Reviving burnt Fender MIJ Jazz - many pictures... please help

frank84 · #1 05-22-2007, 12:00 AM

Hello everyone.
My name is Frank.
Last week, something horrible happen to my church and my bass.

You can read about it in this forum LINK

I saved what I could, and I am asking for help.

I don't have money right now, but I do want to start working on it.
This bass meant a lot to me and I just cannot throw it away.

I parted out and saved what I could...
Here are the pictures

PARTS PICTURES

I am still thinking about what i am going to do with the body.. many ideas. just nothing solid.

I know all of you are very knowledgeable about bass.. compare to me, who doesn't know much.

Please help if you can...

Thank you for your time and effort in advance.

-frank

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THREAD SUMMARY SO FAR
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1. my bass is burnt and i am trying to revive it but I am broke
2. neck and pickups are gone
3. tuners, body, bridge needs clean ups
4. need to buy neck and pickups
5. my Church is paying me for my loss but will take long time.
6. bigbeefdog sent me one of his bass for free so I can get on with church ministry. (thank you once again)
7. bass has been parted out
8. most of the parts were saved except the neck
9. ordered the neck
10. received the neck

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UPDATE MAY 22 2007
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Click Here for updated pictures first.
Over the night, I battled with the body and I ended up doing some work on it. I used very fine sand papers.
Basically, I sanded down the first coating (i am not sure what its called, but it isn't the paint) and removed the black stuff off it. which left me with nice looking thing. If I don't do anything, it looks dull and dry. but When I wipe it with damp cloth, it looks very nice. You will see the difference in the pictures at the end. So I am guessing I need some sort of coating to make it look 'wet' and protect the look it has.

Any suggestions or comments will be helpful.
Thanks.

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UPDATE on June 21st, 2007
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Received brand new neck made by Mighty Mite,
needs big help with getting it on the body.

Ray Holt · #2 05-22-2007, 12:22 AM

Let's see...

The headstock? Don't know what to tell you man. Keep it for the memory. It's a cool piece, but I don't think there's any way you could use it again.

The control plate + pots... well, the pots look fine actually. It's hard to tell if any wires are missing... and who knows, the pots might have gotten burnt out but it doesn't look like they got hit too bad. They might be fine.

The pickup housing is messed up, but did you test to see if the pickup actually works like I said? By plugging it in and tapping on the pole pieces? If not, it would be easy enough to find replacement pickups!

The bridge looks like it will still function just fine, and LOOKS cool as heck

Neck plate... screws... tuners... yeah they all look good. Well, they look like they've been through a fire but... hey, they have! Pretty cool if you ask me. They should all function fine.

And that body man, well that body is pretty awesome. I would just try to find a way to keep the black ash from rubbing off on you all the time. Maybe someone else will be able to help with that. I don't know what you want... I personally would want to keep it looking just like that, and just find a way to keep it clean.

Like I've said before a replacement neck will be an easy find from places like Warmoth.

frank84 · #3 05-22-2007, 12:39 AM

I checked out Warmoth...

I dont think I have that kind of money right now..
gotta save up. hehehe

the body,
i get your point.. it is cool to see the burnt stuff
and i am sure there's a way to keep that as it is..

one of my idea was to keep half black and half natural wood
i just need to know how to remove all the dirty stuff on the body.. even on the non-burnt paints, smoke got on it.. and it's nasty.. if someone can recommend me some sort of a chemical cleaner, it will be great.

-frank

manicbassman · #4 05-22-2007, 01:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frank84

I checked out Warmoth...

I dont think I have that kind of money right now..
gotta save up. hehehe

the body,
i get your point.. it is cool to see the burnt stuff
and i am sure there's a way to keep that as it is..

one of my idea was to keep half black and half natural wood
i just need to know how to remove all the dirty stuff on the body.. even on the non-burnt paints, smoke got on it.. and it's nasty.. if someone can recommend me some sort of a chemical cleaner, it will be great.

-frank

the neck and headstock are gone... no use even thinking of trying with them...

try non-stick pan scourer and elbow grease... in conjunction with small amounts of clean water to rinse off with and keep the pad moist... a little drop of washing up liquid would help as well...

with a chemical cleaner, you're in danger of lifting the existing paint off.

PS, is their insurance paying up? I'd want a replacement Bass of similar quality or the monetary equivalent of same (ie, the current market value before the fire)

Has the loss adjuster seen it before you stripped it?

scottice · #5 05-22-2007, 01:08 AM

That is damned sexy! Use a damp chamis cloth and rub off all the grunge and soot and shoot the whole thing with some clear coat. Buy a new neck and use that old hardware. Or, sell it to me for $25 so I can rock it. hehe

Nice pix BTW!

frank84 · #6 05-22-2007, 01:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by manicbassman

the neck and headstock are gone... no use even thinking of trying with them...

try non-stick pan scourer and elbow grease... in conjunction with small amounts of clean water to rinse off with and keep the pad moist... a little drop of washing up liquid would help as well...

with a chemical cleaner, you're in danger of lifting the existing paint off.

PS, is their insurance paying up? I'd want a replacement Bass of similar quality or the monetary equivalent of same (ie, the current market value before the fire)

Has the loss adjuster seen it before you stripped it?

