My first refinish, what do you think?

[Mad_Phingers]

Hey all, my name is Jake and this is my first post here on the talkbass forums. I recently refinished my MIJ Fender P and I wanted to share my progress with everyone and hopefully get some feedback and advice on the job!

Here is the P-Bass as originally purchased:


Then, the bass went through a little bit of an artsy period when I had my (ex)-girlfriend use her talents. I give you, the Octobass:


This charm didn't last long so I decided to do a refinish using rustoleum painters touch in Khaki (kind of a sahara sandy color:


Using advice found on these forums (a BIG thanks to everyone who has posted their wisdom here!) I sanded the bass up to 400 grit. I did not use grainfiller, which I now regret because some deeper scratches and dings have shown up after spraying.

Next, I had the body routed out by my uncle to fit a gibson eb-style humbucker:


Here is the primed, routed body:


Then on to the color coat and several coats of gloss. I used a whole can for color and another for gloss. I then spent about 5 hours wet sanding with 2000 grit because I had substantial orange peel. I did not get rid of it all, but the bass still turned out smoother and shinier than I would have hoped for my first refinish. I also used rubbing compound and turtle wax with a car buffer to get that shine.

Here is the body all shined up and hardware installed. Let me know what you think!



This took a long time and a lot more patience than I have (I want to thank my Dad for all his knowledge and help here), but I am very happy with the results and would love to hear some opinions, good and bad! I am going to post more pics once the bass is all strung and necked up and then hopefully some sound clips.

[J. Crawford]

Looks good, though I personally like the original bass better. Also, the route for the mudbucker looks a bit too big.

To each his own. IMO, youre going to lose a lot of tone with that mudbucker.

YMMV, IMHO, etc.

Welcome to TB!

[BassSurfer]

I'm loving it! Jordasch might be right with the electronic situation, but I LOVE the design, and if it makes you happy, who cares what everyone else says/thinks!

[LCW]

dam it i can only see the first 2 pics

[Mad_Phingers]

The route is a bit big, but more importantly, I cut the pickguard a bit too big, but thats because I used one with the split pickup formation already cut in and I just cut out the rest making an even triangle. This ended being too big, I am going to shop around for a blank guard to fit better.

Also, you are both right about the tone, I plugged it in today and it is certainly much darker than the original pickups, not enough high frequencies, but I hear that if I swap the 250k vol. pot for a 500k there will not be as much high frequency attenuation (Gibson uses 500k pots in their basses). I will try this and see. Still, the bass has a unique sound that is growing on me!

Thanks for the input

[J. Crawford]

Originally Posted by Mad_Phingers

The route is a bit big, but more importantly, I cut the pickguard a bit too big, but thats because I used one with the split pickup formation already cut in and I just cut out the rest making an even triangle. This ended being too big, I am going to shop around for a blank guard to fit better.

Also, you are both right about the tone, I plugged it in today and it is certainly much darker than the original pickups, not enough high frequencies, but I hear that if I swap the 250k vol. pot for a 500k there will not be as much high frequency attenuation (Gibson uses 500k pots in their basses). I will try this and see. Still, the bass has a unique sound that is growing on me!

Thanks for the input

And you could always get fancy and put a Jazz at the brigdge, replace the mudbucker with a Darkstar, or combine both options. The list goes on, and on!

[bassteban]

Very nice.

[xaxxat]

I like it. Maybe you could find a trim ring for the pup and cover the gaps. Of course, a Dark Star would be really cool.

I like your former gf's work too.

[Rocky McDougall]

Congratulations on your first project. I think you did a good job and should be proud.
Next time you will know about the need for grain filler and much sanding. If the top clear coat is thick enough and hard enough you may improve the gloss with a true buffer. If you don't have a buffer, a buffing wheel 6-8 inches in diameter and 2 inches wide mounted in a drill press works very well.