....so....I was sitting in my office today thinking about all things bass, and a thought came to me.

I'd swap the necks from my Black fretted Warwick Rockbass Corvette and my Blue Fretless Warwick Rockbass Corvette.

Why?

Just for fun.

This is what my blue one looked like a couple of days after I got it (with Ultra Jazzes in it at the time).

http://www.comcen.com.au/~eberbachl/pics/Bass4.jpg

I've been wanting a change for a while, and thought the Black would be nicer fretless, and I could have the blue one as my main fretted bass.

So, I'm going to need to do some rewiring too, because I haven't been using my series / parallel swith much on the fretted, and think I'l go back to vol vol tone tone.

So, on the way home I bought a stack of new pots, and a few caps, and headed back to make a start.

Got home, pulled the strings off both basses (due for a change anyway :D), pulled the neck off the black fretted bass - all good so far then pulled the neck off the blue fretless.

Oh crap!!!

:mad:

A large chunk of the finish lifted from the blue one on the edge of the neck pocket when I lifted out the neck!

:mad:

http://www.comcen.com.au/~eberbachl/pics/Bass5.jpg

Damn it! What am I going to do now?

I guess I could glue it back down...

...or

...hold on - I was just thinking this afternoon that a natural finish would be sweet wasn't I?

I'll refinish the bass!!!

Something I've been wanting to try anyway, so why not?

Off to the hardware store, pickup some paint stripper and some sandpaper...and get to work.

Here's the body without any hardware with some paint stripper applied:

http://www.comcen.com.au/~eberbachl/pics/Bass6.jpg

Here it is after letting the paint stripper do it's thing, and a little scraping:

http://www.comcen.com.au/~eberbachl/pics/Bass7.jpg

All of the scraping done now....phew! The body is stripped back to the base clear coat, and ready to start sanding:

http://www.comcen.com.au/~eberbachl/pics/Bass8.jpg

Some initial sanding done now...it's actually a nice piece of timber - this is going to be a sweet natural finish!

:D

http://www.comcen.com.au/~eberbachl/pics/Bass9.jpg

OK...enough work for tonight.

More sanding tomorrow.

I think I'll use Tung Oil as a finish - off to do some research on finishes now.

:D

More to come soon.....

In the meantime - I'd love any advice on natural oil finishes....Tung oil, and the like.

;)

It will look very good!

nice story.. and nice wood, but i hope its not too soft for tung oil finish, maybe you should try thin clear nitro spray job. good luck !

nice

The body is Alder.

Is that too soft for a Tung oil finish?

:)

I would've been lazy and just used some thing CA glue to put the finish chunk back on.

I would've been lazy and just used some thing CA glue to put the finish chunk back on.

LOL

Yeah, but that wouldn't have been any fun now - would it?

:)

Go for the simplest and most foolproof finish and you'll be fine: TruOil. Whether you go light and satiny or thicker and as hard as lacquer, you can't go wrong.

Thanks for the comments.

After some research, I've decided to go with a Tung Oil product made by Feast Watson, sold as China Wood Oil.


...been sanding all morning :D

100
120
280
320
400

She's nice and smooth :)

LOL

Yeah, but that wouldn't have been any fun now - would it?

:)

True... :D

I have a jazz bass where this happened, and I just did the glue thing. I couldn't imagine stripping it down. I couldn't handle having it out of commission for that long!

True... :D

I have a jazz bass where this happened, and I just did the glue thing. I couldn't imagine stripping it down. I couldn't handle having it out of commission for that long!

Very true.

I have a gig tomorrow, but fortunately have another bass I can play ;)

OK - so I've done some more work on the bass today :D

Lots of sanding:

Starting at 100 grit, then 120, then 180. then 240, then 280, then 320 and finally 400 grit.

The bass is now lovely and smooth and ready for some oil!

:D

http://www.comcen.com.au/~eberbachl/pics/bass15.jpg

I went to the hardware store after some doing some research on the web and bought a product called China Wood Oil. It's a pure Tung oil made by Feast Watson.

This is the bass straight after the first coat of Tung Oil:

http://www.comcen.com.au/~eberbachl/pics/bass14.jpg

After around 5 hours drying, and rubbing back with 0000 steel wool, this is the finish after the first coat:

http://www.comcen.com.au/~eberbachl/pics/bass12.jpg

http://www.comcen.com.au/~eberbachl/pics/bass11.jpg

It's looking so sweet!

The pictures don't do it justice. A really smooth finish with a beautiful satin sheen!

