Aria Pro II SB Elite refinish - update

Alembic83 · #1 10-23-2007, 06:57 AM

Hi, a while back I posted about the Aria SB Elite that had been refinished in black (with a red undercoat in some parts).

Well, after using lacquer thinner to remove most of the paint, I have hit a stumbling block.

I should have seen this coming, and some of you probably warned me in the original replies. The evil being who refinished the bass also sanded most of the front of the bass. It looks like they intended to sand off the original poly finish but when they couldn't get through to the wood, they just gave up and painted it. Now, the back of the bass, the headstock, back of the neck and the sides were not sanded, and the lacquer thinner removed that paint like a warm knife through butter, leaving the original finish unharmed. So those parts are as good as new, compared to how they were anyway.

If the front had been unsanded this would've been a very easy job. But it was not to be...

This sanded surface has really thrown a monkey wrench into things. To clarify, they did not sand through to the wood, just sort of scratched the heck out of the original finish. So the black and red paint is kind of getting stuck in the grooves of the sanded finish as I try and remove it with the lacquer thinner, if that makes any sense. It's like it absorbs it. It's just a mess. I am not through removing the paint, but I can tell it's going to be extremely hard to do so, if not impossible.

Even if I do remove all the black/red paint, the front of the bass will be all scratched up and dull looking from being sanded. Is it possible to have that buffed out? What are my options here? I'll try and get a picture when I'm done removing as much paint as I can. In the meantime, thanks for any advice.

202dy · #2 10-23-2007, 07:33 AM

Obviously it depends on how deep the scratches are and how much work you are willing to do. It would be easier to advise if there were some pictures. If the entire finish is intact then do a test rub out. It doesn't have to be a large area. Try a spot of four square inches or so. Start with say, 220 grit on a backer block and see if that will take out the scratches. If it takes out all of the scratches move up. If not, drop to 180. The important thing here is to be able to get a consistent, level scratch pattern.

Brian D · #3 10-23-2007, 07:33 AM

Ouch, I'm cringing hearing this, I have an Elite II. I'd kill someone if they did anything like that to my bass.

I think it's best that you bring it to a pro, they may be able to rescue it and refinish the front of the bass while keeping the paint that is still intact on the back.

Post some pics, I want to see what its like.

Alembic83 · #4 10-24-2007, 02:56 AM

Thanks for the responses: I am going to post some pics as soon as I can get most of the paint off the front. Then hopefully you'll be able to see the extent of the scratching.

And yes, I am very upset that anyone could do that a bass. As I said in the original post, I think it was probably a teenager who tried to make his bass look "cooler" by painting it all black. But they had neither the know-how or the tools to get it done right.

Alembic83 · #5 10-28-2007, 08:24 AM

I have taken off most of the old black and red paint that was covering the phantom blue finish of my SB Elite I. As you can see, the front of the bass was sanded. I uploaded some closeups to try and give you an idea of the extent of the damage caused by sanding.

So my question is, is it possible to restore some of the shine to this finish? What steps would need to be taken? I will probably take it to a professional since I assume it would need some special tools and supplies. But I'd like to know what the process would entail (and possible price estimates?).

I included some pics of the back and headstock so you can see what the unsanded finish looks like. I haven't finished removing all the paint so there is a lot of residue on both the front and back of the body, but this should give a good idea. Some areas are more scratched up than others. The upper horn doesn't look too bad, but some other areas have more random and haphazard scratching. Hopefully, I'll be totally finished with the removal tomorrow, and then move on to the next step of trying to restore some of the gloss to the finish, if possible.
Here is the link:

http://s26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...lite%20finish/

Thanks in advance.

Brian D · #6 10-28-2007, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alembic83

I have taken off most of the old black and red paint that was covering the phantom blue finish of my SB Elite I. As you can see, the front of the bass was sanded. I uploaded some closeups to try and give you an idea of the extent of the damage caused by sanding.

So my question is, is it possible to restore some of the shine to this finish? What steps would need to be taken? I will probably take it to a professional since I assume it would need some special tools and supplies. But I'd like to know what the process would entail (and possible price estimates?).

I included some pics of the back and headstock so you can see what the unsanded finish looks like. I haven't finished removing all the paint so there is a lot of residue on both the front and back of the body, but this should give a good idea. Some areas are more scratched up than others. The upper horn doesn't look too bad, but some other areas have more random and haphazard scratching. Hopefully, I'll be totally finished with the removal tomorrow, and then move on to the next step of trying to restore some of the gloss to the finish, if possible.
Here is the link:

http://s26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...lite%20finish/

Thanks in advance.

It certainly looks a hell of a lot better! Good work so far! Especially with the headstock! Back the way it should be!

I'd leave it as is and bring it to a pro, they may be able to rescue whats remaining and they'd probably shoot a new clear coat over it once the paint is sanded evenly.

62bass · #7 10-29-2007, 04:20 AM

A pro would be able to restore much of the shine and it'll look a bit better. But you'll never get it back to the original finish without putting on a fresh coat of paint over the existing. Those scratches go right through. A pro could do that too and it might be the best way to go if you want it to look new. I don't know how much you're willing to spend on that bass to get it to look like new though.

Alembic83 · #8 10-29-2007, 06:14 AM

I pretty much accept it'll never be "like new" again. Really any improvement as far as shine goes and I'd be happy. I don't want to spend that much on it. With that finish, I think it'd be pretty hard to get a perfect match if I decided to refinish the top. Or is it easier than I think?

Brian D · #9 11-14-2007, 06:24 PM

Bump, how are you getting on with this?

Alembic83 · #10 11-27-2007, 06:19 AM

Well, the Elite has been restored! It came out great! Thanks for everyone's comments. I also have to say the final step that put the bass over the top was done by Steve Kim who runs mdcustomshop.com in Seoul. He used to manufacture for several major companies including Aria Pro, incidently! Also props to Lance and Dave for their advice and work on the bass, too.

Anyway, the steps to restore the bass were:
1) Lacquer Remover (that stuff is smelly and messy)
2) wet sanding with 1000 grit paper - I was afraid the deep scratches wouldn't come out...but amazingly they did. I guess they didn't go as deep as I thought.
3) Buffing

After that I had my friend here put it all back together and set it up. It plays extremely well, with looks to match now! Of course it's not perfect, it already had several dings afterall, but you would never be able to tell it was covered with black paint. I did make one mistake of sanding too much in one spot, and went through finish. Luckily, it's not in a very noticeable spot. Other than that, I couldn't be happier with the finished results...Take a look at the pics (sorry they're a bit dark, couldn't wait for daylight to take them).

http://s26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...lite%20finish/

Brian D · #11 11-27-2007, 06:27 AM

magnificent!

You and everyone else involved did an awesome job, she's back to her former glory now!

62bass · #12 11-27-2007, 03:45 PM

Amazing. I wouldn't have thought it possible.

Alembic83 · #13 11-28-2007, 07:06 PM

Thanks! The results exceeded my expectations, too! It's strange, but the pics make the bass look more blue, while in person it seems a little more green. Anyway thanks again, now it's ready to play again.