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Finally got the nerve to post my 5 string's new paint job
- Thread starter JimmyM
- Start date
The datedness of the maple through red is mirrored in the datedness of the contrasting grain fill partially transparent finish. We just aren't currently tired of the latter. Hip is the same thing as dated in a few years. The hipper you are today the more out of fashion you will be in a few years.
View attachment 4202294
The bass on the left used to look like this. Made by the Guitar Factory in Orlando circa 1991. Started out deep red, decided I didn't like it anymore, stripped it and coated it with tung oil. Has Schaller tuners, EMG PJ/BQC, and Kahler fixed bridge. And now, it looks like this:
View attachment 4202297
View attachment 4202298
Last summer, I wanted to learn a little something about finishing, and got interested in ceruse finishes. Ebonized my 76P's ash body first, though. Thought about stripping it and cerusing it, then got the idea to do that to my 5 because of how much grain there is in the mahogany wings. So I thought about some things I could do, and the wife and I batted some ideas around. The base had to be black since I look so good with black basses. But I wasn't sure about what cerusing wax I wanted to use. Then I saw a cheap tube of gold flake cerusing wax at Hobby Lobby. Bam!
I dyed the body and headstock black, and started filling in the grain all over the body, but I didn't like how it looked in the maple of the neck. So I wiped out the gold from the maple and made it all black and only cerused the mahogany. You can see it better in these shots:
View attachment 4202299
View attachment 4202301
I ended up fixing that rough spot on the back body, but never did new shots. Then I got a job that ended up taking up way too much time to try and paint a clear finish on it, so I left it as is. Made the back of the neck look like it was sanded...sort of.
Then I bought a Schaller bridge for it that would have left holes, so I had to leave that monstrous Kahler on it since I simply could not have holes. Weighs way too much and is way too tough to adjust, but it's set now and I'm not changing it so it's all good. It was kind of overcast when I took those pics, but the gold, while turning out a bit duller than I hoped, does give a nice little sheen to the black without being so shiny under lights that it's distracting.
I think I'm happy
Really nice job Jimmy.
This is where my color scheme was genius. It comes off easily enough and can be redone when it's no longer hip. But since it's mahogany, much busier than the usual ash/spalted ceruse finishes, and the grain isn't contrasting but gold metal flake, I think I'll get plenty of hip miles out of it.
Thx guys...glad most of you are digging it! I don't know why more people don't ceruse mahogany. The grain is so small and plentiful that it lends itself to so much more color-wise. I had some real good ideas for doing other projects until I got a real job. I have another Guitar Factory bass too, but it's still got the factory nitro finish, otherwise it looks pretty similar color-wise to the stripped finish. It just barely missed out on being an experiment
Absolutely beautiful. Wow.View attachment 4202294
The bass on the left used to look like this. Made by the Guitar Factory in Orlando circa 1991. Started out deep red, decided I didn't like it anymore, stripped it and coated it with tung oil. Has Schaller tuners, EMG PJ/BQC, and Kahler fixed bridge. And now, it looks like this:
View attachment 4202297
View attachment 4202298
Last summer, I wanted to learn a little something about finishing, and got interested in ceruse finishes. Ebonized my 76P's ash body first, though. Thought about stripping it and cerusing it, then got the idea to do that to my 5 because of how much grain there is in the mahogany wings. So I thought about some things I could do, and the wife and I batted some ideas around. The base had to be black since I look so good with black basses. But I wasn't sure about what cerusing wax I wanted to use. Then I saw a cheap tube of gold flake cerusing wax at Hobby Lobby. Bam!
I dyed the body and headstock black, and started filling in the grain all over the body, but I didn't like how it looked in the maple of the neck. So I wiped out the gold from the maple and made it all black and only cerused the mahogany. You can see it better in these shots:
View attachment 4202299
View attachment 4202301
I ended up fixing that rough spot on the back body, but never did new shots. Then I got a job that ended up taking up way too much time to try and paint a clear finish on it, so I left it as is. Made the back of the neck look like it was sanded...sort of.
Then I bought a Schaller bridge for it that would have left holes, so I had to leave that monstrous Kahler on it since I simply could not have holes. Weighs way too much and is way too tough to adjust, but it's set now and I'm not changing it so it's all good. It was kind of overcast when I took those pics, but the gold, while turning out a bit duller than I hoped, does give a nice little sheen to the black without being so shiny under lights that it's distracting.
I think I'm happy
You know, I've been checking out that bass today, wondering if I got the gold right or if I should take it up a notch with brighter color and more sparkly bits. I do love the flake finishes. And this stuff I used has some flake in it but I wouldn't say it stands out like crazy. But then I think about that word you used...rusticity...that's a good word. I kind of got that vibe out of it, too, where it looks more like a rusty gold. Thought it would stand out more than it did, but hey, can't beat it for $7 a tube and it's still cool looking. And it would save me a few hours of work to leave it.
Hint of rusticity...yeah, I get it.
Hah! Weighs over 12 oz on its own! The heaviest bridge I've ever seen. I so wanted to replace that bridge, but it's got 15mm string spacing and I could only use it or a Schaller. Then I bought this Schaller and the Kahler holes show around it. Might have to buy another supporting membership for a month to unload it.