I've still got lots of work to do though.

Another 4 or 5 coats of Tung Oil, rubbing it back with 0000 steel wool after each coat has dried.

Once that is complete I'll be tidying up the control cavities and pickup cavities and shielding them.

Then I need to re-wire the electronics, and re fit the hardware.

Well on the way though, and it's been a huge success so far!

:D

Looking good!

(Giving me flash-backs from when I did a similar job on a bass....geez that was a learning experience...and time consuming!)

Looks nice man!
I guess its all in the prep work. You Had to do a lot of sanding but it looks like it paid off.

i like it so much.. on my alder jazz im building now i decided to try shellac, but this is just fine..

That's a great looking piece of wood. The key to a good finish is to let the layers cure. When your done be sure to wait a while before you reassemble it.

It never ceases to amaze me how soooo many people go ape over a blue finish...

You earn points in my book for going from blue to au naturale...well done!

Thank you all so much for the kind words :D

I'm thrilled with it so far!

:)

Thanks spudmaster34 for the tip about curing. I'll be sure to let it cure fully before I reassemble it.

;)

:eek:

I'm on my way downstairs to do the fifth coat of Tung Oil now.

:)

Once the Tung Oil is fully cured I'm going to apply a wax over the top.

I'll start shielding the pickup and control cavities too.

:hyper:

..and sending us the pics ;

..and sending us the pics ;

Yes :)

More pics to come soond ;)

Here's a pic of my bass body drying with the final coat (6 coats) of Tung Oil on it:

http://www.comcen.com.au/~eberbachl/pics/bass16.jpg

Once that has fully cured, I'll be rubbing it back with more 0000 steel wool, then I'll shield the pickup and control cavities with conductive shielding paint from Stewmac:

http://www.comcen.com.au/~eberbachl/pics/bass17.jpg


Once the shielding is complete, the bass will get a nice buff with some Feast Watson Mastertouch wax.

http://www.comcen.com.au/~eberbachl/pics/bass18.jpg

Then, the electronics and hardware installation before final assembly!

Yay!

:D

simply beautiful!

don't rush the wax...cure it AT LEAST a week...2 to be sure...

simply beautiful!

don't rush the wax...cure it AT LEAST a week...2 to be sure...

Thanks very much!

...and thanks also for the tip about Feast Watson products via PM a while ago ;)

Do you mean to let the wax cure a week or two before buffing, or before assembling the bass?

Thanks very much!

...and thanks also for the tip about Feast Watson products via PM a while ago ;)

Do you mean to let the wax cure a week or two before buffing, or before assembling the bass?

sorry, no...I meant let the tung oil cure a week or two prior to applying the wax...I'd buff the wax as per the instructions...


what specific tung oil product did you use?

that thing looks so good, it makes me wonder why they ever bother putting a colour on it in the first place...

sorry, no...I meant let the tung oil cure a week or two prior to applying the wax...I'd buff the wax as per the instructions...


what specific tung oil product did you use?

that thing looks so good, it makes me wonder why they ever bother putting a colour on it in the first place...

Ahh...good - thanks.

I see.

Yes - I'm mindful to let the Tung Oilcure fully before applying the wax.

Feast Watson says it fully cures in 72 hours...but I agree at least a week would be better.

I'm using the Feast Watson "China Wood Oil" Product, which they say contains pure Tung Oil.

Whether it is 100% pure I don't know...it may simply be that it contains some pure Tung Oil.

I can't find any listing of any other additives though, so perhaps it is pure Tung Oil.

;)

the top horn almost looks like a baseball bat. Its looking sick. did you order that tung oil online or did you get it at a store. If you got it at a store is it in NJ

I have a feeling that he got it somewhere in Australia, seeing as he resides in melbourne.

the top horn almost looks like a baseball bat. Its looking sick. did you order that tung oil online or did you get it at a store. If you got it at a store is it in NJ

Thanks for the comments. I'm hoping that by sick, you mean good...right?

;)

I got the Feast Watson China Wood (Tung) Oil here in Melbourne Australia at a store.

It's an Australian product, and I don't think you'd be able to get it in the States, but I know you have many fine finishing products over there, and I'm sure someone would be able to recommend a good Tung Oil that you can source locally.

;)

:)

Thanks for the comments. I'm hoping that by sick, you mean good...right?

;)

I got the Feast Watson China Wood (Tung) Oil here in Melbourne Australia at a store.

