doc540
07-02-2008, 10:24 PM
fwiw, I've refinished my '69 Jbass a few of times over the last 30+ years beginning with the first refin when I was young, stoned, and clueless and stripped the sunburst from it.
20 years later I sanded and reapplied an oil finish, and just two or three years ago, I sanded it down again and applied Howard's Feed'n'Wax. Howard's is da butt.
I won't go into the gory details of what it took to strip the original 'burst, and I do NOT recommend trying to strip an old Jazz bass. The sealer they used under the color is IMPOSSIBLE to remove without a TON of effort. (Trust me, you don't want to hear how I finally got it stripped. It would give you nightmares.)
If you can get your bass body down to bare wood, Howard's is a breeze to use.
Prep using "Strypeeze" to remove existing finish
(note: this is NOT the '69 Jazz, but a later, '78 Jazz with a primer/paint finish)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v334/doc540/Guitars/Doc%20Basses/78%20Jazz%20Bass/2c2309e6.jpg
WEAR GLOVES AND EYE PROTECTION!!
(fwiw: here's what was under the Oly white refin...I chose to have this body painted black rather than natural)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v334/doc540/Guitars/Doc%20Basses/78%20Jazz%20Bass/7069609d.jpg
Sand and sand some more....then sand again using progressively finer grit, wipe with denatured alcohol
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v334/doc540/Guitars/Doc%20Basses/69%20Jazz%20Bass/P0005194-1.jpg
Apply Howard's according to directions
http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/ProductImages/finishing/8645153.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v334/doc540/Guitars/Doc%20Basses/69%20Jazz%20Bass/P0005197.jpg
Gettin' there! But a few more applications got it dark enough to match the original '69 headstock color
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v334/doc540/Guitars/Doc%20Basses/69%20Jazz%20Bass/P0005202.jpg
Keep applying for darker tones and you'll end up here
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v334/doc540/Guitars/Doc%20Basses/69%20Jazz%20Bass/69BigJazz-1.jpg
If you ding the unprotected, natural wood, just sand it out and apply more Howard's until it matches the rest of the body.
That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!:cool:
20 years later I sanded and reapplied an oil finish, and just two or three years ago, I sanded it down again and applied Howard's Feed'n'Wax. Howard's is da butt.
I won't go into the gory details of what it took to strip the original 'burst, and I do NOT recommend trying to strip an old Jazz bass. The sealer they used under the color is IMPOSSIBLE to remove without a TON of effort. (Trust me, you don't want to hear how I finally got it stripped. It would give you nightmares.)
If you can get your bass body down to bare wood, Howard's is a breeze to use.
Prep using "Strypeeze" to remove existing finish
(note: this is NOT the '69 Jazz, but a later, '78 Jazz with a primer/paint finish)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v334/doc540/Guitars/Doc%20Basses/78%20Jazz%20Bass/2c2309e6.jpg
WEAR GLOVES AND EYE PROTECTION!!
(fwiw: here's what was under the Oly white refin...I chose to have this body painted black rather than natural)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v334/doc540/Guitars/Doc%20Basses/78%20Jazz%20Bass/7069609d.jpg
Sand and sand some more....then sand again using progressively finer grit, wipe with denatured alcohol
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v334/doc540/Guitars/Doc%20Basses/69%20Jazz%20Bass/P0005194-1.jpg
Apply Howard's according to directions
http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/ProductImages/finishing/8645153.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v334/doc540/Guitars/Doc%20Basses/69%20Jazz%20Bass/P0005197.jpg
Gettin' there! But a few more applications got it dark enough to match the original '69 headstock color
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v334/doc540/Guitars/Doc%20Basses/69%20Jazz%20Bass/P0005202.jpg
Keep applying for darker tones and you'll end up here
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v334/doc540/Guitars/Doc%20Basses/69%20Jazz%20Bass/69BigJazz-1.jpg
If you ding the unprotected, natural wood, just sand it out and apply more Howard's until it matches the rest of the body.
That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!:cool: