How to paint a bass, or - painting a bass.

Joe Nerve · #1 01-26-2011, 10:00 AM

OK. I searched and basically came up with, "buy a book".

I considered painting a few of my basses many times but never had the NERVE cuz I'm not the handiest of men, and my efforts as a teen were tragic. Main bass I want to paint also is a warwick, so I have concerns.

I know there are countless ways of doing this. I came close when I came across a spray painting thread, which seemed simple enough. Anyhow, without making this a huge OP, would people be kind enough to outline what goes into the process of a good refinishing job. Tell us about options, how to do it, what's needed, what's most cost effective, where to buy the paint, what kind of paint, sparkle jobs, metallic jobs, hand painting, spray painting, everything and anything. I think it would make a very good and necessary possible sticky for this site, and I'm going to guess I'm not the first person here who wanted to do this but didn't have a clue.

Thanks for any and all input.

xaxxat · #2 01-26-2011, 03:30 PM

Stroll on over to these sites:

http://www.reranch.com/basics.htm

http://www.reranch.com/reranch/viewf...dc625a24fe1270

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/finely-finished/

Pilgrim · #3 01-26-2011, 09:35 PM

Well said. No offense, but full answers to your questions will add up to a book. Get the book and visit the websites. That's what I did, and the results justify the time spent. There is also lots of information on TB...I'm sure your search showed plenty of info.

Joe Nerve · #4 01-26-2011, 09:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

Well said. No offense, but your questions add up to a book. Get the book and visit the websites. That's what I did.

No offense taken. I realize that. Many topics/threads here on talkbass could be books in themselves. I thought perhaps people would want to contribute and have this be a nice piece of talkbass info for all to have if they wanted. I'm also not committed to doing this yet, so I wanted to see what the options were and if I had the guts to actually give it a go.

There's not much info at all here that's searchable about painting basses. A primer from those with experience wouldn't hurt too much. Maybe even just sharing some info on the different possibilities, technical ability involved, cost, and probable outcome?

ac3320 · #5 01-26-2011, 10:11 PM

reranch is really a wealth of knowledge. I like all of their aerosol products (all nitro like fender used back in the day!) and with the exception of their clear aerosols, which are kinda price compared to say Deft and Minwax brands at home depot/walmart, their pre-mixed fender custom colors are pretty awesome. They have step-by-step instructions on their site too. And their forum, as well as tdpri (seems a bunch of tele owners want a DIY finish or something) are both full of knowledge and experiences that will steer you in the right direction. In case you are planning on doing a neck, i'll save you the trouble of making a mistake i *almost* made....if you want a vintage fender neck tint, use say reranch butterscotch and maybe some of their vintage tint (nitro.not the "neck amber" which is just a tint and is a PITA to spray if not mixed with nitro). This is probably too much information....anyways man good luck!

darkstorm · #6 01-27-2011, 12:02 AM

If your willing to have a seethru finish there is a simple and easy method that works very well imo. Use minwax all in one wipe on stain/sealer/finish. Just wipe on light coats with soft dry cloth or one of them foam aplicators. Let dry between coats. Use ultrafine sandpaper lightly after each coat to make nice and even. 3-4 coats is great amount in my experience with. Let dry overnight then apply a good paste wax like turtle car wax to give it a nice sheen. This wont give glossy finish but has good amount more sheen then satin finish.

Pilgrim · #7 01-27-2011, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Nerve

There's not much info at all here that's searchable about painting basses. A primer from those with experience wouldn't hurt too much. Maybe even just sharing some info on the different possibilities, technical ability involved, cost, and probable outcome?

That's interesting. If I can find time, I may compile a thread with links to good discussions of refinishing. That would make a nice sticky.

It's a challenge because people find so many different levels of result acceptable. Personally, I find anything less than a factory-equivalent finish unacceptable (and unworthy of my effort), but others seem to be happy with almost any result as long as the color of the body changes.