Am I being picky? Micro scratches on ordered body

[pbass2]

Eww...yeh sandpaper is not a natural relic.....On the plus side the pickguard saved you.

That's what I was thinking. I don't recall bassists of yesteryear wearing 30-grit shirts.

 

[pcake]

the scratches don't appear anything like actual older relic'ed basses or guitars i've seen - more like a sandpaper rubdown.

i'd have already sent it back. good luck!

 

[DigitalMan]

Looks terrible. There's no natural way to wear a bass finish like that *especially* in the case where all the scratches now disappear under the pickguard, because it's now obvious that the wear was done synthetically with the pickguard removed.

 

[themickster]

Hi everyone! I'm building a parts p bass, and I recently ordered a black nitro body that seemed to have a very light relic... only a few bumps and some checking.

I received the package last night, and while I was surprised at a couple of scratches that seemed odd even in a relic body, I thought the body looked okay.

After looking at it this morning with more daylight, I noticed tons of micro scratches throughout the body. Almost as if someone took fine sandpaper to it. Not too happy with that look.

Is this expected? Am I being too picky? I have a 70s and an 80s bass that have been abused through the years, and neither shows this type of wear. Pictures below: one angled to highlight the scratches and a more direct one. Thoughts?

View attachment 4813080 View attachment 4813078

The ad does say 'relic'.

 

[johnh89]

Seriously ! $350 for that . You have had your pants pulled down . Better buy it unpainted and mess it up yourself . Why would you pay for someone to do a job that they are clearly incapable of doing?

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Pic #2 looks good. If you ordered "light relic", then you probably got that but you don't agree on what "light relic" means with the seller. At least communicate back to the seller that you're not happy with the relic. The scuffing was probably meant to take away the new, glossy sheen but it's poorly executed.

 

[funkinbottom]

tools and time arent really an issue with buffing this out.

if you have never done this before, it is way quicker and easier than you may think.

if you have hands and a soft cloth, then you have the tools you need.

about 15-20 min hand buffing with meguiars 105 compound will have that looking drastically better. 105 is a pretty aggressive compound and nitro is soft.

105 will leave a good shiny surface. if you want it mirror polish, you would follow up with 205 compound. but it really wont be neccesary for a light relic.

Exactly, doesn't take long at all. Meguiars is a great product.

 

[johnh89]

send it to me and i'll mess it up good and proper for a couple of pints . Or even refinish it properly for a couple more .

 

[trickyric]

Hi everyone! I'm building a parts p bass, and I recently ordered a black nitro body that seemed to have a very light relic... only a few bumps and some checking.

I received the package last night, and while I was surprised at a couple of scratches that seemed odd even in a relic body, I thought the body looked okay.

After looking at it this morning with more daylight, I noticed tons of micro scratches throughout the body. Almost as if someone took fine sandpaper to it. Not too happy with that look.

Is this expected? Am I being too picky? I have a 70s and an 80s bass that have been abused through the years, and neither shows this type of wear. Pictures below: one angled to highlight the scratches and a more direct one. Thoughts?

View attachment 4813080 View attachment 4813078

the second pic looks like temperature micro cracks. Going from extreme cold to warm to fast.. or wood shrinking that caused cracks in the finish.. that is not okay as far as I am concerned.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Hi everyone! I'm building a parts p bass, and I recently ordered a black nitro body that seemed to have a very light relic... only a few bumps and some checking.

I received the package last night, and while I was surprised at a couple of scratches that seemed odd even in a relic body, I thought the body looked okay.

After looking at it this morning with more daylight, I noticed tons of micro scratches throughout the body. Almost as if someone took fine sandpaper to it. Not too happy with that look.

Is this expected? Am I being too picky? I have a 70s and an 80s bass that have been abused through the years, and neither shows this type of wear. Pictures below: one angled to highlight the scratches and a more direct one. Thoughts?

View attachment 4813080 View attachment 4813078

Just hit it with a chain a few times, and wipe some poly on it.

He gave you the finish you asked for. He just sucks at it.

 

[Killing Floor]

Back in the olde days they didn’t use 40 grit.

 

[elgranluis]

I'm not sure if it's worth it since the body cost ~350 and I won't recover shipping costs, but at this point I think I'm leaning toward returning it. I also don't have the necessary tools (or time or desire to be honest) to buff it out. It is very true that the lighting doesn't help, but I took it in that angle to illustrate just how much there is. It's still pretty visible...
@Smooth_bass88 -- my mindset keeps going back and forth between this and saying why should I care?

you don’t need tools to buff it out , just a six pack of beer , some polishing compound , and a couple of hours on Sunday.

350 would seem to me like a reasonable price for what you received.

 

[CBRXJ]

Being too picky, looks good with the pick guard on it.

 

[EagleMoon]

Just the fact you’re asking on here tells me you’re not going to be happy with it so I would send it back.

 

[Bigbri]

Maybe, relic it up a bit more to cover those areas exposed after pickguard

It looks like it was lightly sanded to dull the new clear coat shine. Did you pay extra for that? If you want to see nice relicing jobs, check out Sandberg. that look is worth paying for. I definitly have one of those on my list.

 

[Bigbri]

I think you got what was advertised .
My Sandberg has a light relic job . It’s has no checking but some very light scratches and swirls that could easily be buffed out. You have to look really close to even see them.

Sandberg's heavy relics look amazing.

 

[DwaynieAD]

So wait did you order a light relic or did you not, because you've now said both in this thread.

It looks like crap either way but if you ordered something lightly relic'd the only leg you have to stand on is buyers remorse

 

[bassydrums]

I said I ordered new while advertised as lightly relic’d. No different than going to MJT site or their eBay shop and buying something already in stock. The two are not mutually exclusive.

 

[KevInDaBassment]

Maybe I read this in another TB'ers post...but did you say all the seller offers is some level of relic for nitro finishes?

I guess my confusion is from wondering why they would only sell that particular condition for nitro-finished basses. Not knocking the concept of a relic'd bass, just seems odd that all they would sell is something with that kind of feature on it when I wouldn't call it unanimously well-received.

 

[deepestend]

Exactly, doesn't take long at all. Meguiars is a great product.

I recently did a quick rattle can nitro job on an old body at home and polished it up with Mothers and a rag. Might take out some of those scratches: https://www.amazon.com/Mothers-05101-Mag-Aluminum-Polish/dp/B0009H519Y