best way to paint a bridge
 

Ok, so I currently have two basses, my homemade p-bass which I use for gigging and recording, and myy neck-thru j copy, which is my backup. Before I had the p, I put a good amount of money into the j, part of which was repllacing the stock gold high mass bridge (looks similar to a badass) with a black high mass carvin. When I built the p, I wasn't sure how it would turn out, if it was going to be my main bass or just a cool instrument to have around, so I didn't spend a ton on hardware, and used an old crappy bridge I had sitting around the house.

So now, as I'm using the p almost exclusively i'd like to put the good carvin bridge on that, and put the stock bridge back on the j. I know I'll have to shim the neck on the p, etc, my question is, the only thing I don't like about the old gold bridge is that its gold, even though I rarely use it anymore, i'd like to still have all black hardware on the j. Also, since I don't hardly use it anymore and the budget is looking a tad tight, I don't want to drop the cash on a new bridge. Can I just disassemble the old bridge, sand the pieces a bit and spray paint it (heresy?), or is there a proper painting technique I should go through?

Not that wouldn't be more expensive than just buying a new bridge.

The idea is that I already have the sandpaper and spray paint, instead of ordering a new bridge for 35+ dollars (and that's if I buy an economy bridge, which I doubt would be as nice as what I already have on hand).

Understood, but painting metal requires a special primer, and it isn't cheap.

You'll be up to the cost of a $30 bridge in no time.

FWIW, you can get a bent plate, threaded saddle Fender style bridge off Amazon for like $18.

I would also imagine that any point that makes contact, moves, and has any string pressure on it(such as the saddles or any screws that get adjusted at any time) will scratch/wear away the paint pretty quickly.

That said, if you figure this out, let me know. I'm on a similar quest.

Maybe someone would be willing to trade with you?

This may be the best solution, I also was thinking, in order to avoid painting anything where there's regular movement, I might take off all the saddles, etc, paint the base of the bridge, but leave the saddles as a faded gold.

That's your best bet. Any part you paint will be worn away by any contact with the strings. Painting it isn't going to look good either way, but seriously, save up and buy a bridge.

yeah, painting (as opposed to plating) metal guitar parts is usually a hideous failure.

It's gonna look like crap after not too long. Just save your shekels an buy one.

Oh well, I guess I have to live with gold or crappy paint and save. Luckily its not a big issue, as I have working bridges on both basses, and even if I do the switch, its merely a cosmetic issue on my backup (aka, mostly unused) bass.

Thanks to all for the advice.

How about putting a bridge ashtray on the P? Looks good, easy to install, saves time and effort. Also will appeal toyour asthetic senses.

Couldn'ta said it better. Get that thought out of your head.

No, I have no issue with the asthetic of the bridge on the p, just the quality. Both the bridges that I would use on the j are too big for the ashtray. Thanks though.