NBD: Yamaha BB405

[TRBboy]

Hey folks! So, last week I scored another BB from my favourite era of BB's, a lovely BB405. Super pleased with it, it needs some TLC (which I've already started on), but feels great instantly. I love the necks on these! I'll be rewiring it with my usual circuit, VBT with ungrounded blend.

 

I'm thinking of refinishing it, but struggling to decide what to go with? Current top picks are either Seafoam green with a black pickguard, or maybe a dark stain or burst stain... What do you guys think?

 

[TRBboy]

Hmm.... A strong possibility! What do you think? 

[BassApprentice]

Love the colour, only concern for me is how the a stain would react with the body. It's got some joins/different grain so not sure whether the stain would accentuate that further or hide it?

 

I could be talking nonsense and it will come out amazing! 😂

Edited September 6, 2024 by BassApprentice

[Mokl]

Looks great, cool bass! I'd go for a solid finish as per comments above.

[TRBboy]

Yeah good comments RE the grain.... It's not the best, but I don't hate it either, plus I would be adding a black pickguard which would cover some of the most mismatched bits.... Will ponder further, thanks for your input! 🙏

[TRBboy]

This is the colour I quite like if I were to go with a solid colour, probably finish with Matt or satin lacquer. I've had great success with the Montana sprays before, so I always browse their colours first!

[BassApprentice]

Montana stuff is great affordable paint for sure.

 

Maybe @Andyjr1515 could comment on the grain for staining?

[Andyjr1515]

11 hours ago, TRBboy said:

Hmm.... A strong possibility! What do you think? 

Nice colour. Have a look though on their website ref the application advice. This does appear to be a wood dye that is designed to soak into the timber. As such, it will need the present finish to be completely removed down to bare wood. If you are good with that, it looks worth a punt.

[TRBboy]

38 minutes ago, Andyjr1515 said:

Nice colour. Have a look though on their website ref the application advice. This does appear to be a wood dye that is designed to soak into the timber. As such, it will need the present finish to be completely removed down to bare wood. If you are good with that, it looks worth a punt.

Thanks Andy, just ordered before I came here and saw your comment 😅. Was going to remove the original finish either way, so no great shakes. More sanding here we come! 😅🫣 

I think I'll finish it with the Osmo Polyx I used on my bass neck last year, I was super impressed with that (and have a ton left!)

Edited September 6, 2024 by TRBboy

[Andyjr1515]

Ref Montana, they do a wide range of spray types. Some are more reactive than others to overspraying an existing finish.  Worth a deep peruse of their info but, at the end of the day, usually only trying it will tell you if it's compatible or not. Hope this helps

 

[Andyjr1515]

Nice looking bass, by the way. 👍

[TRBboy]

48 minutes ago, Andyjr1515 said:

Ref Montana, they do a wide range of spray types. Some are more reactive than others to overspraying an existing finish.  Worth a deep peruse of their info but, at the end of the day, usually only trying it will tell you if it's compatible or not. Hope this helps

 

Yeah I've used the black and the gold ranges before, definitely find the gold better to apply. I think the stock nozzles are better than most spray cans, goes on beautifully and easy to control. 

 

Hopefully this stain will be good though, should be easier and quicker to apply than spraying, and it'll be nice to see the wood grain, not that it's fancy at all. 😊

[TRBboy]

Hmm... This stain came yesterday, didn't look like the product pictures... It's more like watered down paint! This is 3 coats on a test piece of poplar.

It's not what I was expecting, but kinda cool? Can't decide if I like it or not.... Will get a couple of coats of Polyx over it and see what it looks like. 

[Andyjr1515]

12 hours ago, TRBboy said:

Hmm... This stain came yesterday, didn't look like the product pictures... It's more like watered down paint! This is 3 coats on a test piece of poplar.

It's not what I was expecting, but kinda cool? Can't decide if I like it or not.... Will get a couple of coats of Polyx over it and see what it looks like. 

 

Which colour/type is that?  

[TRBboy]

2 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said:

 

Which colour/type is that?  

It's the one I pictured further up the thread, Littlefairs Beach Hut Green

Edited September 13, 2024 by TRBboy

[Andyjr1515]

Gosh - that's nothing like it!

[TRBboy]

9 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said:

Gosh - that's nothing like it!

Exactly what I thought! 😅 Doing some further experiments at the moment. It is kinda surf greeny, which isn't a bad thing necessarily

[Maude]

A light coat of a vintage amber tint spray would green that blue up a bit, before you put whatever clear on you're using. 

[Grahambythesea]

That is annoying when you buy something which isn’t anything like the marketing pictures.   @Maude ‘s suggestion is a good idea.

[TRBboy]

Hey guys! Finally finished yesterday and gigged last night! Really pleased with how it turned out, and it plays and sounds fab! Lighter than my BBN5 too 😊👌

[Maude]

I like that, looks great. 😎

[BassApprentice]

I normally really like the natural BBs, but that stain - albeit different from the original plan looks great!

[TRBboy]

1 hour ago, BassApprentice said:

I normally really like the natural BBs, but that stain - albeit different from the original plan looks great!

Thanks! It looks kinda different in that evening sunlight, this is probably a truer representation