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57' P Bass colors

bassgod76

bassgod76

Garbage bassist, but I love this goofy instrument
Mar 13, 2003
5,329
1,133
South Florida
#1
I was thinking about picking up a Road worn Fender P bass...
My only problem is that I HATE the finish.

I was thinking about buying one, stripping the finish, and spraying it with Oly White ReRanch nitro.

My only question is: What colors were available for the 57' P Bass, at the time?

I have a feeling Oly white isn't one of them.
 
#2
According to this article Fender custom colors weren't standardized until 1960.

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1950's Custom Colors.

Custom colors weren't standardized until 1960, when the first custom color chart was available from Fender. Before 1960, custom colors were (for the most part) selected by the customer, not by Fender. The 1956 Fender catalog states, "Stratocaster guitars are available in DuPont Duco colors of the player's choice at an additional 5% cost". Because of this, 1950's custom color Fenders are true custom colors. Therefore it is impossible to determine exactly which colors Fender used in the 1950's. We can only guess that a metallic blue 1958 Strat is Lake Placid Blue, especially if it was stored "environmentally unfriendly". But we can rule out some colors for some years from the "standard" list. For example, you best not be calling your red 1956 Strat "Dakota Red"; the earliest you'll see the actual color Dakota Red used is 1958, the year it was introduced on Cadillacs. Likewise, the famous gold 1958 Strat can not be Shoreline Gold (especially if you've ever seen the "real" Shoreline Gold). GM didn't introduce that color till 1959.
 
#3
That's pretty correct. And I've seen some strange one-off's over the years on Fender instruments. Like the Shoemacher 1954 metallic purple telecaster:

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...and a factory shot chartreuse flake 59 Stratocaster that I've actually held.
 
#7
bassgod76 said:
So a 57 P in Oly white would be inaccurate?
Click to expand...

Honestly, I wouldn't worry too horribly much about it ...if I remember correctly, the RW50's P Bass is also an alder body, which is inaccurate for the time period as well. A real 57 would be ash.

I may be wrong about the RW50's though...


EDIT: BTW, Oly White "officially" showed up in 1960, though it's possible that Oly or some white that's "close" in color to it was used on earlier Precisions...i just haven't seen them.
 
#8
Here are the Chevrolet Duco paint codes for 1957:
57cmpc1128.jpg
 
#9
Oly White was introduced in '58, so strictly speaking '57 would be inaccurate, but it would be "period correct".

Olympic White

Lacquer Source(s): DuPont 2818L, Ppg DDL8144.
Low VOC Source(s): DuPont 2818K.
Used on 1958 to 1962 Cadillac's only. Oly White and Black are the two easiest Fender colors to reproduce. I wouldn't waste my money buying these two colors from DuPont or PPG, as any white lacquer will pretty much do fine. The only trick to making Oly White look "right", is to use a slightly yellowed tint coat. But don't go too wild, as over-yellowed white finishes can be spotted a mile away. Since we're dealing with white here, a little tint goes a long way. Without any tint coat, the true Olympic White (and any other whites) look much too stark and "fresh".
 
#10
Easy8 said:
Oly White was introduced in '58, so strictly speaking '57 would be inaccurate, but it would be "period correct".

Olympic White

Lacquer Source(s): DuPont 2818L, Ppg DDL8144.
Low VOC Source(s): DuPont 2818K.
Used on 1958 to 1962 Cadillac's only. Oly White and Black are the two easiest Fender colors to reproduce. I wouldn't waste my money buying these two colors from DuPont or PPG, as any white lacquer will pretty much do fine. The only trick to making Oly White look "right", is to use a slightly yellowed tint coat. But don't go too wild, as over-yellowed white finishes can be spotted a mile away. Since we're dealing with white here, a little tint goes a long way. Without any tint coat, the true Olympic White (and any other whites) look much too stark and "fresh".
Click to expand...

A 57 and 58 Fender P are pretty much the same bass, no?
So maybe I could use the ReRanch Oly white, and lightly clear it with a bit of ReRanch amber tinted clear?
 

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