My First Project... Diary of sorts - FINISHED W/PICS!

[Ander87]

So. 75% of my basses gravitate around Precision basses or Stingrays, 90% FSO's.

I'm in a new band and I enquired about some builds with folk we all know and respect.

A fair £1300 quote came back, that even if fair, is much more than I want to spend these days.

 

So... I budgeted about half of that to build my own - I've seen past guitarist spray nitros and do a decent job out of it, but I want to open this thread to triple check as I'll have questions (plenty, mostly surrounding paint).

 

First, the inspo:

 

 

An update on a Precision bass, mid relic in Sherwood Green.

 

DISCLAIMER: this is NOT an accurate period correct project.

 

Ingredients:

 

* Roasted maple jazz neck with rosewood board. From eBay China, I had my reservations but 4.9/5 stars and a description that the maker provides for 'other factories' kinda won me over. For the money, I'm willing to take the risk - thinking the worst thing with it may be a fret edges sanding? Not too pricey if all else is in place.

 

* guitarbuild.co.uk 3 piece body, in swamp ash, classic P shape, 1.8kg. A bit steep, but again happy to 'indulge' on this, especially for the weight. Research tells me most alder is around 2/2.2kg, and other swamp ash bodies I've seen were a heavier 2.5kg.

 

* Thomann order: Gotoh res-o-lite tuners, EMG Geezer Butler P, knobs, neck plate, Gotoh 201B bass bridge.

 

Now paint/finish, and here comes my first questions - after looking on northwest guitars info:

 

* Rustins Grain filler, natural - recommended since swamp ash has lots of grain uniformity

* Rustins Sanding Sealer vs Clear nitrocellulose sanding sealer - are both of these the same? do I need one and not the other?

* Nitro gray primer, instead of white, hoping that helps the sherwood green darken? I want that 'almost' racing green look like the picture.

* Nitro sherwood green - I went for the V1 here, as opposed to the V2 which looks a bit more turquoise. 

* Nitro clear gloss, for the body, as I want that glossy sheen rather than matt (again, picture for reference).

 

Some simple questions:

* How to apply grain filler? Planning to rub it in with a cloth

* Do I need both sanding sealers? Rustins and/or aerosol one...

* At which stages do I sand the body? Thinking

1. Once I receive the body, as it comes
2. After applying the grain filler
3. After applying first primer (how many coats?)
4. I understand no need with the sherwood green nor clear coats (how many of each?)
5. High grit ala 2000 after all is finished for the glossy effect?

 

I will then proceed to age the hardware and sand down areas rubbed, scratches, dings and dents etc but won't consider that until that is finished. Same for the neck, I don't think I'll rough it up much but good to take that in carefully.

 

Some pictures of what I've got on the way.

 

 

 

Edited December 8 by Ander87

[MichaelDean]

I've been thinking about doing the same sort of thing but charcoal frost metallic. I'll be very interested to hear your thoughts on the neck.

[Ander87]

2 hours ago, MichaelDean said:

I've been thinking about doing the same sort of thing but charcoal frost metallic. I'll be very interested to hear your thoughts on the neck.

I’ll keep you posted! I love a charcoal frost but I feel I need to indulge a Sherwood green I’ve never had… add a tort pickguard and it’s just lush class!

 

so, the body arrived and it’s a whole slab! Not contouring which in all honesty it’s okay as I’ve never had a slab body and many times I almost pulled the trigger. 
 

For review on guitarbuild, happy with delivery times and weight as stated on the nose, 1.8kg. I do have a strong feeling the body has been gap filled already as I can feel it smoother than on the wood sample, but will still apply a thin layer of Rustin’s gap filler for certain. 

Will have to align pickup screws and I do hope the cavity is deep enough for standard EMG P pickups, same as pickguard holes of course. Nothing my little hand drill won’t do. 
 

 

now that I feel parts arriving and the ‘you can rough it up anytime, but can’t add the mint finish back on’, and with 70+ gigs next year, I feel I may just gloss (nitro) finish it and keep it stock, or New Old Stock with lacquer cracking and no relic’ing, as all those gigs will sure do its part. I can always rough it up sand down areas and add chips etc at the end of next year if I like…!

Edited October 31 by Ander87

[PaulThePlug]

Tell us a bit more about the neck...

Looks good, fret ends etc. Fretboard edge looks lightly rolled.

 

Remember to drill nice pilot holes - size and depth - for the machine head mounting screws, with a scrape of candle wax or block soap on the threads lto lube, and use a good fitting screw driver.

[Ander87]

Hey Paul! Not in my hands yet but on the way… will report once it’s here. 
 

so far this is gonna be a jazz neck, slab body and precision pickguard/electronics. What a FSO celebration 😅

[Pea Turgh]

That neck looks really nice.  Do they do a P width nut?

