Busy summer - my SR5 is showing it!

[Brother Goose]

Dude- that is crazy!

I am a HUGE fan of that Grape-Ape finish!

Good luck getting it fixed!

 

[A-Step-Towards]

What years ? I have had many late 90s early 2000s with paint issues such as this

 

[Manticore]

Yes, this has happened to me. The finish on the back of my go-to Alembic is gone now. Heat and sweat check the finish. The finish will eventually fell off most on the back. (For those wondering: no, it isn't belt buckle rash.) It has also happened on the top of the lower bout where my arm rests. It also has happened to a lesser degree on my Ric. My left thumb wore all the finish off of the back of the Ric's neck as well. It happens. It is a sign of a well-loved instrument.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

Contact EBMM & see if they'll do anything for you.
If not, just take some sandpaper to it & bust those blisters off, then start working out the scratches with finer & finer grit, finishing up with a little rubbing compound & maybe waxing it.

but that's just what I'd do

If you really want it refinished, take it to your pal who does automotive painting, or the guy who does finished furniture.
Imagine how cool it would look if you just removed all the finish on the back & put a clear sealer on it.

 

[el_Bajo_Verde]

To be honest, I'd just rock the heck out of it, there's nothing more beautiful than natural, hard-earned road wear!

 

[alembicguy]

Looks like blistering from a heat source. Just my two cents.

 

[Todd mason]

No i bought it used or traded for it - can't remember - it's at least 15 years old. The finish just started doing this a couple of months ago. I'll contact eb and see but it's only on the back for now so I'm not too worried about it.

 

[Todd mason]

Wow. Have other basses blistered on you in the past? EBMM are an excellent company - send them a picture and email. Purple pigments may be finicky.

No i have an older black SR5 fretless and the back is great.

 

[madbass6]

I tend to sweat a lot when i play and the back of my beloved GrapeRay 5 is chipping and flaking! Pretty sure it's because of the bass resting against my body. I always wipe it off after each set and will often change shirts between sets but I'm not sure what i can do to fix the problem. Anyone else have this problem? View attachment 2780725[/QUOTE
are you sweating Acid!!?

 

[scowboy]

My old ‘98 Stingray 5 had the same problem. I wish I never sold that one. It was an issue they had for some years. It was on the back and I never cared that much about it to pay Pat Wilkins $400 or $500 to respray it.

 

[Geri O]

I’ve had a 1998, 2001, 2004, and now, a 1999 SR5. None of them have shown any signs of finish issues like that. And the 1999 has been played a LOT outside this year.

However, a guitar player buddy (yes, there’s such a thing...) in a band has a Music Man Big Al guitar and it was doing exactly that on the back. I told him to let it be, or at least, superglue the edges of the finish that were loose to stop further loosening of the finish. But he took it to one of the local (non)guitar techs who sanded it down and made a royal mess of the back. Thankfully, the damage (and the awful repair) is confined to the back of the guitar. Too bad, too, it’s one of the best-sounding Guitars I’ve ever heard and it’s been autographed by Albert Lee himself just above the control plate. That’s why my buddy won’t have it completely refinished.

And I certainly don’t blame him.

 

[andruca]

Excess heat can definitely produce paint delamination like that. OTOH I have both a 1997 and a 2003 SR5s and the oldest (trans teal finish) has been gigged to death at extreme conditions (plenty of love marks, fortunately none on its lovely birdseye neck) and playing only fingerstyle both at belly and chest height (lots of sweat from my head, which sweats more than any other part of my body). Lately I'm into HC (picked, waist or even lower height, so now I'm more worried about buckle wear). Never had such blistering. IDK much about EB's finishing processes but someone wiser might chime in, is it more likely that solid color finishes are more prone to this? (both mine are translucent -the other being trans blue-)

 

[Fender_Bender]

Once you have bare wood showing it's over with any attempts to minimize more damage. Moisture will get in, swell the wood and create more blisters. Now that the horses are out of the barn, next time make sure the bass is wiped down and dry before putting it into a case or bag.

 

[wintremute]

NOT THE PURPLE BASS! For the love of humanity, somebody do something!


#ThoughtsAndPrayers

 

[Captain Chaos]

Do you sweat acid or something? lol

 

[A-Step-Towards]

I see the serial number now, I have had 4 stingrays with these issues and they only get worse. They were doing something wrng back then paint wise, I have a SR5 in the classifieds that has paint issues, sold a black 1998 same issues and i had 2 2001 models same issue and I have seen another 2000 model with these issues.

 

[Todd mason]

Looked it up on mm site. April 2000 was born on date. As long as it's not bubbling on the front I'll prolly just leave it as is.

 

[4001]

It looks like the paint did not adhere properly and it has blistered.

 

[eastcoasteddie]

This is nothing new. I remember another member posting similar images of his red Stingray not too long ago. He stated that the condition appeared after a lot of heavy gigging. A lot of the same questions and comments were posted as well...
I have even seen worse issues with SR paint, but very few...

Found the post I referred to:

Music Man bass paint flaking off

 

[mikew31]

Do you sweat acid or something? lol

(pushing up nerd glasses) Most people's sweat has a pH level in 4.5-5.5 range, so yes, we sweat acid.