one wasn't so bad as it was under a white gloss finish, so you could feel but not see!

[A.G.E.N.T.E.]

Not a wood expert but, from my short experience aplying wax to raw wood, i wouldn´t expert great results. The oil penetrates much deeper in the wood  showing the grain. I find wax a more a protective and textural finish So, i would go with oil and finished with wax.

[mybass]

On 06/09/2020 at 18:51, HazBeen said:

I have a very early Warwick Streamer, including the almost obligatory headstock (lol) repair. The repair is sound, but not the best looking ever (and in places too uneven for my liking) and I do feel that adding 2 Wenge splines and putting a new veneer on the headstock is a good mod/repair upgrade. Since I am building a neck with wenge, I should have the offcuts needed for the splines and a bookmatched veneer.

Does anyone know if the early Warwicks were wax finish only or oil + wax? Calling @warwickhunt and @Kev and any others who might know.

 

I bought a Warwickin 1989/90...pretty sure I was informed it had a wax finish. Warwick have their tins of wax, I think it has carnauba in it and is non silicon.

https://www.dv247.com/en_GB/GBP/Warwick-Surface-Finisher-Beeswax-/art-ACC0000334-000?campaign=GShopping/GB&ProgramUUID=5G_AqJarZwoAAAFl0FZyjI8V&gclid=CjwKCAjwzIH7BRAbEiwAoDxxTmLU9v1AroD6gK8S8ebXDyb7x3nPDwnw3JyQB7c407U4mnKjMPcTnhoCMSwQAvD_BwE

[A.G.E.N.T.E.]

27 minutes ago, mybass said:

I bought a Warwickin 1989/90...pretty sure I was informed it had a wax finish. Warwick have their tins of wax, I think it has carnauba in it and is non silicon.

https://www.dv247.com/en_GB/GBP/Warwick-Surface-Finisher-Beeswax-/art-ACC0000334-000?campaign=GShopping/GB&ProgramUUID=5G_AqJarZwoAAAFl0FZyjI8V&gclid=CjwKCAjwzIH7BRAbEiwAoDxxTmLU9v1AroD6gK8S8ebXDyb7x3nPDwnw3JyQB7c407U4mnKjMPcTnhoCMSwQAvD_BwE

The can says "To protect the surface of your oil-finished Warwick..."

[stevel]

I looked into this some time ago when refinshing my 'oil-finished Warwick'. I think something is lost in translation here, as when they say 'oil-finished' it is actually a beeswax and lemon oil mix that they use (there might be other bits in there too) - but they melt it to apply it (so that it penetrates further into the wood). This might be where the 'oil-finished' description comes from - as in that it was liquid when they applied it. 

It still doesn't go deep into the wood, as I got the old wax off with a bit of light sanding on mine. Ironically, I then re-applied the same finish Warwick did, in the same way (melt beeswax, add lemon oil, dip a cloth in it, apply to wood, run scalded hand under cold water), and it turned out absolutely beautiful. Of course, you have to occasionally (yearly?) clean and re-apply to keep it looking great. I preferred this finish to an actual oil finish as it's less permanent - if I want to change in the future, I'll be able to, whereas an oil finish is very hard to get rid of. 

Edited September 16, 2020 by stevel
mistkaes

[Kev]

Absolutely, I really enjoyed being able to wire wool out grime and small dings and reapply the hot wax, with no damage to the finish 🙂

[spacecowboy]

If anyone wants to know the results of applying Tung Oil to your bass and finishing with Warwick Wax after  then you can see the results on my bass build... it worked fantastically well. definitely recommend!