Staining Opinions

JoZac21 · #1 09-13-2010, 11:48 AM

My first bass, a Squier Affinity I got when I was 12, is completely in ruins (long story), except for the body, pups and bridge. So, in want of a p-bass I've decided I'm going to fix it up.

I'm going to stain it in the next week or two (a rebuild thread will exist), but I was wondering what people thought for stain color. I lifted these picks from other talkbass users... but they're both perty.

It will have a maple fretboard.

Natural (the body's not ash, so use your imagination):

Or walnut:

Other ideas are appreciated... let me know what you think!

EagleMoon · #2 09-13-2010, 01:00 PM

Have you stripped the body of paint yet? You might be surprised at whats most likely underneath there. IME, they tend to be mulitple pieces of wood sometimes with a laminate on top. They can be pretty ugly.

JoZac21 · #3 09-13-2010, 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EagleMoon

Have you stripped the body of paint yet? You might be surprised at whats most likely underneath there. IME, they tend to be mulitple pieces of wood sometimes with a laminate on top. They can be pretty ugly.

I'm not totally worried about ugly lol.

I suppose after I strip the paint, if it's really bad, I'll stain it a lot darker... like a couple of coats of dark walnut. Hopefully, I'll be stripping it within the week (damned full-time jobs).

5string5fingers · #4 09-13-2010, 01:41 PM

Even with dark stain it's going to look awful. Best bet is to go for a paint.

oldrookie · #5 09-13-2010, 02:02 PM

Hmm...

It's a crap shoot as to what is under the paint.

The first one I did was a very ash and it turned out pretty good.

The second one...the jury is still out as I am trying to decide what color to go with, but the wood is not as good. Veneer top over poplar...I think.

Spinal Tapper · #6 09-13-2010, 02:03 PM

you're going to want to paint that body a solid color after you see the wood...

5string5fingers · #7 09-13-2010, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldrookie

Hmm...

It's a crap shoot as to what is under the paint.

The first one I did was a very ash and it turned out pretty good.

The second one...the jury is still out as I am trying to decide what color to go with, but the wood is not as good. Veneer top over poplar...I think.

those aren't cheap squiers though?

Even my VM squier had a multi piece body,that looked rather ugly with the paint off.

oldrookie · #8 09-13-2010, 03:41 PM

No, those are Peavey's. Both Fury's. Posted to illustrate that you don't always know what you've got until you strip it.

Are the Squiers basswood?

**StrangerDanger** · #9 09-13-2010, 04:32 PM

Go for the Walnut.

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