help! warwick 6 string in crisis

[Randall Fortino]

few years ago i bought a 6 string fretless warwick streamer lx (german made) dirt cheap. it needed alot of work. the bolts that connected the neck to the body were stripped out and the finish was completely marred and scratched up.the neck is fixed the holes for the bolt were filled with scraps of wood and wood glue and through repetition was fasten back. Now 5 years later i have sanded down the body of the bass and i am now in the process of staining. i was wondering if anyone has any suggestions as to what type of stain to use on this flamed maple body. and what i should i do to make the grain in the wood real dark but leave the light natural type finish...... ill take any help i can get at this point. this is the first time i am attempting this and on my favorite bass i own. i really want this to turn out nice.
Thanx

 

[Musiclogic]

If I were a samrta$$, I would tell you to take it to someone who knows how to refinish that body. What you need to do is find out if you are trying to make the figure pop, or if you are trying to get a ceruse type finish? Getting the figure to pop is a simple dye and sand job, but if you are trying to get a ceruse type finish with maple, you are out of luck. Pics might help in your description.

 

[grifff]

Did you want sort of a honey violin finish? Like on this Warwick:

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[MPU]

I'd say it's quite impossible to stain maple to look like ash. They have very different grain texture.
Marko

 

[Randall Fortino]

now i also have few issues with the neck. i could live with it but if there is a way to fix it id like to get it done. first off the head stock is chewed up this is my main concern with the neck

although there is a slight gash in the back of the neck close to the 7th fret

next is the fretboard im sure i could just sand the grooves out of it and then redo the lines.someone please correct me if im wrong.

im really just doing this for myself and want this thing to look as good as it sounds because the sound is incredible, and im back to playing my 5 string carvin until i complete this.

 

[Down & Outman]

I think the brown is the color of the wood on that bass with an oil finish. Going to be tricky to keep a consistant line between the brown back and light top without binding or something to seperate the two. Might look tacky. Better to go with one color scheme on the whole bass. I do like the light color of the second one. Maybe TruOil would make a nice finish.

On the neck, just sand the fretboard as the lines are probably inlayed into the neck.

 

[Randall Fortino]

thanks! yeah i thought it would be a difficult task. any suggestions on the headstock? or the indent on the back side of the neck........the neck issues worry me because ive been told i cannot buy a replacement neck for warwick basses. and ive heard they are expensive on like ebay. the neck plays great and bass sound amazing but want it to cosmetically look good

 

[Randall Fortino]

for anyone still checking this thread i have sanded down the fretboard and it looks great. I am still unsure about what to do about the head stock and that indent on the back side of the neck. neck work makes me nervous......

 

[Musiclogic]

You can fill the dent with epoxy or CA if you don't have some wenge shavings or chips, for the headstock you are going to need to do a wenge chip fill or a shavings fill to do it properly, if not, epoxy or CA with some wood dust can be a solid fix but won't come close to matching.

 

[Randall Fortino]

You can fill the dent with epoxy or CA if you don't have some wenge shavings or chips, for the headstock you are going to need to do a wenge chip fill or a shavings fill to do it properly, if not, epoxy or CA with some wood dust can be a solid fix but won't come close to matching.

thank you so much for the advice. im on ebay now trying to get some wenge scraps. your life saver

 

[HaMMerHeD]

You could probably pick up a scrap piece of wenge pretty cheap somewhere. Then you just sand it down into dust and use the dust to mix into epoxy/CA to fill the gashes and chips. I'd use epoxy myself, because it gives you more time to work it. You just prepare the epoxy, mix in the dust until it is sufficiently dark, then spread it into the chips/gashes carefully so that you completely fill the indentation with no voids. Then let it fully cure (24-48 hrs) and sand it smooth.

thank you so much for the advice. im on ebay now trying to get some wenge scraps. your life saver

PM me your address and I'll send you some wenge scrap.

 

[Randall Fortino]

hey musiclogic do you advise sanding down the neck and also refinishing that?

 

[Randall Fortino]

thanks everyone for the advice.....im going to take a shot at it. if i have anymore questions ill be sure to ask.

 

[Musiclogic]

PM'd

wenge scrap

 

[Warfender]

I would go over to the Warwick forum cause they will have done it. I remember hearing of using an iron over dents to raise them back flat or near flat. Guys will chime in with refinish pics and ideas and oil.

 

[Randall Fortino]

I would go over to the Warwick forum cause they will have done it. I remember hearing of using an iron over dents to raise them back flat or near flat. Guys will chime in with refinish pics and ideas and oil.

thanks alot very helpful!

 

[Randall Fortino]

I know it has been a while but time has been pressing for me.so far i have sanded down the fret board and that turned out great. all the grooves are history.

But i did notice a few other things that bother me i cant believe i didnt put this up before. what can i do about this?????/

any ideas? i know that it is made of ovangkol. and i noticed this separation on the head stock. between the plate and the actual wood

again im looking for any advice i can get.... next i start filling up the chips in the headstock ill post pics soon

 

[Randall Fortino]

thanks again to HaMMerHeD for the wenge scrap

 

[Triad]

The dents on the side of the fingerboard: if they're NOT gouges but are bumps (compression of the grain) you can do this: put some water with a small brush on those bumps, wait for a minute and then put a lighter close to the wet zones. The grain should come back out.

 

[Randall Fortino]

The dents on the side of the fingerboard: if they're NOT gouges but are bumps (compression of the grain) you can do this: put some water with a small brush on those bumps, wait for a minute and then put a lighter close to the wet zones. The grain should come back out.

thank you i will try that and let you know how it goes thanks