It's an Australian product, and I don't think you'd be able to get it in the States, but I know you have many fine finishing products over there, and I'm sure someone would be able to recommend a good Tung Oil that you can source locally.

;)

:)
Luke, if the bottle says it cures in 72 hours, give it at least another day or so...it's good to do this prior to waxing...also, if the finish is really smooth after the last application, you may wish to forego knocking the last coat back with steel wool.


after doing up my wishbass with FW Scandinavian oil and seeing the results of your Warwick with the FW China Oil...all I can say is that I'm sold on the FW products...

I'm sure the Americans can find a tung oil product at Lowes or Home Depot. As for Australians, we shop at Bunnings :)

Luke, if the bottle says it cures in 72 hours, give it at least another day or so...it's good to do this prior to waxing...

...agreed ;)

The last thing I want to do is "seal" in uncured Tung Oil with Wax :)

The bottle says 72, but I think I'll wait a week before wax finishing.

a week?? u telling me, no more pics for a week? luke ya killing me mate! haha. now...maybe i should stain my natural corvette blue...hmmm

Haha!


I might be able to post some nice cavity shielding pics :)

man.. just an ordinary rockbass and look what a 'cultural item' became of it. great.. i like it much !

I don't think it is pure 100% Tung Oil....it would never cure if that were the case.

I don't think it is pure 100% Tung Oil....it would never cure if that were the case.

I don't have a great deal of experience on the subject, but my research tells me that Pure Tung oil certainly is a drying oil, and will cure all by itself (this is something that the Chinese have known for centuries, and is noted to have been documented as eary as 400BC), albeit more slowly than a Tung Oil product with "driers" added.

Some manufacturers certainly add solvents, and some "cook" the oil to aid the curing process, but pure Tung Oil certainly is a drying oil, and dries more rapidly than Linseed oil for example (perhaps not Boiled Linseed oils which drying additives in the form of oil soluble metal salts of organic acids).

The drying process itself is a result of polymerization by the action of atmospheric oxygen.

;)

I don't have a great deal of experience on the subject, but my research tells me that Pure Tung oil certainly is a drying oil, and will cure all by itself (this is something that the Chinese have known for centuries, and is noted to have been documented as eary as 400BC), albeit more slowly than a Tung Oil product with "driers" added.

Some manufacturers certainly add solvents, and some "cook" the oil to aid the curing process, but pure Tung Oil certainly is a drying oil, and dries more rapidly than Linseed oil for example (perhaps not Boiled Linseed oils which drying additives in the form of oil soluble metal salts of organic acids).

The drying process itself is a result of polymerization by the action of atmospheric oxygen.

;)

yeah...the polymerization thing...lol

you sound like you might be right...at any rate, if the stuff is curing, and it looks great, then there really is no problem...

the scandinavian oil product that I used on my project was an oil-based wipe-on polyurethane, that also soaked into the wood a bit like the tung oil, but relies on the poly for curing...

just going on photos, I'd say that the tung oil makes the wood look a tad darker than the scandinavian oil...but I'd have to A/B it...at any rate, it was dead simple to use, too..

see the results...

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/kerrbearpgh34/detail?.dir=7bde&.dnm=b436.jpg&.src=ph

and because it is polyurethane based, I even put the stuff on the fingerboard :D...

Nice job on the Wishbass ;)

The Scandinavian oil looks great on it ;)

Yes, it does look like the the Tung Oil does make the timber a little darker. I was actually going to use a stain as well...I bought some "Golden Teak" FW Prooftint stain to use. The FW instructions said to put the first coat of Tung Oil on neat, and then subsequent coats on with 10% stain added.

I liked the first coat of Tung Oil without the stain so much, I never bothered adding any.

:)

Nice job on the Wishbass ;)

The Scandinavian oil looks great on it ;)

Yes, it does look like the the Tung Oil does make the timber a little darker. I was actually going to use a stain as well...I bought some "Golden Teak" FW Prooftint stain to use. The FW instructions said to put the first coat of Tung Oil on neat, and then subsequent coats on with 10% stain added.

I liked the first coat of Tung Oil without the stain so much, I never bothered adding any.

:)

good move on leaving out the stain...it looks fantastic...and maintenance and future finish touchups will be dead simple, too..

Well I strongly suggest checking out the Warwick & Rockbass forum at www.warwick.de/forum A lot of Warwick experts provide good advice, and not mention direct contact with Warwick tech support and they answer FAST! I think you could get some good advice there as well.

