Acquired Precision. Should I refinish or leave it?

That looks more like an Ash body, thought it might be a slightly more exciting piece of Alder? If it was Maple then it would weigh a ton.

Make sure it is stripped right down to the raw wood. There might be a sealer coat on there? The back of it looks chipped and dented, but a lot of this could be steamed back out.

I have none of the skills, patience, equipment or space to spray good quality finishes. I have, however, had good results from tru oil! It is relatively foolproof.

 

I'd just leave it and let it acquire its own patina!

 

I'd leave it. Tort looks good on that body.

 

I think it looks cool as is. Maybe give it a clear coat to keep the dirt off and call it a day.

 

Something transparent because I am a sucker for unstained unpainted bodies and that one looks fantastic. Surf the TB forums on oil and other types of clear finishes. DON'T leave it raw wood. My $.02.

 

Hit it with bees wax...

 

Tung oil is a good sealer. It's easy to use, and hard to mess up, and it looks good.

 

What he said on tung oil... for all the same reasons. It's an easy process and the more coats you apply, the more shiny it gets.

And yeah, +1 on ash. I don't think it's maple either.

 

Yeah, I wouldn't leave it bare.

 

I think it looks great as it is.

Suggestion, since you seem to be new to staining/sealing... maybe find a nice piece of wood to practice on first before doing the bass. Find some similar wood at the hardware store, or scrounge up an old piece of furniture and practice on that.

I'm no wood finisher by any stretch of the imagination, but when you said you were willing to put in up to 10 hours on this, I kind of giggled a bit. Not at you, but at thinking that a strip and full refin is a 10 hour job for someone without much experience. Been there, done that, and don't care much for it. My problem is that I don't have the patience for refinishing wood. You may on the other hand, really like doing it and find it to be cool new thing in your life. Either way, good luck. You have a real nice Lookin bass there.

 

Stain it

 

minwax wipe on poly is super easy to work with. i've used the oil based with good results but the water based also seems to get good reviews. 1. clean the body 2. wipe on poly 3. wait a few hours 4. lightly sand with 220 grit 5. wipe on more poly 6. wait a few more hours 7. lightly sand again 8. wipe on more poly - i've done as few as three coats on the back of a guitar neck and as many as 7 on cabinets.

 

Deft-thane satin finish clear coat. Doesn't require any finishing and will prevent any moisture damage and dirtying of the wood.

 

That looks great! The amber-finished VM's had soft maple bodies, and that's what it looks like to me. Shop Fender | Electric Guitars, Acoustics, Bass, Amps & More

 

I did one coat of ting oil then 20 coats of oil based polyurethane on the bass in my avatar