I'm actually shocked to hear that. I was there a couple of weeks ago picking up a bass uke and a tenor uke that came out great and he was as pleasant as can be. I wonder what his side of the story is?
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Anyone have a bass refinished recently? Who did the work?
- Thread starter FSGrind
- Start date
I had the same experience a few years ago. Had a couple significant issues when I got the bass back that he took zero responsibility for, and he eventually stopped responding to my emails. I wouldn't use him again.
Is @johnk_10 still in the business? He used to be the go-to guy for vintage Fender restorations.
I just got my Jazz Bass back from Pat this week and I can't be happier with the work. He did exactly the colors I asked for $600 and got my bass back in the time he promised (8 weeks, because he was stacked due to the holidays). In addition, I found Pat to be an excellent communicator who kept me in the loop as necessary. When I got a little antsy waiting on my bass just before Christmas (it was already painted but waiting on final polish), Pat told me, "Let's wait just a bit. I don't want to mess your paint up and have to reshoot it again." I appreciated that, and the wait was worth it!
Yup.
I had Lee at GMW to refinish mine at WELCOME TO GMW GUITAR WORKS!!!!
I paid $300 + back and forth shipping for it, the turnaround was quick (about 5 weeks) and the quality is top notch.
He also sent me a sample piece with various yellow to make sure I'll get what I imagined.
And it doesn't matter if you have a custom built boutique piece or an average import body like mine, he treats you like a custom shop.
We exchanged about 60+ emails during the process.
He's the best and Pat Wilkins. However I don't know of they do nitro.
I had Lee at GMW to refinish mine at WELCOME TO GMW GUITAR WORKS!!!!
I paid $300 + back and forth shipping for it, the turnaround was quick (about 5 weeks) and the quality is top notch.
He also sent me a sample piece with various yellow to make sure I'll get what I imagined.
And it doesn't matter if you have a custom built boutique piece or an average import body like mine, he treats you like a custom shop.
We exchanged about 60+ emails during the process.
He's the best and Pat Wilkins. However I don't know of they do nitro.
While I don't doubt those who had unsatisfactory experiences with Pat, he certainly has done a lot of first class work on modern builds with poly or similar finishes. The lack of nitro (Pat was long a hard "no" on it) means I would NOT use or recommend him for vintage finishes as with the OP. Also one should know to expect significantly longer turnaround time with nitro (particularly if wanting realistic checking as part of it - vs razor or compressed air methods).
friskinator is right that johnk_10 also does vintage restorations at a very high level.
There's some others who are really excellent in Europe but I assume OP is in the US.
friskinator is right that johnk_10 also does vintage restorations at a very high level.
There's some others who are really excellent in Europe but I assume OP is in the US.
I'm still waiting on if they are "original"? If they are, I wouldn't even think of a refinish.
He took my details and sent me a quote. I sent him the guitar. He then took 4 times the length he quoted me for the work just to get it started. Whatever...he's busy. Then he sends the invoice for payment and the details are wrong. He painted the headstock when he shouldn't have. He claims I changed my request. I sent him the emails showing I did not and they included his verifications. He blows it off as me being confusing in my email but agrees to fix it for free. Months go by. He emails me to ask if I ever paid. I told him I did not because the work wasn't done. He then says "Oh! thats your guitar thats been sitting in the corner for months! I had no idea who it belonged to". I get the guitar and the finish work is less than stellar and there is a major scratch in the finish. It is obviously not shipping damage based on the type of scratch and the packaging. Its terrible but he blames shipping and says I would need to send it back to him and he would strip and refinish again. That was his one and only offer. I declined and now have a guitar that has a kind of trash finish on it. He even placed the headstock decal in the wrong spot. Never once did he apologize or take responsibility for anything that went wrong on his side. You can ask for his side of the story but it will likely be "I did nothing wrong". Hard to argue with someone with that mentality. Pass.
Pretty much the same as what happened to me.
i've had work done by pat, he's elite and highly recommended when it comes to this sort of thing.
Mine wasn’t as bad, but my headstock had some damage that was definitely not there before I sent it to him. My local tech said it looked like it had been dropped, and not in shipping. I also paid for a setup, and the bass came back with a setup that was completely unplayable. Like strings flat against the frets unplayable. My tech was like “what did this guy do to your bass?” I had to pay him for another setup to correct the problems.
When I contacted Pat, he didn’t acknowledge the setup issues at all and attributed the damage to shipping. Ok, fine. Since he was the return shipper, it was on him to work with FedEx to hopefully get a refund. When I asked about filing a claim, he stopped responding. I was irritated, but I chose to just let it go since it was clear he was done with it.
I know he’s well respected in the business, but this was my experience, and it wasn’t good.
I called Lay's five years ago when I was looking into getting mine refinished and they quoted me some ridiculous price and a wait time of at least 6 months. Elderly was extremely reasonable and the project only took about a month to complete.
I started another thread but it's worth reposting here at least for the OP just to show the attention to detail that Elderly delivered for me. The biggest plus was I didn't have to risk shipping the bass as they are only 90 minutes away from my house.
I've not dealt with Lay's in about 20 years. They were cheap then and the work good and I've seen quality stuff from them more recently but no idea on pricing.
No complaints about Elderly. I've sprayed nitro quite a bit myself and one month is crazy fast turnaround - maybe they have drying lamps or similar.
Ahhh, no. Horrible electronics that buzzed and hummed, crack in the back of the headstock, broken nut, horrible shellac varnish applied to the bare wood when it was sanded down, etc.
sent them a message and they said they are not currently accepting new orders.
They're local to me. I'm dropping off two basses next Saturday for refinish of dings & gouges. Dealing directly with Joe.
Also, they only work on Saturday. Its a side gig.
I’m in E-Town.
Talked to Joe last evening on the telephone. Maybe just not doing orders on-line? Mine are fix up projects not big projects.
Could also be that I scheduled two weeks ago which is a total of three weeks ahead next Saturday.
Last edited:
Since we’re talking refins, I recently had this one done by a local auto body shop. $230 and turnaround time was less than a week. I probably wouldn’t go that route on a 60s Fender, but if you’re in the market for a solid color refin, I suggest talking to some local collision repair shops.