[Ander87]

Most positively, yes. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen all options! Blocks, dots, maple boards or rosewood over precision and jazz necks

 

23 minutes ago, Pea Turgh said:

That neck looks really nice.  Do they do a P width nut?

 

[PaulThePlug]

Good luck and most of all enjoy putting it together... My first, a P Bitsa with a J Nut Neck

 

[Ander87]

On 30/10/2024 at 14:47, Ander87 said:

Some simple questions:

* How to apply grain filler? Planning to rub it in with a cloth Yes, cloth

* Do I need both sanding sealers? Rustins and/or aerosol one...  Yes - Rustins wood filler + Sanding sealer aerosol

* At which stages do I sand the body? Thinking

1. Once I receive the body, as it comes Yes, up to 240 grit
2. After applying the grain filler Yes, up to 400-600 grit
3. After applying first primer (how many coats?) Not sure
4. I understand no need with the sherwood green nor clear coats (how many of each?) Correct, no need
5. High grit ala 2000 after all is finished for the glossy effect? Yes, even further, starting 800 probs, up to 2-3-5k grit

 

Answering myself after some research, also learning:

 

* Porous woods like swamp ash (ahem) are more difficult to work and fill

* Metallic colours (ahem ahem) also more difficult - great that I dived into this - I'm still on time to chose something like Sonic Blue or similar but nah, I'll still go ahead for a Sherwood Green finish.

 

Another thing - pickguard arrived - this time I wanted a bit more quality than the cheap musiclilly type of thing, without going into Pure Vintage or premium celluloid tort as those are over £70 easily... I found a celluloid top pickguard at Charles Guitars for £27. Breathe of relief knowing it does fit, pickup cavity included, so no carving involved...

 

 

Parts ordered from Thomann, I'll order the paint supply and a couple other bits from Northwest Guitars. Tempted to build all of it in already and giving it a play once it arrives, but that'd be stupid as I'd have to undo it all. I'm hoping I can do the gap filling and sanding next weekend, to prep for spraying the following weekend.

 

Ander.

[PaulThePlug]

Nice bit of wood.

 I'd go natural oil and wax finish.

Cheap(er) Easy(er), Great Results (betterer)...

[Ander87]

7 hours ago, PaulThePlug said:

Nice bit of wood.

 I'd go natural oil and wax finish.

Cheap(er) Easy(er), Great Results (betterer)...

ah, life would most definitely be much easier in natural…! Still the Sherwood Green thing has been going for a couple years so I guess I’ll indulge…!

 

 On top of it, Sherwood Green ranges a lot from the almost dark racing green to the more silvery one below… I’m hoping gray primer helps more towards the dark green vibe but I’ve a feeling it’s just yellowed aged top coat that gives that finish…

 

 

[kodiakblair]

On 30/10/2024 at 14:47, Ander87 said:

Some pictures of what I've got on the way.

Bloody Hell !! 

 

That neck is pretty. Stick to your guns regarding the colour scheme and you'll have yourself a cracking bass 👍

[Ander87]

Just now, kodiakblair said:

Bloody Hell !! 

 

That neck is pretty. Stick to your guns regarding the colour scheme and you'll have yourself a cracking bass 👍

Haha thanks buddy! I defo am looking forwards to tje neck arriving and start seeing it all together 

[kodiakblair]

1 minute ago, Ander87 said:

Haha thanks buddy! I defo am looking forwards to tje neck arriving and start seeing it all together 

I'm looking forward to seeing it come together and I'll never get a chance to play it 🤣🤣🤣

 

[Reggaebass]

Looking good and a great project Ander, that neck is lovely 

[JR1000]

I have the same body waiting to be built up.  Has your neck arrived and does it fit?   And can you say where it came (is coming) from? 

[Ander87]

Hey buddy! I unfortunately received a message from the seller that the neck had been smashed in transit. It should’ve been with me now, so the seller is sending a replacement that should be with me in 7-10 days I hope. 
 

meant to update this thread (there’s been progress!), and I will hopefully over the weekend…!

 

Ander. 

[JPJ]

Having finished a couple of guitars and basses using nitro in rattle cans, here’s my approach.

 

1) sand the body to 400 grit

2) apply the grain filler working the filler in with a plastic spatula across the grain

3) sand the body to 800 grit working slightly diagonally to the grain so as to avoid pulling the grain filler out of the grain. 

4) apply sanding sealer, this will serve two purposes, firstly it will let you catch the light so you can see any areas that need more sanding or filling, and secondly it will cut down on the amount of primer you use. I normally knock the sanding sealer back to about 1200 grit before I apply the primer. 

5) apply the number of coats of primer you need to get a good even finish with no exposed grain, sanding scratches, defects. Pay particular attention the the edges where the primer can sink into the open grain. 

