78 Precision body finish

[Pbassred]

I've had my 78 since new. Most of the paint is in good condition, and I've always looked after it. I even put a pad of sheepskin over my belt buckle ( always have done). In my youth I was bad. I used to polish it with silicon wax.

In the last 10 years, the body finish has gone soft. The rear has rubbed off (not scratched off), and the part that my forearm touches has become matted. I tried to buff it with a microfibre cloth, but when I tried to loosen some dirt with a little spit I put scratches in it. Is it possible that prolonged exposure to humidity would soften it?

Is there a remedy? I'm not sure what the paint is. Is it better to refinish it, leave it "distressed", or try in cure it? Is a 78 in anyway collectable? (she's not for sale).

[Jazzin']

Leave it like that, soon your '78 will be considered vintage, and you shouldn't mess with your vintage bass. That's what they're suposed to look like anyways.

[pkr2]

Originally Posted by Pbassred

I've had my 78 since new. Most of the paint is in good condition, and I've always looked after it. I even put a pad of sheepskin over my belt buckle ( always have done). In my youth I was bad. I used to polish it with silicon wax.

In the last 10 years, the body finish has gone soft. The rear has rubbed off (not scratched off), and the part that my forearm touches has become matted. I tried to buff it with a microfibre cloth, but when I tried to loosen some dirt with a little spit I put scratches in it. Is it possible that prolonged exposure to humidity would soften it?

Is there a remedy? I'm not sure what the paint is. Is it better to refinish it, leave it "distressed", or try in cure it? Is a 78 in anyway collectable? (she's not for sale).

What color is the finish? Is bare wood showing?

[62bass]

I have a P bass from that era that had similar problems, except the finish didn't seem to soften much. Mine was originaly white but the white had yellowed and looked very ugly (some vintage guys think that is a good thing) and there were numerous scratches, wear through on the back and where my forearm rested and a few small chips. In short, all the qualities the vintage guys like.

From the very heavy weight I could tell the body was ash. It was a nice sounding and playing bass though so I opted to remove the finish and refinish it natural.

Man, that was a lot of work! The finish is a very tough catalyzed poly that is completely impervious to any paint stripper I could buy as a consumer. I tried sanding with 80 grit sandpaper. Waste of time and sandpaper. All the regular paper I tried just wore out quickly and didn't remove enough finish to suit me. Even when I used a random orbit sander on the flat spots.

So I stripped the paint off with an electric heat gun and a fairly flexible metal paint scraper. This worked and got most of it off except in some of the inside curves on the cutaways and the end of the body edge. It also didn't remove the clear sealer/filler. The rest I removed by sanding with 36 grit ceramic belt sander belts cut up and glued to blocks and 1 1/2" dowels to get into the curves. The ceramic belts were the only ones that didn't fall apart although they did dull fairly quickly and needed replacing. That took the better part of four hours. Then I worked up the grits to 220 to get out all the scratches left by the coarse grits.

I was left with a clean, decent looking 3 piece ash body with an interesting grain. I decided to finish it with an oil/varnish mixture I made up myself from tung oil, varnish and paint thinner. About 20 coats, sanding while wet with 400 grit wet and dry paper and wiping off the excess.

The end result was quite attractive and has stood up to about 7 years of playing. Sure it gets dings and scratches but they don't show because of the nature of the finish.

So, you can opt for that if you want a newer looking bass. or when you finish stripping you can apply a solid colour and buff it out. that's a lot of work too.

I don't know of any way to really rejuvenate that original finish. i tried automotive polishing compounds and only got minimal improvement. Solvents like alcohol and naptha removed surface grime but didn't do much more than that.

I'm happy with the results I got despite all the work. By the way, if you use a heat gun, do it outdoors. The fumes are very noxious and will set off every smoke detector in your home.

I saw a similar condition P in solid colour from '78 selling in a Toronto shop for $2100 Canadian. I don't know how representative that price is.

[HeavyDuty]

I'm thinking the past use of silicone wax may have led to this. It may also make refinishing or touchup difficult.

[62bass]

Originally Posted by HeavyDuty

I'm thinking the past use of silicone wax may have led to this. It may also make refinishing or touchup difficult.

The silicone may have. I used Pledge on mine a couple times before I wised up but it didn't seem to have a softening action. I didn't have a problem with it adhering to the wood after I stripped it but after the amount of final sanding I did I'd be surprised if it did.

If your'e going for a hard finish, either clear or colour and this is a problem, a barrier coat of dewaxed shellac should seal the silicone. You wouldn't use shellac under a softer oil/varnish coating which is meant to soak into the wood.

[Pbassred]

I saw a similar condition P in solid colour from '78 selling in a Toronto shop for $2100 Canadian. I don't know how representative that price is.

Things like this scare me. I have been wandering around Londons Denmark street today. There was a similar bass more worn condition but a 1976 at £1650. Talking to the guy in the shop I learned some things. It was after 76 that the quality control became random. They changed paint a lot but its most likely Nitocelulose Cadilac paint. Apparently it can be affected by the lining of hard cases. (fur is polyester - polyester can vent plasticisers). 10-12 years ago my original Fender case died and I replaced it with a fur lined wooden one.
He suggested leaving it out of the case more ( and playing it). Gently polishing it back with T-cut. Definatly definatly DEFINATLY don't refinish a vintage bass>

[blipndub]

Would naptha remove the silicon without damaging the poly finish?

[62bass]

Originally Posted by blipndub

Would naptha remove the silicon without damaging the poly finish?

Naptha won't harm the poly finish but may not remove all the silicone.

[The Golden Boy]

Originally Posted by Pbassred

It was after 76 that the quality control became random. They changed paint a lot but its most likely Nitocelulose Cadilac paint.

Quality control IMO became "random" sometime after 66.

Fender had been using only Poly after 1968/9, until their reissues, so there are no stock 70s nitro finishes.

[62bass]

Originally Posted by The Golden Boy

Quality control IMO became "random" sometime after 66.

Fender had been using only Poly after 1968/9, until their reissues, so there are no stock 70s nitro finishes.

Yes, there was no doubt that mine had a poly finish. By the way, the catalyzed poly finishes manufacturers use have very little in common with polyurethane varnish you buy in a paint store. The catalyzed stuff is very tough and impervious to stripper. The consumer polyurethane varnish is relatively soft, does not buff out to a high gloss very well, even when dried for weeks and is easy to remove with common paint and varnish strippers. I know nobody asked, but I often see people referring to the two as if they're the same thing.

[BurningSkies]

Originally Posted by The Golden Boy

Quality control IMO became "random" sometime after 66.

Fender had been using only Poly after 1968/9, until their reissues, so there are no stock 70s nitro finishes.

Yup.

No way its nitro, except for the face of the headstock.