Restore Ibanez SR480 timber surface

[eekimus]

Hi

So this is my first post on these forums.

I've never played bass in my life before, and a few weeeks ago I decided to start.

I recently brought a second hand Ibanez SR480, and the timber surface on it is a bit dirty and worn down. There's a black mark where an old sticker used to be, and the surface is a little worn.

Would anybody know how I would go about restoring the surface back to what the rest of the guitar looks like? Probably use metho to remove the sticker residue?

I was told by the guy I go the guitar off to get some 'Tung Oil' and #0000/#000 steel wool to rub the oil into the guitar.

Photo


Any thoughts or ideas on how to restore the guitar?

[62bass]

It looks like some kind of tung oil finish which may or may not be real tung oil-but that effect, at least. I'd first wash it down a couple times with mineral spirits (paint thinner) to remove any wax and grease. Then a nice even steel wooling with 0000 grade steel wool. Then one of the "tung oil" products applied per directions. It may take a couple coats if the first one soaks into the wood. If you can find it, Waterlox Orinal Sealer is a good tung oil and resin finish that will look good and will work on top of what's there. You can check their website for a list of dealers. The high end hardwood floor guys love it because of its toughness and the gorgeous results. It's good stuff.

Most of the tung oil products sold in the paint stores or paint departments of the big hardware stores don't contain much tung oil at all, if any. But I've used Minwax antique oil and it gives a very convincing look, is easy to find, fairly cheap and easy to apply.

You will have to remove all the hardware and pickups first of course.

Whatever finish you decide to use, practice on some scrap wood first.

[eekimus]

Thanks for that helpful reply there...

Today's my second day of owning this bass...with regard to removing the hardware, is it just as easy as unscrewing everything and screwing it all back in again?? I thought the pickup heights have to be adjusted..somehow.

Tung oil and steel wool seems to be the go..

[62bass]

Originally Posted by eekimus

Thanks for that helpful reply there...

Today's my second day of owning this bass...with regard to removing the hardware, is it just as easy as unscrewing everything and screwing it all back in again?? I thought the pickup heights have to be adjusted..somehow.

Tung oil and steel wool seems to be the go..

It's pretty easy. You will have to disconnect the pickup leads from the preamp and re-connect them (probably by soldering) after. You will probably have to remove the preamp too. You'll have to look inside and see what goes on in there. The rest is pretty well mechanical stuff. Make diagrams of where everything was connected before you take anything out and pause and think things out as you go.

You'll have to adjust the pickup heights once you get them back in. That's easy. If you are worried, measure their heights to the bottom of the strings now and set them back to those heights.

Without your bass in front of me I can't tell if there could be any other pitfalls.

Which tung oil product do you plan to use? As I mentioned, most of them contain very little tung oil. You'll want something close to what the factory used, and good luck on ever getting an answer back from them if you ask. I'd say the Minwax antique oil I mentioned would be close. Minwax also has a product they call tung oil, but I haven't tried it. The Waterlox I mentioned is tung oil and a phenolic resin in solvent. It will give you that look but is a lot tougher and more waterproof than most of the other products. A couple coats will increase the shine, but if you don't want that you can knock it down after the last coat has dried with steel wool. Pure tung oil, if you can find it, takes a long time to cure hard.

Myself, I'd go for the Waterlox, but it's a bit harder to find and is more expensive. A maple top table I did for my wife using the Minwax antique oil turned out very nice though.