6) once happy with the primer coverage, wet sand to 1500 grit. Everything you apply from here on in will magnify any remaining defects so this is probably the most important stage. 

7) apply your colour coat. I’d probably apply three coats around the edges, two to the back and three on the front, although as the Sherwood green is relatively pigment heavy, two good coats all over may be sufficient. If you haven’t sprayed nitro before I’d highly recommend practicing on some scrap wood as the line between enough coverage and enough to run a screw your finish is very very fine.

8 ) wet sand the colour coat to 2000 grit

9) Apply the clear coat, again probably two or three coats to build up enough coverage to wet sand without sanding through to the colour coat. Leave it at least two weeks to fully cure (finger nail test is the way of knowing for sure). 

10) Wet sand through 2000, 2500, and finally 3000 grit. 

11) buff with coarse, medium, and fine buffing compounds and then polish to final finish. 

 

To improve the spray pattern and reduce the ‘orange peel’ you invariably get with rattle cans, warm the paint before you spray by standing the can in a pot of warm water. Do not scrimp on the can shaking, you need the paint and propellant to be fully mixed to avoid spatter. 

 

Finally, health and safety - you need a really good professional filter mask as nitro is nasty stuff. You need the room you spray in to be warm and well ventilated with good light (preferably natural light). Don’t be tempted to spray out doors especially at this time of year, moisture in the air will cause your finish to go milky and there is nothing you can do other than stripping back the offending coat and starting again. 

 

Following my process I managed to achieve this on a black telecaster body - a finish I am rather proud of. 

[Ander87]

Ah @JPJ thank you so so so much for the detail here, that should be useful for future projects...!

 

Being the impatient soul I am, by the time your post landed I had finished all painting...

 

So, apologies for not keeping this up to date, but a massive bunch of progress... (it's finished now I'd say)...

 

SPOILER ALERT: I've made a good deal of errors and mistakes, scratches and whatever - the end result was super satisfactory, however I am lucky I like/wanted a relic job. The steps and tips that follow do not help if you want a pristine 'as new, glossy' look. NOT. AT. ALL.

 

Built the spray jig - quite a good solution for some £40ish to let the body dry - I know folk would say 'use a hanger' but then again i wouldn't have where to free hang it without touching anything at all, so that would've meant buying some rope to hang it between two points or something and I couldn't be asked. This did a great job: 

 

 

Next was grain filler.... I started stupidly applying it bare, until I realised that mud-like consistency needed white spirit as a thinner to apply.

 

I did apply a good couple layers that were THICK as it gets...:

 

 

Sanding it was an absolute nightmare - started sanding with 400grit as Lonestar guitars advised in their youtube video, but it wouldn't take - this meant I ended up going down to 80 grit, working my way up... 4 sheets of each grit: 80/12/180/24/400/600... Insane. I am dead positive that there were much better ways of doing this and a smarter way of working, but again, impatience and inexperience...

 

A billion sanding sheets later... wood is out again:

 

 

Good wash up with white spirit, and ready for paint.

 

PS: the heavy sanding I had to do to remove the awful thick layers of grain filler meant lots of scratches in the body, but again, read the 'spoiler alert' up above... 😀

[Ander87]

Now, onto the paint job...

 

Primer application - still the grain was kinda there, but this was the first coat:

 

 

I built a little booth with a guitar box that worked quite a treat.

 

I warmed the nitro on boiling water for a few minutes... Please bear in mind I spray painted the body in the middle of that November cold snap where temperatures were 0/1C, so, again, I am positive much better work could've been done indoors, or in spring/summer, however I wasn't gonna wait that long for a relic'd home made personal use instrument.

 

In goes sherwood green - Northwest guitars says a can would work for 2-3 guitar bodies depending on application skills... I used the whole can. This was slightly frustrating as I could feel that sometimes a variance in the distance whilst spraying would make 'runs' of more silver than green for example.

 

Also, the paint was more turquoise than I wanted - I wanted that 'almost racing green' look but again.... with the project fully finished, it all makes sense and I am happy with the result.

 

I do have to say, again, that the awful cold and spraying outdoors in my garden did really make me feel like half the paint was up in the air rather than resting on the body - that and inexperience probably explains the whole can I used

 

This was at about 2 coats:

 

 

Final coat with the aforementioned 'slight silvery runs' 

 

 

No orange peel however the grain did remain, even if I bathed the body in grain filler earlier...

 

Again, happy as it was a relic job.

[Ander87]

I made my life easy with an EMG Geezer Butler kit since I can't solder (I say, looking at my industrial engineer in electronics degree gathering dust).

 

 

Great, the neck arrived! the holes for the tuners are 18mm and the tuner 'thingies' (can't recall the name) are 17.5mm... after all that wait, I'm not gonna re-spec the neck, so, super glue and done.

