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Aging Times.

S

spencer

Feb 22, 2006
797
2
37
#1
Ok I LOVE the look of a relic or abused P bass with nitro finish. But I hate the thousands you have to pay to get em from 1970's. I also Hate the look of a brand new sunburst. So If I bought a brand new highway one P bass with nitro finish. How long do you guys think it will take to get that worn look. I know it depends on how i play and how much I play ect and how I take care of it. But how long do you guys think it will take to get thoes naturally worn spot like on the top of the bass? Im not going to try to make it wear anyfaster than normal because I want it to look real. Im just not sure if I should look for a worn one and pay probably the same or more than I would for a new or slightly used bass.

Yea I know I really shouldn't be so stuck on looks. Thing is the better my bass looks the more I will love to play it lol..
 
#5
Cerb said:
I was under the impression that Fender was no longer using the softer nitro finishes, but rather using harder poly type finishes. If this is true, expect it to take quite a while. I could be completely incorrect, though.
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This is the highway one series, which has always used a Nitro finish, but I think this year's upgrade uses an even thinner finish. I could be wrong, but thats the impression I'm under.

My '06 Highway One has a very thin sunburst finish, and the wood grain is very visible. Just about every small ding it takes is visible as a dent, but I imagine its going to take more than a year for it to start looking truely worn. Maybe more. If you really abuse it, a lot less, but it wont look as natural.

I'd say spring for a highway. These are $800 new compared to the $1500+ you might pay for a preworn vintage bass. With the added pluses of graphite neck reinforcement and a BadAss II bridge. And all that wear will be your story with the bass. Not someone else's experiences with it, and then it makes its way to your hands.
 
#6
spencer said:
Ok I LOVE the look of a relic or abused P bass with nitro finish. But I hate the thousands you have to pay to get em from 1970's. I also Hate the look of a brand new sunburst. So If I bought a brand new highway one P bass with nitro finish. How long do you guys think it will take to get that worn look. I know it depends on how i play and how much I play ect and how I take care of it. But how long do you guys think it will take to get thoes naturally worn spot like on the top of the bass? Im not going to try to make it wear anyfaster than normal because I want it to look real. Im just not sure if I should look for a worn one and pay probably the same or more than I would for a new or slightly used bass.

Yea I know I really shouldn't be so stuck on looks. Thing is the better my bass looks the more I will love to play it lol..
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For the recored.. 70's Fenders are Poly, not Nitro.

Depends on how much you sweat and how hard you play it. If you're playing "Madison Square Bedroom" :D it might take a while. If you gig with it regularly, not nearly so long. It doesn't happen over night though. It'll still take a fair amount of playing to wear through the finish. You can wear through Poly too, it just takes longer.
 
#7
Thanks... I thought poly was like almost impossible to wear. I thought it was like plastic almost. It comes with a graphite reinforced neck? Thats awsome. But I don't like the bridge that comes on it.
 
#8
ok one little thing.. Im not too sure if I like the rosewood fretboard.. My stingray's maple neck was the first maple neck I have played on and now I LOVE Maple FB's anyway I can get it in maple or does it only come in rosewood..?
 
#9
spencer said:
Thanks... I thought poly was like almost impossible to wear. I thought it was like plastic almost. It comes with a graphite reinforced neck? Thats awsome. But I don't like the bridge that comes on it.
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Poly is not impossible to wear through. It's definitly going to take longer to wear through it than Nitro.

Here's what 42 years of wear on Nitro looks like for a reference.
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#10
Woah that took a long time. I like it tho.. Anyway I have this 17 year old stingray and the finish in the front is no where near ready to fade and its poly so I thought it was impossible lol.
 
