Carved bass edge touchup

hogues · #1 12-01-2009, 09:01 AM

So forgive me if I missed this somewhere - in all my searching I found posts talking about touching up plywood basses where people say "now, I wouldn't dare try that on a nice -carved- bass..."

Well, here goes. I recently picked up a 3/4 carved Chrissy that's seen some heavy touring use and has a lot of what you'd call "character." I dig this completely except for a few spots on the edges where the wood has been stripped completely bare. Seeing as this is finally the nice carved bass that people are afraid to try most home remedies on, is there something I can do to protect the exposed bare wood and maybe give it a little color that won't break the bank? I don't have any delusions about making a used bass look new again, I just want to make this last as long as I can!

tornadobass · #2 12-01-2009, 11:16 AM

On my American Standard ply, I used a light coat of Wipe-on Poly to seal the back of the neck and the dings around the edge of the body.

It worked great, but might fall into the category of "things not to do to a carved bass."

**Pacman** · #3 12-02-2009, 05:29 AM

How'd she do on the gig, Matt?

hogues · #4 12-02-2009, 06:36 AM

Killing... I can't quite describe it, but it just has that -sound- that you expect from a 100 year old instrument. Clicks and growls in all the right places... such a great bass!

bejoyous · #5 12-02-2009, 09:29 AM

I put some shellac on the edge of my bass where it meets the floor. The orange colour matches my instrument quite well. It comes in a variety of colours so you can match. I got mine from Home Hardware.

It's tree resin that has been "processed" by the lac bug. (Yes, it's thick bug pee.) It's one of the main ingredients used in the French polish method.

I just wrapped a small towel around my finger and wiped it on. I let is dry for a bit then put on some more coats. After it dried I buffed it to a shine and voila...a tough edge that looks nice. And you can't tell it's not the origional unless you get up close.

Try not to let it drip down to the seam, though, just in case it is slightly open.

Heifetzbass · #6 12-02-2009, 10:47 AM

Shellac works, but used de-waxed shellac! Other finishes will adhere to this down the road if it needs futher touch up once it is out of your hands.

BG

james condino · #7 12-02-2009, 04:58 PM

This is a nice video on handrubbing color and the use of shellac that the folks over at finewoodworking shot in the shop of one of the local "spruce dorks" who post here regularly:

http://www.finewoodworking.com/Skill....aspx?id=30182

Practice on some scraps first...

j.

Bass68 · #8 12-03-2009, 11:44 AM

Thanks for this thread. Would this type of de-waxed shellac also work for other retouching, such as on the bass top? My poor bass has lots of scratches, etc. Thanks!

wayne holmes · #9 12-06-2009, 10:39 AM

my experience, my opinion---I use epoxy wood filler kneaded with a stain a little darker than the stain on the bass. you can get the wood filler at woodcraft 800-225-1153. Get the dark, unless you have a blond or light colar bass. PM me and I will send you some pictures before and after. This is one way to do it that is cheap and fairly quick - the other methods presented here will also work. Of course installing bumpers on your bass would prevent(minimize) future damage once you fix the edges now. However, even installing bumpers is a job for a bass luthier- It' harder than you might think, ie if you use wood and leather, which , in my opin. looks better than a 1953 Ford fan belt, or something of that sort.

This is a temporary fix. The best thing to do is replace the edge, but this is a disassemble job and for a bass luthier. Good luck.