Is this doable?

[Lukc]

First I am pretty sure this is the right place to ask since when I once asked this in the bass thread no one answered.

I want to paint a name into my bass. Permenantly, in some color. Not sure wherw, but I've seen it done in guitars. If I want to attempt this, how could I do it? I want to write 'Jessica' on my bass on the body but I am not sure with what and how. I also have 0 experience with this.

[Meddle]

Do you have pictures of what you want to achieve? It can go from as simple as carving a name (free-hand with a sharp tool or dremel), burning it in with an iron, stickers/transfers... or you could inlay each letter individually. It is possible, but it depends what you want.

Also, regard it like a Tattoo. Is jessica your girlfriend (or do you like the Allman Brothers?). Do you want a 'girly' name for ever marked on your bass?

[ronaldpdbrandt]

Also, is this a cheap bass we're talking about, or an expensive one? Do you want it to look professional or "punk rock"? What kind of finish is on the bass? If you could supply pictures of the bass and your name design, that would also be helpful.

We're not trying to be nitpicky, by the way. It's just difficult for us to offer advice without a detailed description of what you are trying to achieve.

[Lukc]

Yeah I understand, luthiering must be hard XD I know 0 about all this. I am not at home right now, I'll supply images of both later. But it's a Yamaha RBX170 with a sunburst design. Jessica is the name of the bass itself. I like to name my instruments after women. Jessica is in fact the name of a really fat girl I know.

By punk rock do you mean messy? I want it to look kind of professional... The one I saw looked a bit like those street drawings. The stupid kids that "tag" their names on the walls. However, with one of those colors it looked badass. I want it to however just be the simple name itself not with the stupid art they do.

[gareth dunster]

You could paint it in with white glue, then put glitter on it.

[Neek]

I named my first project bass Jessica. I didn't want it to be permanent at first, so I had a vinyl sticker printed and pressed that on to the clearcoat on the headstock. After two years of being my main gigging bass, the sticker still looks brand new.

I placed it on the headstock where the manufacturers logo would normally go. I wasn't going to put a "fender" sticker on it, since it technically wasn't a fender, but the headstock looked plain without any logo on it. Also, the face of the headstock doesn't get touched or man-handled too often, so the vinyl is relatively safe there (compared to other areas on the bass).

[Hopkins]

The easiest way to get a professional looking result would be to do like Neek said and use a vinyl decal. The only draw back is that it would stand proud of the bass and you would be able to feel it.

A water slide decal would be a more perminant solution but it would require the bass to be torn down and a clear sprayed over it. This is a much more difficult and time consuming process.

I would recommend the vinyl sticker.