DIRTY 75 P...would ya???

[carlos840]

I say whatever doesnt go away with a light wash and polish is part of the bass!
I wouldnt try to buff it to much or refinish it, its an old finish, its been around for while and it has a history! Leave it as it is and add your chapter to it.

 

[Dark Horse]

Congrats - they don't have to be "pretty" to be "great" !



(WD40 will clean a lot of gook too)

 

[bassbully]

NICE...great end to a cool story..enjoy it.

 

[kcole4001]

Very cool!
I'd still refinish, personally, but that's me.
Sounds like it's gonna be a kickass player bass.

 

[Spinal Tapper]

hey there..I used to do a lot of furniture restoration, and while I never tried this on a bass, you might want to give it a shot on a small area. Its literally a secret weapon for cleaning and reviving all finishes on wood:
One part vinegar
One part pure turpentine
One part Boiled linseed oil
Apply with OOO steel wool and it might work wonders. It will clean and restore.
I would love to know if it works on guitar finishes.

that sounds frightening... but thanks for the suggestion.

I'm going to pick up some Goo-Gone at the store today. I heard it works well. I'll try a little on the back first.

 

[Spinal Tapper]

Very cool!
I'd still refinish, personally, but that's me.
Sounds like it's gonna be a kickass player bass.

I'm certainly considering it. The thing that sucks is, a professional job would cost me as much as I spent on the bass, maybe more...and I dont have that kinda cash right now

It would be cool to change it to any color I'd want. I think I'd do some kind of gold/rust color.

 

[Spinal Tapper]

I say whatever doesnt go away with a light wash and polish is part of the bass!
I wouldnt try to buff it to much or refinish it, its an old finish, its been around for while and it has a history! Leave it as it is and add your chapter to it.

That's the plan indeed. I like the original black color too - wouldn't be my first choice if I end up refinishing it, but it has nice weathering/checking. Lots of character. I'd like to leave it.

The worst "trouble-spot" is the big hunk of scrapage right around the upper horn. It looks like there was a paper sticker there and then someone tried to scrape it off with a butter knife. It's a horrid mix of old goo and scuffs/scrapes

 

[Spinal Tapper]

Congrats - they don't have to be "pretty" to be "great" !



(WD40 will clean a lot of gook too)

I think even this bass would impress YOU, DH.

Killer player for the money I spent. Sounds amazing too. I forgot how bright maple necks are

WD40, huh? I read that too somewhere. Well, i don't own either at the moment, should I buy WD40 or Goo Gone?

 

[kcole4001]

You may be able to buff out most of the scraped part.
Since you are partial to the old finish, then maybe it'll turn out well enough to keep as is after a good cleanup.

 

[Spinal Tapper]

You may be able to buff out most of the scraped part.
Since you are partial to the old finish, then maybe it'll turn out well enough to keep as is after a good cleanup.

That's what I'm hoping for. What would I use to buff the finish?

 

[jaywa]

That godawful daisy came off a lot better than I thought it would. It already looks much better. And will be even more so with all its knobs!

Was the seller able to come up with any of the chrome? And/or have you tried putting on that 60s bridge cover yet?

 

[Spinal Tapper]

That godawful daisy came off a lot better than I thought it would. It already looks much better. And will be even more so with all its knobs!

Was the seller able to come up with any of the chrome? And/or have you tried putting on that 60s bridge cover yet?

Nah, they didn't have anything to "throw in" with the bass. Just the case (which actually had another knob that didn't match, and a case key inside).

I'm going to try to clean it up a bit more before I try on the bridge cover. I think it's going to fit, but I kind of like how raw the bass looks without it.

Funny you mentioned that about the daisy. I haven't done anything to try to erase it off there yet. I think the pictures she sent me that I posted earlier are just bad pictures of the bass. The finish looks way worse in those photos than in person. Really, it's just a cloudy finish. I plan on polishing it up a bit after I goo-gone the sucker.

Also, something I didn't mention earlier, but the back of the bass in the sun almost looks like it has a green tint to it. Did these black finishes age the way Oly white does (turning yellow) where it almost starts to take on another color? Is this possible?

It's not noticeable unless you're standing in the direct sunlight, but it definitely looks greenish...weird

 

[jaywa]

Also, something I didn't mention earlier, but the back of the bass in the sun almost looks like it has a green tint to it. Did these black finishes age the way Oly white does (turning yellow) where it almost starts to take on another color? Is this possible?

It's not noticeable unless you're standing in the direct sunlight, but it definitely looks greenish...weird

Kinda like the dark cloudy green of a really murky, icky lake? Very possible. The back of my black 78 P looks the same way, but only in direct sunlight. Indoors or under regular bar or stage lighting it still looks nice and black except for the area of persistent "haziness" where my sweaty forearm has rested all these years.

 

[jaywa]

hey there..I used to do a lot of furniture restoration, and while I never tried this on a bass, you might want to give it a shot on a small area. Its literally a secret weapon for cleaning and reviving all finishes on wood:
One part vinegar
One part pure turpentine
One part Boiled linseed oil

Damn, that sounds positively toxic. But if it works...

Definitely will be doing that project out in the garage.

 

[Spinal Tapper]

Kinda like the dark cloudy green of a really murky, icky lake? Very possible. The back of my black 78 P looks the same way, but only in direct sunlight. Indoors or under regular bar or stage lighting it still looks nice and black except for the area of persistent "haziness" where my sweaty forearm has rested all these years.

That's EXACTLY what I'm referring to. It's like a swampy, murky greenish black color. You nailed it. My friend who came with me actually pointed it out. I hadn't noticed it until we took the bass out in the sun after I bought it. Totally gives it character though, I dig it

 

[DutchDude]

So you finished cleaning yet?


The classic black black and maple looks killer btw!

 

[Spinal Tapper]

So you finished cleaning yet?


The classic black black and maple looks killer btw!

Thanks, I love the B/B/Maple as well! Don't think I'll be refinishing it, for a long time, at least.

Probably won't have time to start cleaning it until tomorrow. And the CVS across the street doesn't carry Goo-Gone, so the search begins for that.

Honestly, I've just been playing the crap out of this bass...I jammed it all day yesterday through my headphones (which is something I rarely do). I did a tweak on the truss rod and got the action nice and low how I like it. Inotation is perfect, PU's are HOT. This thing is ready to go!

 

[jmorbita]

That's EXACTLY what I'm referring to. It's like a swampy, murky greenish black color. You nailed it. My friend who came with me actually pointed it out. I hadn't noticed it until we took the bass out in the sun after I bought it. Totally gives it character though, I dig it

well, i did see the green on the back on one of the pictures you posted earlier, but I thought that was my computer monitor playing tricks on me...

 

[Spinal Tapper]

well, i did see the green on the back on one of the pictures you posted earlier, but I thought that was my computer monitor playing tricks on me...

LOL, same here. I thought it was just from the camera flash or something. The green is definitely there...pretty cool though

 

[A-Step-Towards]

I'd leave the finish and keep playing it hard, if it gets really bad at that point I would do a tear down and restore it with filling in the jazz route, fixing the extra hole in the guard and a repaint in correct color.