 

Also, the decals came through via Rothko (more on that later)

 

 

The moment the neck came I felt very encouraged to near-finish the bass...

 

placed the hardware on a tupperware floating inside another tupperware bottom-filled with white vinegar and salt.

 

It worked great on the tuners, not so on all else - the Gotoh 'badass' like bridge was stainless steel and it shows, no tarnish... however tuners...:

 

 

Very happy with.

 

INTERLUDE: For those asking about the neck... flipping brilliant! £120 for a genuinely roasted neck, with no fret scratching noticeable, good nut slots and lovely finish.... would 10000% recommend.

 

HOWEVER... The neck came tight packed in styrofoam, and my impatience (AGAIN) opening the package with a folding knife meant I STUPIDLY scratched the back of the neck.

I nearly lost my mind here, however, having sanded my life away the last few weeks, I used grit 400-600-800 and it worked a treat. I added a tad bit of fretboard oil, and I cannot feel it under my fingers. Plus, I did this on the dusty end, frets 10+...

 

 

From there... to here:

 

 

 

[Ander87]

Right... first assembly:

 

 

It did need a lot of work on the setup, as expected, and a shim for the neck pocket to balance it out and make it playable... It looked great and started to feal like a real bass.

 

However, it did need lots of detail and the actual relic.

 

One of the most important parts to make it credible, was working on the pickguard - I will share outcome later, but it was glossy as it gets. I sanded it down and scratched it initially in the areas of play... 600-800-1000 grits... However still, the glossy parts were ugly/too new glossy so I ended up doing most of the pickguard.

 

It'd look frosty effect, but I did clean up with some buffing product for bodies from Guitar Nomad and now it looks amazing (will share at the end)

 

I dulled down the metal knobs that didn't want to cooperate in the 'white vinegar with salt' tupperware experiment - happy, these revealed some funky cool coppery edges: 

 

[Ander87]

OH! I forgot to mention, I did spray 3-4-5 coats of glossy lacquer, but in all honesty, I felt like it did nothing to it. Possibly, again, weather and inexperience to blame.

Also I did NOT wet sand the finish cause again, I was not confident there was a gloss lacquer there to polish/shine up and didn't want to trash the whole progress/finish... I was happy with how it was looking as it was - very similar to Limelights if anyone has had them.

 

Right, first tester of scratching...

 

 

The next few steps were the most nerve-wracking, constantly double, triple guessing if I was making a mistake and should've left it as mint.

 

A bit of a dig into the E string 'ala Limelights'... particularly happy with this shot:

 

 

I then proceeded to drag the bass around the driveway, but what worked best was a scalpel to scratch around and lift the finish.

 

I also digged a screwdriver and a jack lead onto different parts of the bass to make it more believable and add different types of damage...

 

This moment nearly made me want to give the whole thing up, pack a suitcase and move to a different country under a false identity:

 

 

What you see above is the ultra light swamp ash, indeed, alongside some tester in the buckle rash for Montypresso relic wax that I applied back and front

 

 

 

I applied it yesterday at 2pm and promised myself I'd leave it for 48hrs til Sunday, but then again, sorry, I'm too impatient.

 

I good the wax down with lots of blue paper roll towells - using a piece of cloth was impossible as one wipe would load up the cloth in it making it unusable (great to spread, useless to remove the wax).

 

So, after 20hr of wax... the results have been amazing, if you ask me:

 

 

After this picture I worked more on the pickguard as you could see it was uneven, too new on the corners. Let me share the back, too:

 

 

I want to say it is very believable, and the montypresso leaves a nice smooth feel on fretboard and body.

 

 

[Ander87]

CONGRATS, YOU MADE IT! DETAIL AND FINAL PRODUCT REVEAL!

This is one of the most accurate pictures in colour and texture I would say:

 

 

Lovely undercoat reveal, wood exposed darkened with an extra dark grain thanks to the wax...

 

Some more from the back with light against it...

 

 

 

 

 

 

All in all, I have to say I am genuinely shocked it came out that nice - I have made tons of mistakes but I've used those blemishes to my advantage to apply wear around them and make them more believable (ie. I dinged the instrument and peeled the paint in a particular spot where I had a heavy run of sherwood green, same as I wore and sanded it near the upper horn to disguise the silvery run I made by accident etc).

 

I am super satisfied on the outcome, the bass sounds and plays like butter, really nice actually! And a very healthy 3.5kg weight indeed.

 

Considering I did this in the windy cold snap of November outside in my garden, I don't think I could've asked for a better result!

 

Another consideration:

 

I tried to crackle the nitro but either my nitro wont crackle, OR it is not fully cured yet - I did the hair dryer + air duster trick and nothing happened... I may try again in some 2 months once it is certainly dried up - we shall see!

 

Ander.

[Reggaebass]

Top job Ander, looking really good