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Double Bass to sand or strip

Marc Piane

Marc Piane

Jun 14, 2004
4,901
153
51
Chicago
www.marcpiane.com
#1
Sounds more interesting than it really is.

My B bass is a German plywood bass. The name on the inside is Lewis and Sons. Anyway. The bass has a high gloss heavy finish. I want to use it for some outdoor gigs this summer. I played one last year in 95 degree heat with no shade. I was thinking of stripping it and refinishing. I got a handle on the refinishing part. As far as removing the old finish though, should I sand it or use a chemical paint stripper? If I sand should I use a rotary sander or the like? Thanks.
 
#4
I recently used CitrusStrip (bought it at Lowe's) and was really impressed. They have improved the stripping-ability of their formula. It does a great job. You can use it indoors, and it doesn't burn your skin like Dad's or other toxic strippers. Some pointers:

1)Use heavy duty blue chemical gloves.
2)Make a "varnish endpin" out of scrap wood.
3)Use two sawhorses and make a rotisserie type of setup where you can keep the bass supported at the neck and at the endpin.
4)Lay plastic sheeting down under the area you are working. 10'x10' area would be good. When you are done you can just roll up the sheet and throw it out.
5)Use a $2 china brush to apply the stripper. Synthetic Gray Steel Wool Pads work nicely to remove what your stripping tool (old credit card or plastic blade tool) can't.
6)Use Grain Alcohol in a spray bottle to get the last 5% that the stripper doesn't. This is especially handy in the tight corners and the scroll area. You can use Denatured or SLX Alcohol and it really stinks. Grain Alcohol is a little more expensive, but it's worth it. The Gray Pad works well with Alcohol, too.

g/l.
 
#7
nicklloyd said:
6)Use Grain Alcohol in a spray bottle to get the last 5% that the stripper doesn't. This is especially handy in the tight corners and the scroll area. You can use Denatured or SLX Alcohol and it really stinks. Grain Alcohol is a little more expensive, but it's worth it. g/l.
Click to expand...

And you can't drink the denatured...;)
 
#11
fingers said:
Sounds more interesting than it really is.

My B bass is a German plywood bass. The name on the inside is Lewis and Sons. Anyway. The bass has a high gloss heavy finish. I want to use it for some outdoor gigs this summer. I played one last year in 95 degree heat with no shade. I was thinking of stripping it and refinishing. I got a handle on the refinishing part. As far as removing the old finish though, should I sand it or use a chemical paint stripper? If I sand should I use a rotary sander or the like? Thanks.
Click to expand...

If you use a chemical stripper, remember that most of them are a cocktail of stripping chemicals and wax (the wax slows the evaporation of the chemicals, allowing them time to do their work); when you're done stripping, in addition to neutralizing the chemicals, remember to remove all traces of wax, as residual wax can make refinishing problematic.

If you work in a well-ventilated area, away from all open flames and other sources of combustion, you can remove nitrocellulose lacquer using Scotchbrite pads and lacquer thinner. It goes very quickly.

Good luck!
 
#14
Here is my stripping project. This is the first time I've done this and I'm pretty satisfied with the results.
Here is the yard sale bass before applying citrustrip.
P4220318.gif

P2040074.jpg

P2040073.jpg

Here is the bass after applying the first coat of Citrustrip.
P2040076.jpg

P2040077.jpg

I waited over night and I could see that Citrustrip was working. The paint was bubbling. I forgot to take pics as I was pretty hungover stripping the paint. I just grabbed a normal paint spatula and started to scrap and the paint came off. I tried to to do the whole body but there was still a lot of paint on there. I applied another layer of citrustrip and let it sit over night again. I again went back to scraping and scrubbing the body of the bass with steel wool #00. This is the finished product.
P2060078.jpg

P2060079.jpg


I am still planning on sanding it later on today. I found out that my yard sale bass was three different types of wood and that there was a lot of glue holding it together haha.
Overall I'm really satisfied. Now on to sanding and refinishing!

I followed nicklloyd's intructions. Thanks nicklloyd!

If anyone has any suggestions how I can do a better job please tell me! Thank you!
 

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