Yes, insurance company saw it..
but the problem is.. my bass guitar isn't church property..
so, if insurance pay for it.. and buy a bass with it... it will be a church property..

oh and I had an acoustic guitar that is burnt too.. i couldn't spare any parts from it though...

so i am expecting church to pay for my loss... but i know for sure that it will take a loooooong time.

a member "bigbeefdog" is helping me out by sending me one of his bass for emergency.

thank you for your help.

santucci218 · #7 05-22-2007, 01:21 AM

i actually hear some bodies sound really sweet after set a blaze. so rebuild with that body. just clean it off so you dont get black stuff on your clothes and its good to go!!!

JimmyM · #8 05-22-2007, 02:19 AM

Buy a neck and new electronics, leave the body as it is, and that will be the greatest bass on earth.

dlloyd · #9 05-22-2007, 03:40 AM

I bet that bass will sound fantastic when restored.

Keep as much as possible, you'll need a new neck, pots and pickups... possibly new machineheads

The bridge will be fine, the body looks great, The control plate looks cool, as do the pickup covers.

Knock off the bubbled paint, wipe off the soot and leave as is. I wouldn't even clearcoat it.

frank84 · #10 05-22-2007, 03:51 AM

when you say 'pots' and 'machineheads' what are you referring to?

the burnt pickup cover cannot be removed.. it's melted with the pickup housing itself..

any cheap place to get a replacement neck?

dlloyd · #11 05-22-2007, 03:56 AM

The pots are the volume and tone controls. You'll be able to source them fairly cheaply.

The machineheads are the tuners. They might be okay, but it wouldn't take much damage to render them useless.

I'd go for a genuine Fender neck, you can get them fairly cheaply from this guy

http://stores.ebay.com/The-STRATosph...ecatidZ0QQtZkm

frank84 · #12 05-22-2007, 03:58 AM

is this be good buy?

dlloyd · #13 05-22-2007, 04:16 AM

Looks good.

frank84 · #14 05-22-2007, 05:50 AM

I noticed that there are 2 layers of paint.. or coating i should say on my bass..

on top of the wood, there's clear layer.. and black layer..

you cant see the clear layer.. cuz it's black from fire and smoke
but.. hmm
ok, no more talking,

picture will be uploaded

wow, it's 4:50am... i gotta stop.. gotta go to sleep

good night all

metalmariachi · #15 05-22-2007, 06:28 AM

I’d clean the body and use it and the old hardware.

When you clean the body, just be careful not to use too much water.
Spray the pots out with cleaner, and check them out, they look ok but may not be.

You can check the pickups with a meter, the windings may have survived, but I wouldn’t count on it. Heat may also have screwed up the magnets.

If you need to get up and running quickly, you can check ebay etc for inexpensive pulls, used or aftermarket pickups
Check around for MityMite necks too, you can find them for around $100.
That would get you up and running, you can always put a genuine Fender on in the future.

Cool factor aside, the body should resonate and sound better without all the poly on it.

MM

BadB · #16 05-22-2007, 06:44 AM

Frank, sorry about all this. I know the bass meant a lot to you. If I were in your shoes, I'd salvage the metal parts for spares and ditch the rest. A sword wielding-arsonist-subsequently shot to death by police vibe isn't one I'd wish to carry around with me. I am sure your church and/or it's members will pony up for a nice new bass for you. Or, if replaced with their insurance, they could donate the bass to you. There are several CIJ Fender's in production currently that would be suitable. Again, sorry.

bigbeefdog · #17 05-22-2007, 07:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frank84

Yes, insurance company saw it..
but the problem is.. my bass guitar isn't church property..
so, if insurance pay for it.. and buy a bass with it... it will be a church property..

Errrrrr...... not really......

Yes, the insurance check will be made out to the church.....

However, if there are some dollars in there for damage to your personal bass, the church should pass those dollars on to you..... the church didn't own the bass, so they have no argument for keeping the insurance money paid for replacement of the bass....

Might not be a legally-enforceable argument, but it's certainly a morally correct one..... and this, after all, is a church.... where moral correctness should be held in high regard....

Good luck with the rebuild, bro....

202dy · #18 05-22-2007, 08:23 AM

Sorry for your loss.

The body can be salvaged. It can be stripped and painted. It is not easy work. There are numerous threads here on refinishing. The electronics are questionable. Both the pickups and the controls can be tested with a meter to determine their functionality. New covers are readily available for the pickups if they are still good. The hardware is all salvageable.

Talk to your insurance agent. Your loss should be covered under the terms of your homeowners insurance.

frank84 · #19 05-22-2007, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigbeefdog

Errrrrr...... not really......

Yes, the insurance check will be made out to the church.....

However, if there are some dollars in there for damage to your personal bass, the church should pass those dollars on to you..... the church didn't own the bass, so they have no argument for keeping the insurance money paid for replacement of the bass....

Might not be a legally-enforceable argument, but it's certainly a morally correct one..... and this, after all, is a church.... where moral correctness should be held in high regard....

Good luck with the rebuild, bro....

oh, of course, church will cover for my loss
from what i heard, the insurance is on 'church property' so on paper, my bass and acoustic will be listed as church property

haha, but i am 100% sure that church officials are doing 'something' to cover my loss

no worries

202dy · #20 05-22-2007, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frank84

oh, of course, church will cover for my loss
from what i heard, the insurance is on 'church property' so on paper, my bass and acoustic will be listed as church property

haha, but i am 100% sure that church officials are doing 'something' to cover my loss

no worries

If that is the course that is chosen it can be problematic. It is not unusual for the insurance adjusters to require receipts for real property. They will not be able to produce a receipt showing the instruments as belonging to the church. This begins to cross into the area of insurance fraud. Have you talked to the pastor or church elders regarding insurance coverage of unowned property? That is the logical starting point.