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Deglossing a bass body

#82
been doing this for years, never knew that there was a " method " ( i've never been one who reads instructons & follows along, i just make up my mind, & do )

my first,

DSCF0020-1.jpg


my latest,

DSC01008_zps373f5ff2.jpg
 
#86
I'm doing it right now, but I'm unsure how far I need to go. When is it enough?


Ok, how many layers are there?
I'm starting to doubt that this was a good idea. (See picture 2...)
 

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#88
RyanJD said:
Argh. Sorry for so many posts in a row. I can't add another photo to my last post from my phone.

So yeah. I'm not sure what I'm doing. Lol.
Click to expand...

First it will look worse before it gets better. You're looking fine, just keep going.

It is a lot of work but it will look great when you are finished.

That poly is very thick - you are only taking off the shiny finish.

Just be patient, don't get frustrated, and you will get there - no doubt.

Just do it under good lights, and let the sander cool down every 15 minutes (I put a fan blowing on it - the sanding foot gets pretty hot.)

Feel free to ask as many questions as you want -

There is no turning back now!
 
#89
I just took a better look at picture #2 - yeah, you went through the finish on the contours.

You can't really do that on the flat surfaces, but the corners and contours you have all the pressure of the sander focused on a small area instead of across the entire foot.

At this point I would finish the job and see what you've got. Could still look cool. Otherwise there are lots of threads about refinishing, so maybe you end up doing a Re-Ranch refinish.
 
#90
i NEVER use a power sander on ANY finish, unless i want to remove the finish down to the primer

i hand sand everything, as you're just trying to remove the clearcoat, ( & it's pretty thin on most basses, & VERY thin on all contours )

1 sheet of 1000 grit will easily do 1 bass

top that off by using scotchbrite

fini
 
#92
SolarMan said:
I just took a better look at picture #2 - yeah, you went through the finish on the contours.

You can't really do that on the flat surfaces, but the corners and contours you have all the pressure of the sander focused on a small area instead of across the entire foot.

At this point I would finish the job and see what you've got. Could still look cool. Otherwise there are lots of threads about refinishing, so maybe you end up doing a Re-Ranch refinish.
Click to expand...

Dang it! I'm too impatient!
:rollno:

How did you do the sides and contours? Back and forth?
 
#93
RyanJD said:
Dang it! I'm too impatient!
:rollno:

How did you do the sides and contours? Back and forth?
Click to expand...

Yes, and still get some circular motion going as much as you can. Do it under a good light and you can see the moment when the gloss is gone. And really lighten up on the pressure - your eyes will tell you when enough is taken off.

Slow, steady, and yes, patient!

You can also use #0000 steel wool by hand - but don't get it anywhere near the pickups. Tiny steel fibers will attach to the magnets and it becomes virtually impossible to get them off.
 
#94
ya know,,

there's alot of people out there who don't know or understand the painting & finishing process for musical instruments ( or really anything for that matter ). it is a process in & of itself.

& removing part of that finish is also a process.

just because you see joe shmoe do it on some stupid video,, doesn't mean that you can do it. you can certainly learn to do it, but you're probably gonna ruin the finish on alot of basses until you figure it out.

i think ( imho ) encouraging total noobs to use a power tool to alter the finish of their instruments is VERY BAD ADVISE ( ie; photo in post # 87 )

people,, if you're going to try this,, do it BY HAND ( sans power tool ) so you can learn the process slowly, & understand that using very light pressure works very well indeed. & try it on a piece of junk,, something you can learn on.
 
#95
NorCal Dog said:
ya know,,

there's alot of people out there who don't know or understand the painting & finishing process for musical instruments ( or really anything for that matter ). it is a process in & of itself.

& removing part of that finish is also a process.

just because you see joe shmoe do it on some stupid video,, doesn't mean that you can do it. you can certainly learn to do it, but you're probably gonna ruin the finish on alot of basses until you figure it out.

i think ( imho ) encouraging total noobs to use a power tool to alter the finish of their instruments is VERY BAD ADVISE ( ie; photo in post # 87 )

people,, if you're going to try this,, do it BY HAND ( sans power tool ) so you can learn the process slowly, & understand that using very light pressure works very well indeed. & try it on a piece of junk,, something you can learn on.
Click to expand...

I'm very capable of making my own decisions.
I bought the bass as a project instrument and as an opportunity to learn and I'm treating it as such.
No one encouraged me to do this, I was inspired when I saw SolarMan's posts and I felt like giving it a shot.

I'm a little upset with myself that I did it wrong, but I'm not worried about it.
And I'm going to keep going with the sander because it's efficient.

Thanks for your concern though.
 
#96
RyanJD said:
And I'm going to keep going with the sander because it's efficient.
Click to expand...

i will agree with that,, it very efficiently went thru the clearcoat, & thru the colorcoat, down to the primer, & destroyed the finish.

i can probably do a body & headstock ( the slow way ) by hand in about 2 hours, using the correct materials to do the job.

i do encourage you to learn the correct procedures while working with finished painted surfaces. it will save you alot of headaches, time & cash in your future projects.

it's a learning process,, good luck :)
 
#97
SolarMan said:
Great job! That thing is gorgeous!
Click to expand...

thanks - and as long as your patient, it's not that difficult to get good results. I did it using steel wool (1-0000) and those 3M sanding pads (pinkish lavender perforated soft sponge-like material-400) and just took my time. I've seen many pics de-glossing while the components are still attached and would highly recommend completely taking out/off all parts so you can work on the body alone. Especially as you have already pointed out the pu's, as tiny steel wool nubs will 'flock' to the poles. (a pain to remove)

I plan on leaving on the tort guard but could see a mirror guard looking especially good against the satin black.
 
#98
I'm going to be doing this with my Squier VM Jazz. I'll be doing it by hand, mostly because I don't feel like spending the cash on a power sander. Quick question: are either of the following appropriate for this endeavor: Invalid Link Removed
Invalid Link Removed

...or are these far too fine to take that gloss off effectively? Would I be better off using a finer sand paper? Plus I have no interest in keeping any real shine to the bass, I'm trying to remove the ridiculous sheen/shine of this bass to begin with!

Thanks in advance for any advice.
 
#99
godblender said:
I'm going to be doing this with my Squier VM Jazz. I'll be doing it by hand, mostly because I don't feel like spending the cash on a power sander. Quick question: are either of the following appropriate for this endeavor: Invalid Link Removed
Invalid Link Removed

...or are these far too fine to take that gloss off effectively? Would I be better off using a finer sand paper? Plus I have no interest in keeping any real shine to the bass, I'm trying to remove the ridiculous sheen/shine of this bass to begin with!

Thanks in advance for any advice.
Click to expand...

You can save (mail-order) time & money by getting steel-wool and the 3M pads at your local hardware store.
 
#100
SolarMan said:
Yes, and still get some circular motion going as much as you can. Do it under a good light and you can see the moment when the gloss is gone. And really lighten up on the pressure - your eyes will tell you when enough is taken off.

Slow, steady, and yes, patient!

You can also use #0000 steel wool by hand - but don't get it anywhere near the pickups. Tiny steel fibers will attach to the magnets and it becomes virtually impossible to get them off.
Click to expand...

I went over that silver spot again that you see on the contour of the bottom of the body, just because.
Turns out there is another layer of paint under it.
Why are there so many layers!?

I guess I'll just take it all off down to that layer.
This is going to take a while.
No wonder that guy on the Les Paul forums said he spent 9 hours on it.
 

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