Personally I think is coming out really cool. Keep it up.

I got a 1986 Fodera Emperor elite 5 and think it was finished with NC but the condition of the finishing maily the body is in bad shape.
There are lots of chip-away finishing in various spots and I thought of fixing them but not refinishing the bass as I like to keep it as is. The trouble is the wood is exposed at those spots an will not be OK in the long run, get dirty.

I thinught of tuching it with brush at the spots but I not sure if the OEM NC will accept the new NC or should I consider different finish.

Thanks

Wow!

The Inaugural Warwick Rockbass refinishing project is over!

:D

And it's been a wild success!!!

The bass looks absolutely fantastic, and I'd swear it even sounds better.

...OK - maybe I just think it sounds better because it looks so good...and maybe it's because of the new strings...but boy it sounds great, and maybe...just maybe the Tung Oil finish instead of the hard Blue Gloss finish has something to do with it ;) Humour me :)

Anyway - I've left it all week to allow the Tung Oil to dry fully. Yesterday I gave it a good rub back with 0000 steel wool (yet again :) ).

Yesterday and today I've been shielding the pickup cavities, control cavity, and a ground pad under the bridge with Stewmac conductive shielding paint.

I use a solder lug and self tapping screw in each pickup cavity with a ground wire going to the star grounding point in the control cavity. After screwing the solder lug into the pickup cavity, I give it a coat of shielding paint as well to ensure a good connection. I also paint a "grounding" pad under the bridge. This allows the bridge ground wire (also connected to the start gounding point in the control cavity) to enjoy an excellent contact with the bridge.

After the shielding was complete, today I set upon it with the Feast Watson Mastertouch Wax. The wax is great stuff...rub it in with the grain, let it dry for ten minutes or so, then buff off. I gave it three coats of wax just for fun.

The body looks beautiful! Trust me...the pictures don't do it justice!

:D

....anyway, I've since put it together, and given it a preliminary setup with some fresh DR Hi-Beams...and WOW! It sounds great :D


Here are some pics:


Shielded pickup cavities and bridge ground pad:

http://www.comcen.com.au/~eberbachl/pics/bass024.jpg

Note the solder lug screwed into the corner of the shielded pickup cavity going back to the star ground point in the control cavity (without a connection to ground, the "shielded" pickup cavities wouldn't be shielded, now .... would they ;) ):
http://www.comcen.com.au/~eberbachl/pics/bass024a.jpg

Shielded control cavity with star ground solder lug containing all required ground wires:
http://www.comcen.com.au/~eberbachl/pics/bass025.jpg

Pots are prepped and ready to go in (I'm using A500k for vol, and B500k for tone. Wired vol, vol, tone, tone. I'm using 0.033uf caps for a nice bright tone).
http://www.comcen.com.au/~eberbachl/pics/bass026.jpg

Starting the wiring:
http://www.comcen.com.au/~eberbachl/pics/bass027.jpg

All wiring complete (sorry it's so messy still...I need to go out and pickup some cable ties tomorrow and clean it up ;) ).
http://www.comcen.com.au/~eberbachl/pics/bass028.jpg

Beginning assembly of hardware:
http://www.comcen.com.au/~eberbachl/pics/bass028a.jpg

All hardware fitted, and ready for strings:
http://www.comcen.com.au/~eberbachl/pics/bass029.jpg

Bass completed Yay! :D
http://www.comcen.com.au/~eberbachl/pics/bass030.jpg

Boy I love the look of that timber!
http://www.comcen.com.au/~eberbachl/pics/bass031.jpg

:D:D:D

...and now for the obligatory before and after photo!

http://www.comcen.com.au/~eberbachl/pics/bass032.jpg

Thanks for looking :)

Looks great. Congrats

Beautiful job. I personally would put black hardware on it, but that's just me.

B A U TEEFUL :)

Wow that looks amazing i second the black hardware

awww you made it fretted ooo well the bass look very good i commend you on the job

awww you made it fretted ooo well the bass look very good i commend you on the job

He switched necks with another Warwick, actually. ;)




Great job! That looks like a professional job, actually.

Thanks for the kind words everyone :)

Yes, I switched necks with my other Warwick Rockbass Corvette. I have one fretted and one fretless. ;)

As for the black hardware...yes - I agree it would look nice. I might try some new knobs, but I won't swap out the bridge just yet - I'm happy with that at the moment.

thats amazing mate!

makes me really want to go pick up a cheap streamer fretless 5 and pimp her up..................ponders....