#11
Depends entirely on how you treat it. I have a nitro finish guitar that still looks brand new after 3 years, but it gets babied. If you play hard, it will wear faster. Also, nitro is sensitive to temp changes. I really like the look of weather checking (I've got a 65 epi that is full of cool cracks). My understanding is that these develop from rapid changes between warm and cool. I think my next bass will have a nitro finish, because I would like it to show the wear eventually. Poly takes forever if this is what you want. My P copy is at least 20 years old, and it has some big honking dings, but the parts that aren't dinged are still shiny, and I don't think it is really possible to rub through. OTOH, my strat type has a pretty thin poly finish, and it is showing some dulling where I overshoot the guard with a pic. I suppose if you were hellbent on getting some wear, you could try to relic it yourself with some creative beatings and sanding, but that doesn't strike me as entirely honest :)
 
#12
A lot of it depends on how hard the bass is worked. If it lives in someones bedroom, it'll probalby still look pretty close to new after 17 years. If the thing is out playing 150 shows a year,under hot stage lights, getting sweated on, and played hard, it's going to look a whole lot more worn.
 
#13
BassoP said:
Depends entirely on how you treat it. I have a nitro finish guitar that still looks brand new after 3 years,

Poly takes forever if this is what you want. My P copy is at least 20 years old, and it has some big honking dings, but the parts that aren't dinged are still shiny, and I don't think it is really possible to rub through.
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My '84 G&L has a poly finish that's worn through the paint in a few places. Mostly where your right arm contacts the body. Trust me... You can wear through poly. Like I said, it just depends on how hard you work them. I'm not talking abuse here either. The sweat that comes from playing under hot stage lights is tough on any finish.
 
#15
Ugh. I refinish guitars and basses. I spend too much time getting finishes right to want them to wear fast. But I have done some relicing (reluctantly) for a few friends (who I bust mercilessly for being posers). I think legitimate wear is hard to duplicate. Maybe even harder, since most major manufacturers moved to poly finishes by the time the 60's ended or even sooner (Fender switched in 1968, Gibson was still doing a few nitros (Explorers for one) in the '80s). That's where you get the "bowling ball" finish when you try to peel the finish off one of these basses.

There's a very complete site with all kinds of info about Fender manufacturing and finishing over the years. If you want to see pix of what real relics look like, they have every age and variety. If you do any finishing, particularly with nitro, it's an education (and a hoot, if you think Leo and company were in any respect, reverent about how they painted things). http://www.provide.net/~cfh/fender.html

Poly finishes are very hard to wear, don't check (fine, hairline cracks) like nitro and really don't amber with age. Keep in mind, most of the worn or reliced basses that are around are polyester or polyurethane finishes. That's why the bass pictured above, and the real oldies look different.

Nitro can hold up well if it's babied, but if you kick it around a bit, it dings and scratches. Expose it to sunlight and it yellows (ambers). Treated rough, even a good nitro finish will dull up and wear in a year or a little more.

The original Highway basses had a matte acrylic - not nitro finish. I'm sure they will wear fast, as acrylic is soft. Personally, I hate the waxy feel of the acrylic they used. I'll probably own one sooner or later and have always figured I'd redo the finish in nitro. I haven't seen the new "thin nitro" finish, but I'm sure it will wear plenty fast. Whether it will make the new Highways look like vintage Fenders is doubtful. The real old guys have a lot of grime, aged, dried out wood and finish and other crap stuck to them. I strongly doubt that just having a nitro finish wear off a new bass quickly will look the same. ;)
 
#17
spencer said:
Thanks everyone for actually helping me and not calling me a poser. I think im gonna go with the nitro finish and just let it wear itsself in.
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Hey, I'm with you man. I was at the Hollywood Guitar center this summer and fell in love with the beat up 60s Jazzes, but they were all 20 grand.
 
#19
spencer said:
Thanks everyone for actually helping me and not calling me a poser. I think im gonna go with the nitro finish and just let it wear itsself in.
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ya! get yourself a new bass, and playplayplay! you'll be much happier seeing the wear and knowing what all of it's from than faking it. it'll be your baby, your one true love.... and you'll know it's complete history.

i love the look of worn sunbursts as well. heck, i even like the look of worn furniture.
 

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