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Another johnK_10 P-Bass project!
- Thread starter sd5
- Start date
I just talked to John and apparently, he's been putting in plenty of time on my bass anyway. 
The wood in that body has really hard areas and really porous areas in the grain, so he's had to apply Fullerplast and sand it down over and over to get it to the point where the grain won't show under the metallic paint (LPB). Last time I e-mailed him, he said he expected to get it into the paint booth this past Thursday, now he hopes to get it there this Thursday. Says it'll probably be a couple of weeks more before there'll be any pictures of it. Oh, well - the neck's still on back order from All Parts, anyway. I'm sure the end result will be well worth the wait! 
The wood in that body has really hard areas and really porous areas in the grain, so he's had to apply Fullerplast and sand it down over and over to get it to the point where the grain won't show under the metallic paint (LPB). Last time I e-mailed him, he said he expected to get it into the paint booth this past Thursday, now he hopes to get it there this Thursday. Says it'll probably be a couple of weeks more before there'll be any pictures of it. Oh, well - the neck's still on back order from All Parts, anyway. I'm sure the end result will be well worth the wait!
I don't know about that, but he figures he now knows why there was so much sealer on it to begin with.
- Feb 16, 2008
- 21,240
- 23,638
- Disclosures
- John K Custom Basses
I just talked to John and apparently, he's been putting in plenty of time on my bass anyway.
spoke with allparts on thursday and they told me the necks finally arrived so it should be here this coming week.
BTW, the body is also finally in the booth and is looking great. it ended up taking 8 coats of fullerplast to completely seal the grain and get it perfectly smooth. i sanded it between every coat so that the sealer would as thin as possible (to make it as lightweight of a finish as possible since it's such a heavy piece of ash.
- Feb 16, 2008
- 21,240
- 23,638
- Disclosures
- John K Custom Basses
Welcome back John. I've always found you a wealth of knowledge and a pleasure to have a round here.
Guess that is far as I can go without getting swatted.
Guess that is far as I can go without getting swatted.
- Feb 16, 2008
- 21,240
- 23,638
- Disclosures
- John K Custom Basses
thanks guys! 
Welcome back John. I've always found you a wealth of knowledge and a pleasure to have a round here.
Guess that is far as I can go without getting swatted.
- Feb 16, 2008
- 21,240
- 23,638
- Disclosures
- John K Custom Basses
i just got off the phone with allparts and they're (finally) shipping the neck for it today.
YES!!
Thanks, John
More props to JohnK and his work. If this sounds like an advertisement, instead just use this as an idea of what is possible with an old clunker of a bass!
Bought this '75 P-Bass many years ago for about $600. It was lonely in the corner of a store, surrounded by a dozen or more 60's Fender basses. I played them all, and this one was BY FAR the best instrument for the money! The finish was not my thing (most all of my basses are natural finishes). Also, the finish on the neck was flaking off causing a sharp edge.
I finally got around to having my baby fixed up. New natural (slight amber) finish, neck smoothed out, etc. Also - the pickup that was in my bass was 1/2 original and 1/2 something completely not original. John put in a reissue replacement (we're keeping what used to be in there... just in case somehow this mismatched pickup was indeed my "signature" sound - ha ha).
A true Hollywood Bass Makeover/Facelift. My apologies to those who are offended with removing original finishes. It was not an easy decision but I have no intention on ever selling this bass.
Bought this '75 P-Bass many years ago for about $600. It was lonely in the corner of a store, surrounded by a dozen or more 60's Fender basses. I played them all, and this one was BY FAR the best instrument for the money! The finish was not my thing (most all of my basses are natural finishes). Also, the finish on the neck was flaking off causing a sharp edge.
I finally got around to having my baby fixed up. New natural (slight amber) finish, neck smoothed out, etc. Also - the pickup that was in my bass was 1/2 original and 1/2 something completely not original. John put in a reissue replacement (we're keeping what used to be in there... just in case somehow this mismatched pickup was indeed my "signature" sound - ha ha).
A true Hollywood Bass Makeover/Facelift. My apologies to those who are offended with removing original finishes. It was not an easy decision but I have no intention on ever selling this bass.
Attachments
- Feb 16, 2008
- 21,240
- 23,638
- Disclosures
- John K Custom Basses
yeah, i really tried to talk him out of refinishing it, but he wouldn't take no for an answer.
the neck was in pretty rough shape as the super thick poly was flaking off in chunks. i almost cut my fingers on the edges of the neck.
what we were going for was the color of an alder 60's bass (like guys used to do in the 60's), even though this one was ash, so i tinted the clear undercoats to achieve that color.
the body was first sealed with Fullerplast, then the nitro tint was shot, and finally 8 coats of clear nitro.
the neck was smoothed down, with wood bleach used to lighten up the black worn thru areas, then sealed with poly (same as the the original finish).
the guard is a '62 AV RI, dyed to a reddish color and then re-buffed to appear more like the color of the mid/late 60's tort guards.
it plays like butter now.
the neck was in pretty rough shape as the super thick poly was flaking off in chunks. i almost cut my fingers on the edges of the neck.
what we were going for was the color of an alder 60's bass (like guys used to do in the 60's), even though this one was ash, so i tinted the clear undercoats to achieve that color.
the body was first sealed with Fullerplast, then the nitro tint was shot, and finally 8 coats of clear nitro.
the neck was smoothed down, with wood bleach used to lighten up the black worn thru areas, then sealed with poly (same as the the original finish).
the guard is a '62 AV RI, dyed to a reddish color and then re-buffed to appear more like the color of the mid/late 60's tort guards.
it plays like butter now.
