Bassman78 Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Need advice - I have had a problem with my 75 Precision with cracking paint which started after about 6/7 years after I bought it (and I mean real cracking !) its so bad that I have had to cover the back with sticky back plastic to stop it snagging on shirts etc ... Don't know whether to strip back to wood and have it re-finish or just leave it with stick tape covering the lifting edges, I also added an additional PU from off a JayDee in the late 80s so it's far from original, If I refinish I'd probably remove the JayDee and the routing could be filled in with a block of Alder and aged re-finished- would like some advise as to what people think they would do ???, value is not that important as I won't be selling it but just looks awful and not that practical to play with sticky tape all over it .. Bassman78 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Any pictures mr bassman 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulThePlug Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Strip it and go natural with a Tru-Oil or Wax finish... Why spend good money on a re-finish? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassman78 Posted January 10 Author Share Posted January 10 Yes thanks for the reply, that’s an option I have thought about rather than refinish, I suppose I have to decide whether I want to take off the JayDee PU and put back to original state in which case I could fill and finish but quite like a natural finish if the wood looks good… 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassman78 Posted January 10 Author Share Posted January 10 Yes sad indeed, Fender eluded they had had problems around this time with finishes but didn’t offer any explanation as to why my cracking was so bad, so no idea why it has gone like this!!!! BM 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franzbassist Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 (edited) Yowzah! Never seen one as bad as that before 😱 If it was me I'd have it stripped and then refinished, although an oil finish would work too if the wood looks good enough. I'd keep the JD mod as it adds a bit of character and gives more tonal variation. Edited January 10 by franzbassist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brucegill Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 wow! Well on the plus side, it should be easy to strip! I'd vote to strip and see what the woods like and go from there. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christhammer666 Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 defo strip then oil the natural wood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 That’s a real shame ,I think whatever option you choose you are going to have to remove the paint to make it playable, as much as I don’t like refinishes I would probably go down that path, good luck Bassman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3below Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 1 hour ago, Brucegill said: wow! Well on the plus side, it should be easy to strip! I'd vote to strip and see what the woods like and go from there. I stripped my 77 P bass, the wood underneath was very good. As @Brucegill states, it should be easy to strip as time has done most of the work for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 It's been modded anyway, and I'd go so far as to say it has next to zero market value as it stands, so refin away without guilt or worry. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueMoon Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 I’ve seen a fair few in my time, but this paint surface is way beyond crazed! Wow. Unfortunately, I don’t think you have any other option than to strip and re-coat or oil as others have suggested. I’d be tugging on FMC to consider an ex-gratia contribution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 That cracking looks like water damage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 Wow!! Yes - strip job. Should be straightforward getting the old stuff off too! What I would suggest is get it all stripped off and then have a look at what you've got. You have a number of options - tru-oil / wax / stain / veneer / paint depending what it looks like underneath it all Andy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 I've p.m.'d you @Bassman78 Andy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyJohnson Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 The finish looks similar to Overend Watt's Thunderbird II - there's a quote somewhere from him about poorish (Gibson) QC, airplane/gig travel (hot/cold cycle), damp storage. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin8708 Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 I had a Fender 25 th Anniversary Stratocaster in white ( the first 500 were white ) and the finish crackled and crazed , they then changed the colour to Porsche silver , which then went green . That was a 1979 instrument , never seen a 75 ‘ finish go that way No extremes of temperature or humidity? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc S Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 Wow - that looks extreme.... Sorry to hear this has happened, and that it's so bad. As others have said - strip it and refinish. Professional re-spraying might be expensive, or tricky and time-consuming for you to undertake (if you fancy that?). The suggestions on here for a natural finish seem the best option, and I think that's what I'd be doing. Best of luck with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulThePlug Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 Wow... after seeing it, if the damage is from storage, how is the neck? If the neck is all-good, then likely the body wood wasn't quite ready, or something up with the initial prep and paint. As @BlueMoon has mentioned, send some pics out to Fender... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc S Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 Sending some pics to Fender is a good idea - I wonder what their response would be? Keep us posted on such matters, and what you decide to do. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 I can't see much point in sending pictures to Fender. After all, their paint shop has probably changed somewhat over the last 49 years. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulThePlug Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 TAKE IT OFF!.. TAKE IT OFF!.. C'mon, quick thumb nailing, specially the back... let's see what ya got? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyJohnson Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 What would I do with it? Strip it, get it finished in a vintage blonde/olympic white over sunburst and knock the blone/white back a bit. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassman78 Posted January 11 Author Share Posted January 11 7 hours ago, Marc S said: Wow - that looks extreme.... Sorry to hear this has happened, and that it's so bad. As others have said - strip it and refinish. Professional re-spraying might be expensive, or tricky and time-consuming for you to undertake (if you fancy that?). The suggestions on here for a natural finish seem the best option, and I think that's what I'd be doing. Best of luck with it. 10 hours ago, martin8708 said: I had a Fender 25 th Anniversary Stratocaster in white ( the first 500 were white ) and the finish crackled and crazed , they then changed the colour to Porsche silver , which then went green . That was a 1979 instrument , never seen a 75 ‘ finish go that way No extremes of temperature or humidity? I have dropped a line to FMC but not expecting a reply that's worth anything info wise but we'll see, when it wasn't traveling in a transit I used to keep it cased behind the sofa which can't have been too far from a rad so maybe its extremes of heat ( couldn't feel the extreme heat from where I sat though !!) warming to the idea of thumb Nailing .........wont be in the next week or until the weather improves.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassman78 Posted January 11 Author Share Posted January 11 I have dropped a line to FMC but not expecting a reply that's worth anything info wise but we'll see, when it wasn't traveling in a transit I used to keep it cased behind the sofa which can't have been too far from a rad so maybe its extremes of heat ( couldn't feel the extreme heat from where I sat though !!) warming to the idea of thumb Nailing .........wont be in the next week or until the weather improves.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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