Painting hardware?

SMILEYSIXX · #1 06-10-2010, 02:18 PM

I'm replacing the tuning heads and bridge on my bass with a black bridge and black tuning heads, but I can't seem to find black knobs or a jack plate that fits my bass just right. Would it be a problem to use latex paint and use a gloss finish to cover it?

unbridled · #2 06-10-2010, 02:22 PM

I would bet you won't get any kind of paint to stick unless you had it sandblasted. Latex paint will peel off or chip even if you top coat it. What kind of bass is it and what style knobs and plate do you need?

becker4567 · #3 06-10-2010, 03:11 PM

Nope! There really isn't any type of paint that would stick to chrome. What type of bass is it?

SMILEYSIXX · #4 06-10-2010, 03:34 PM

Its a schecter stiletto studio 5. It's not regular chrome, it has a finish on it they call "gold satin"... its really rigid on the knobs which may help it stay on once I gloss it. Should I try to sand it down first? What paints may work better? I was considering touch-up paint they use on cars. My biggest concern is would it be too big of a risk of paint getting under the knobs or in the jack hole?

unbridled · #5 06-10-2010, 10:02 PM

I admire your "can do" attitude, but, I really wouldn't do it. It is almost certain to look bad, especially after it has been there a couple days.

However, since it sounds like you really want to do it-

Remove all the hardware you're going to paint. Definitly don't try to paint anything while it's still on the bass because it will gunk things up.

If you just have to paint the hardware, I'd use a spray enamel. It will still look horrible, but will look less horrible than latex. The hardness of your current hardware is exactly the reason it won't take paint well. Yes, you'll want to rough it up some.

You'll basically be lowering the value of a good bass..

unbridled · #6 06-10-2010, 10:07 PM

By the way-
You do know you can get control knobs in black that have a set screw to fit odd sized shafts, right? There's also lots that have rubber bushings in them to fit different shaft sizes.

xaxxat · #7 06-11-2010, 08:15 AM

Powder coating is the best way to handle this.

But, if you're intent on painting, try the Dupli-color trim paint. It's formulated to stick to chrome. It only comes in flat black. You can try shooting a gloss black over it to see if it will stick.

SMILEYSIXX · #8 06-11-2010, 10:29 AM

Hmm... you guys are really turning me off the idea... Any ideas where I can get knobs that will fit right? I was gonna get ones that were 11/16 height and width, but would they fit right if some of the stock knobs are originally smaller?

unbridled · #9 06-11-2010, 11:07 AM

I'd try the Tele style knobs from Guitar Fetish

I can't remember what the output jack on those basses look like but you might look around there and see if they have something similar.

unbridled · #10 06-11-2010, 11:08 AM

As long as the knob fits on the shaft fine, you can get whatever you want.

darkstorm · #11 06-11-2010, 10:30 PM

Latex paint would be the absolute worst kind. Paint designed for metal would be correct choice. There should be a variety of black knobs available thru places like MF online. Are the shafts split or solid?

SMILEYSIXX · #12 06-13-2010, 04:03 PM

Split Shaft if memory serves me. It's been a while since I took off the knobs to check.

Sam Hain · #13 06-13-2010, 04:09 PM

The only right way to do it is to bring it to a powder coater, they know what to do. BTW a friend of mine has his machines,hardware and bridge done up black, it looks so sick! You'll love it!

SMILEYSIXX · #14 06-13-2010, 04:45 PM

Would it be easy to do powder coating myself, or should I get it professionally done?

unbridled · #15 06-13-2010, 06:18 PM

Powder coating requires special equipment to apply the powder and an oven to bake it on. I don't think they have come up with DIY powder coating or not.

Rick Auricchio · #16 06-13-2010, 06:19 PM

No, powder coating requires specialized equipment.

EDIT: Unbridled beat me by a few seconds!

They also apply an electrical charge to the part to get the powder to stick before it's baked.

FunkMetalBass · #17 06-13-2010, 09:56 PM

Contact Hipshot. They use a Satin gold for all of their gold Ultralite hardware, and when I saw the color in person, I thought it looked extremely close to the Schecter color (I too own a Stiletto Studio). They can surely hook you up with knobs and possibly other hardware in that color.

Why do you need to replace the jack plate and knobs?

Stumbo · #18 06-13-2010, 10:53 PM

There are DIY powder coating kits available: http://www.powderperfect.com/diy.asp

You still need to sand blast, spray, and bake. IMO, it's really not worth it for a one off project.

SMILEYSIXX · #19 06-14-2010, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FunkMetalBass

Contact Hipshot. They use a Satin gold for all of their gold Ultralite hardware, and when I saw the color in person, I thought it looked extremely close to the Schecter color (I too own a Stiletto Studio). They can surely hook you up with knobs and possibly other hardware in that color.

Why do you need to replace the jack plate and knobs?

I'm not trying to find hardware with the same color, I want everything replaced with black.

FunkMetalBass · #20 06-14-2010, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SMILEYSIXX

I'm not trying to find hardware with the same color, I want everything replaced with black.

Black knobs are extremely common, so finding them will be easy.

I can't think of what the jack plate looks like off the top of my head, but check out http://www.guitarpartsresource.com and see if any of those look right.

If not, contact Schecter. They might have some in black.