1966 Mustang Bass finish question

[cuth]

I picked up a white ‘66 Mustang Bass that seems all original including the case. Someone put a jazz bridge cover on it but the bridge seems all original including the mute which is hard as a rock. The pick guard is disintegrating but I have a replacement from a ‘67.
My question is there seems to be a black undercoat which raises the question if it’s a refin or just something strange happened when it was originally finished. My understanding is in ‘66 they only came in white, red, or blue. Has anyone here on the forums have any insight if the black is an undercoat or if it’s multiple finishes? I honestly don’t care - just curious. The bass is a great player and a keeper.

 

[brennanmcnally]

Whoa, that’s really interesting. My ‘66 has only worn through to a lighter white undercoat, but it doesn’t seem like there’s black under it in any of the dings that have gone through to the wood. Hard to say though.

 

[cuth]

A friend suggested it may be white over sunburst. In the neck pocket you can see a little yellow. I know they didn’t do sunburst on Mustangs in 66/67 but who knows. It’s strange.

 

[_Obra_]

I just love that broken pickguard. Would try to keep it somehow like that. Maybe to glue the pieces on some transparent thin base

 

[elgranluis]

A friend suggested it may be white over sunburst. In the neck pocket you can see a little yellow. I know they didn’t do sunburst on Mustangs in 66/67 but who knows. It’s strange.

This is a very likely possibility. A bad sunburst would often be used as an undercoat. They may not be offering sunburst as standard but I’m guessing there would be a way to order one anyway.

There were always undocumented oddities happening at fender. I for one have precision bass special in LPB with a walnut “burst” body , the body being a leftover from the all -walnut precision specials.

 

[blastoff]

definitely looks like burst
awesome bass!

 

[toastw]

I just love that broken pickguard. Would try to keep it somehow like that. Maybe to glue the pieces on some transparent thin base

I kinda like it too. Wonder if you could lay it flat like a puzzle, fill in the gaps with epoxy or something similar, and kinda make it whole again. Worst thing that could happen is ... you replace it, which you were thinking about doing anyway.

 

[cuth]

Unfortunately the pick guard is literally disintegrating if you even look at it. Also the pickup mounts to the pick guard and will fall out unless a replacement pick guard is installed. Fortunately I was able to source a pick guard from the era. I'll save the original pieces if I ever sell the bass. even though some of it is in crumbs.

 

[WI Short Scaler]

First, very awesome vintage bass to get your hands on. The smeg, dirt and yech on it definitely show this bass has seen some things in it's life.

I've never seen a pickguard disintegrate like that. I'm no expert, is that some kind of "off gassing" or something? I've heard that term but was never clear on exactly what it meant. The paint on my '78 Musicmaster looked like that pickguard when I got it.

I have no expertise on paint things but you are correct that one off's and undocumented things went on all the time at Fender over the years. But I think the "guess" of it being white over burst makes the most sense.

Regardless of all that, enjoy it!

 

[Matt O]

Man, that is a sweet Mustang. Really hard to say if it’s a refin because the paint stick shadow in the neck pocket looks so good. I can see black in the bridge cover holes and and some black flecks near the center of the body, so I doubt there’s a burst under the white. I can also see some red flecks under the pickguard above the pickup cavity. What it’s really got going for it is the tort pickguard which I believe only came on white, red and blue came with pearl guards. So here’s my wild guess to be taken with a grain of salt: Fender needed to fill an order for a white Mustang and re-sprayed a red body. Going from red to white requires a black or silver first layer otherwise you end up with pink.
It’s a beauty no matter what! Word of caution about that pickguard, when they start to crumble, they are in their most unstable state and become very flammable. Rock on.

 

[KidAmnesia]

Whoa, that’s really interesting. My ‘66 has only worn through to a lighter white undercoat, but it doesn’t seem like there’s black under it in any of the dings that have gone through to the wood. Hard to say though.

That lighter white is the actual color coat showing where the yellowed nitro top coat has worn off.

 

[Longwheelbass]

WILD lookin Mustang! Hard to tell what color it left the factory in as the neck pocket seems to only reveal white, but who cares, that checking in the white looks ancient, as previous input has suggested it might either have been a fkd up black finish or possibly sunburst, which would be weird as the burst Mustangs from memory only started to show late 68/69.
Re the guard - I'd be buying some aluminum sheet the same gauge as the original P Bass shields and glue all the bits to that.

 

[brennanmcnally]

On the pickguard topic, yeah, they do that sometimes. Especially with a ton of UV. My ‘66 Mustang Bass is doing just fine, but my ‘66 Mustang guitar had that same issue. Just fully disintegrated, and the offgassing turned the pickup covers to dust too. Weird transition era of nitrate formulas. There’s no gluing it down and saving it, it’s just gonna destroy other things (including strings; a new set of strings would rust right over the pickguard area in about 2 days, even if I didn’t play it).

 

[cuth]

On the pickguard topic, yeah, they do that sometimes. Especially with a ton of UV. My ‘66 Mustang Bass is doing just fine, but my ‘66 Mustang guitar had that same issue. Just fully disintegrated, and the offgassing turned the pickup covers to dust too. Weird transition era of nitrate formulas. There’s no gluing it down and saving it, it’s just gonna destroy other things (including strings; a new set of strings would rust right over the pickguard area in about 2 days, even if I didn’t play it).

That is interesting. Every screw holding the pick guard and pickup on this bass is completely corroded. I wonder if the finish off gassing has something to do with it.

 

[cuth]

While I have it off here’s what under the bridge looks like.

 

[Matt O]

That is interesting. Every screw holding the pick guard and pickup on this bass is completely corroded. I wonder if the finish off gassing has something to do with it.

The decomposing pickguard is the likely cause. Celluloid releases nitrogen gasses as it breaks down, nasty corrosive stuff. There are claims that it can spontaneously combust if it’s left in a closed case, too. If it were me, that pickguard would get a Viking funeral.

 

[cuth]

The decomposing pickguard is the likely cause. Celluloid releases nitrogen gasses as it breaks down, nasty corrosive stuff. There are claims that it can spontaneously combust if it’s left in a closed case, too. If it were me, that pickguard would get a Viking funeral.

Thanks for the suggestion. It’s in a hundred pieces at this point and continues to crumble. I’ll dispose of it.

 

[cuth]

Here’s the bass cleaned up a bit, removed the rock hard foam mute, and added a pick guard from a ‘67.

 

[Mshraderbass]

Thanks for the suggestion. It’s in a hundred pieces at this point and continues to crumble. I’ll dispose of it.

You might want to keep the pickguard in a box or bag provenance of its unmolested original condition. I don’t know anything about it flammability but would probably recommend removing it from the instrument even if I were to keep it. Looks great and sounds that way too im sure. Rock On