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54 Precision Attic Find
- Thread starter Tim Rinkerman
- Start date
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- precision bass
From what I have been able to find out, they never were finished in anything but blonde..butterscotch is yellowed clear. It’s looking like anything is possible at this point...could it have yellowed enough to require a refinish in a year and a half?
I doubt it. But if that's the case that must have been one heck of a smoke filled bar.
FWIW I have a Jazz that I bought in 1983 whose neck has a 1978 serial #. I've never had the neck off to look at the heel or pocket for other dates. I always wondered whether the entire instrument sat in a warehouse from 1978 to 1983 or if they had necks sitting around unconnected to a body or or vise versa or what. Clearly Fender did some unexpected things with manufacturing.
IIRC, the ‘78 serials ran all the way into ‘83, or something like that. Some what hard to date those years.
Very well putI bought a very beat up 63 P bass and had it refined and didn't get it reliced. There are parts of the bass that are worn looking and yet the finish is new. You can see through the clear parts in the lacquer that gouges and dings in the wood remain where the former player dug his fingernail into the area above the pick guard. I don't think it looks incongruent. If anything it tells the story of the instrument. By relicing an instrument you mask the temporal journey of the instrument, its different owners, eras etc. You accelerate it to a pre-determined state of being that is completely out of touch with its actual lived experience. To me that is uninteresting. My bass is old with a new finish because I bought an old worn bass and put a new finish on it, period. It's a unique look. Relicing that new finish would simply make it look pastiche and deny the instrument the opportunity to tell its story in the years unfolding. Hope I'm not getting too philosophical here
We spent some time sanding,mixing,and spraying this weekend. sealer, and a yellow/amber base color/sealer. The grain is staying really clear and defined.....4 coats so far...no runs...lacquer retarder is your friend. The outside picture seems to look un-naturally bright yellow...it isn't, honest..I hadjust flatted the front and the back and sides were untouched, and there was sun outside..!
This might just turn out alright. I ran out of lacquer so its off to the calm warm room for a couple days..I have enough left over to mix up some test patches before I do it for real. I hope following Fender's original steps pays off...I am building in some "pre-yellowing", that's about as close to relic'ed as you'll get from me...!
we'll see how she goes....stay tuned...
This might just turn out alright. I ran out of lacquer so its off to the calm warm room for a couple days..I have enough left over to mix up some test patches before I do it for real. I hope following Fender's original steps pays off...I am building in some "pre-yellowing", that's about as close to relic'ed as you'll get from me...!
we'll see how she goes....stay tuned...
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I did some more research into the two dates thing. The furthest apart neck and body dates on the same bass is only 3 months.. I didn't mean to snap at the poster who though the body was made in 52, but didn't get used till 54, but most evidence points to they didn't have that big a reserve of bodies pre-made..It is most likely that it got sent back to the factory due to some kind of damage, possibly the neck...and remanufactured and sold as a new bass. ..It could have been traded in on a newer model, if it was an endorsed, or promotional model..
Of course I can't take this book, Fender Precision Basses 1951-1954 as total and true gospel, but he does seem to have done extensive research in to these old dogs, and I gotta appreciate his dedication and interest...and thank him for all the great pictures.
I've included a couple pages from the book...describing a couple of cases where the dates are more than a year apart..
Of course I can't take this book, Fender Precision Basses 1951-1954 as total and true gospel, but he does seem to have done extensive research in to these old dogs, and I gotta appreciate his dedication and interest...and thank him for all the great pictures.
I've included a couple pages from the book...describing a couple of cases where the dates are more than a year apart..
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Test blocks...left over pieces from the piece of Ash I bought to fix the pick up hole...filled with the same color filler as the body, just less of it,to speed things up. Base/sealer coated with the same yellow mix as the body. Top coated with white pigmented clear lacquer...one has a heavy coat, the other half as much.
I was really hoping for the best with the white coats, but I didn’t expect it to be this good..it’s genuine blonde..just like the factory did it originally...now for the real thing...
I was really hoping for the best with the white coats, but I didn’t expect it to be this good..it’s genuine blonde..just like the factory did it originally...now for the real thing...
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It's been a real learning trip, I must say...following the original Fender finishing steps to get the original blonde really covers about 80% of the grain..didn't like it. I had a hard time deciding between looking original and looking like what I want, what I wanted was hard to nail down...I like seeing the grain of the wood, but this particular slab isn't the most beautiful piece of wood I've ever seen, but it is 64 years old and is in far better condition than alot of the ones I've seen and should be treated with respect. so....it got stripped....again, and sealed with 2 coats of lemon yellow and white tinted spray filler, 4 coats of clear tinted with white,blonde,amber, and yellow pigments, the edges were sprayed with a coat of clear tinted with amber and cherry, and 2 more overall coats of amber and cherry tinted clear. Less is more when it comes to building the desired color in sucessive coats. I mixed each application 8 oz. at a time, each batch used barely a drop of pigment to get the shade I wanted...if it is too opaque or covering, you can't go back..it took more cans of patience than I expected to build the color in thinly tinted coats, but in this way I could steer the final color towards what I wanted as I was doing it. The sealer coats of white and yellow kept the grain well defined..the coats of white,yellow and amber got the depth and overall color color close, the last coats of amber and cherry "corrected" the color to more of the shade I was looking for. The cherry didn't add noticeable red, it just neutralized the yellow a bit.
Now for 2-3 coats of clear clear to give it the depth and thickness it needs for a proper smooth, shiny finish.
Now for 2-3 coats of clear clear to give it the depth and thickness it needs for a proper smooth, shiny finish.
I been following the thread. Had a family emergency that took me away for TB for a spell..... I don’t remember a mention of the case previously but she sure looks nice in that plush red case in your most recent photos. Is that a case you had or were you lucky enough to acquire that case with the bass?
I think I bought the case for it before I bought the pick guard...it really deserved a nice place to chill out.
I respect and admire your unwavering dedication to this project.
