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F Bass BN5 Refinished

ptidwell

ptidwell

Commercial User
Jun 13, 2005
1,294
177
Los Angeles
Disclosures
Owner LoPHAT Cabinets & Amplification
#1
Well I had my F Bass refinished because the nitros was wearing off (especially on the pickups) and i couldn't find any here in So. Cal who will shoot nitroscellous apparently from the feedback I got nitros is illegal in CA. So i had talked to George and it was way to expensive to ship it to Canada to paint, so I began my search for a quality finisher an eight miles away in IMO the best refinisher in the country in Pat Wilkins (does all the Sadowsky's (USA) Man this thing is georgeous. I fell like I got a new bass all over again, he also did a fantastic setup job on it too. The action is much lower and fast. Anyway here are some before and after shoots. BTW he shot this in with poly.

Before:Teal
After: Natural


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FBassBN5RefinishedBody2.jpg
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#2
He did a very nice job on the F.

Question for you....Do you notice any tone difference since this is now finished in Poly?

Some say it's a big difference.

Rob
 
#3
Awesome finish! It looks great natural. I looked at the pic's before I read your post and thought that it was pic's of two different basses!

The finish he put on should be much more durable than the std. Fbass finish. That's one of the few cons that I had with my Fbass.
 
#4
dragonbass said:
Very Nice job he did on the F.

Question for you....Do you notice any tone difference since this is now finished in Poly?

Some say it's a big difference.

Rob
Click to expand...
dragonbass,
I was without the bass for about five weeks, and at first I said it sounds really different, but during that time I bought an DB750 that attributed to the change in sound I run the amp flat and let the pre do the work. From a setting standpoint I dial in my standard configuration and my tone is right there.
So I don't naotice a definable difference in the tone.
Pat told me that there was a lot of paint on the bass, and that it was a chore to strip it down, also he said that it didn't have the same smell as other nitros bodies he has stripped (this was his first refinish of an F Bass) indicating that there was a lot of water in the base.
 
#5
JOME77 said:
Awesome finish! It looks great natural. I looked at the pic's before I read your post and thought that it was pic's of two different basses!

The finish he put on should be much more durable than the std. Fbass finish. That's one of the few cons that I had with my Fbass.
Click to expand...

Joe
+1 that was my con as well.
This finish will hold up I am sure.
 
#8
Schwaa said:
Looks great both way IMO. But I do like that natural, very classy. How much did the refinish run ya?
Click to expand...

It was $495.00 which include the tear down and the setup.
It would have been about $800.00 if I had sent it to George just to refinish the pickups.
 
#11
Congratulations. The Bass looks spectacular.
George always seems to have Wood w. fabulous figuring, whether it's tinted or natural. In your Bass' case, I believe the look is enhanced by going natural. A stunning choice; play it proudly.
 
#17
Does the color and nitro. have to be stripped off in order to refin. with poly.? My pickups got a little scratched up and my F is less than a year old. I've since lowered them to prevent further wear. Your bass looks great! I wish Pat was closer to GA!
 
#19
Dave Hill said:
Does the color and nitro. have to be stripped off in order to refin. with poly.? My pickups got a little scratched up and my F is less than a year old. I've since lowered them to prevent further wear. Your bass looks great! I wish Pat was closer to GA!
Click to expand...
Just take the neck off and ship it, maybe $20 shipping?
 
#20
Dave Hill said:
Does the color and nitro. have to be stripped off in order to refin. with poly.? My pickups got a little scratched up and my F is less than a year old. I've since lowered them to prevent further wear. Your bass looks great! I wish Pat was closer to GA!
Click to expand...

Dave,

My originally plan was to do just the pickups, but since he had to take the pickups out to access the covers, and yes, strip and sand the down to paint with poly. That was about $175, so I asked how much for the whole bass, and here it is finished. If you want to check out Pat's work here is his URL http://www.wilkinsguitars.com/contact.html
 

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