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How Do U Paint A Bass?...

P

punkbassist55

Nov 1, 2009
4
0
#1
ok i know they have sites with step by step instructions on how to paint yyour guitar but i have a few specific questions that havent been answered. Like do you have to sand off the old color in order to apply a new one? Because it would save alot of time if i could just strip down the guitar and spray it. also do u need to spray anything on the bass b4 or after you spraypaint it? (such as gloss) ok thank you :smug: :bassist::):help:
 
#5
don't try to save time or take short cuts because if you do it'll look like crap or won't last.

Sand off the entire finish.
Put about 5-6 coats of primer on it.
12 coats of paint.
Gloss it afterwards (optional, when I did my Peavey I left a Satin finish on it).
 
#7
painting-of-bass.gif


i prefer oils over acrylics
 
#9
I would NOT strip off all of the old finish. Guitar bodies have grain fillers and varnish coats under the color coats. If you break through to the grain you'll open a whole can of worms. If the current color coat is in good shape block it out flat with 600 grit wet or 420 grit dry sandpaper. If your going to paint your bass red or white or or any color that has pigment that doesn't cover well you'll need a netural primer coat(grey). Then color and clear, (if your using nitro wait 1/2 hour between coats). Once you reach opacity with your color give it 5 or 6 coats of clear. Let it sit a day or 2 then knock it flat with 600 wet or 400 dry then 5 or 6 more coats of clear(as always waitng 1/2 hour between coats). Let this sit for at least 7 days(drop filling with clear as the nitro shrinks) then knock it down with 1000 grit. Let it sit 3 or 4 more days then finish with 1500 grit and buff .
I finished over 400 guitars last year in nitro, this system seemed to work great for me.
 
#10
Bone said:
I would NOT strip off all of the old finish. Guitar bodies have grain fillers and varnish coats under the color coats. If you break through to the grain you'll open a whole can of worms. If the current color coat is in good shape block it out flat with 600 grit wet or 420 grit dry sandpaper. If your going to paint your bass red or white or or any color that has pigment that doesn't cover well you'll need a netural primer coat(grey). Then color and clear, (if your using nitro wait 1/2 hour between coats). Once you reach opacity with your color give it 5 or 6 coats of clear. Let it sit a day or 2 then knock it flat with 600 wet or 400 dry then 5 or 6 more coats of clear(as always waitng 1/2 hour between coats). Let this sit for at least 7 days(drop filling with clear as the nitro shrinks) then knock it down with 1000 grit. Let it sit 3 or 4 more days then finish with 1500 grit and buff .
I finished over 400 guitars last year in nitro, this system seemed to work great for me.
Click to expand...

Yup!
 
#11
Yeah definitely don't sand it down past the original color. If you wanted to refinish it sunburst or a stain, that'd be next to impossible to do semi-professional if you're new to this sorta of thing. I refinished my ATK and it's good enough for but it's no where near a professional finish.
 
#12
Assuming your musical tastes run in line with your username, I'd say a $2 rattle can right over the current grease/sweat stains would be perfect. I've never thought of punk as a genre of music that required shiny gear, quite the opposite in fact. But then again, I'm a fan of the more beat up look. :)
 
#13
I used Krylon with this recent project. The results were excellent. I did 4 coats of the color and 4 of their clear, and because the clear is acrylic lacquer, you can obtain the high buff lacquer look.

After waiting a week for the lacquer clear to cure, I wet sanded with 600, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000, and then buffed with two different polishing compounds I use. It came out as good or better than the Stewmac lacquers I've used before.

Of course, if you have no experience with spray painting, it takes some practice to get the proper technique and application.
 
#16
xxfaux_punkxx said:
don't try to save time or take short cuts because if you do it'll look like crap or won't last.

Sand off the entire finish.
Put about 5-6 coats of primer on it.
12 coats of paint.
Gloss it afterwards (optional, when I did my Peavey I left a Satin finish on it).
Click to expand...



This is a bunch of crap. Check out this paintjob i did WITHOUT stripping anything. It depends from bass to bass.

Here's it before
P250609_2231.jpg


Here are some progress paintjob pics:
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24141_403028005756_511250756_4928410_4261287_n.jpg


Link Removed

Link Removed
 
#17
soong said:
This is a bunch of crap. Check out this paintjob i did WITHOUT stripping anything. It depends from bass to bass.
Click to expand...

But everyone knows that if you leave the old finish on there it will adversely effect your tone...


:hiding:




But yeah, I personally wouldn't bother about any stripping unless you are planning to re-finish it with a semi-trans finish or a burst.

Most cheap basses have a poly finish, which makes for a great primer. Its also night impossible to strip without a lot of elbow grease.

My first re-finish involved these steps:

1. Take off the neck and everything else (pickguard/electronics/bridge)
2. Rough up the surface with about 300 grit paper to make sure everything sticks, then wipe it all down to get any dust ect off.
3. Spray over the whole body with an undecoat, same brand as desired top coat if possible, do this a few times (3 or 4)
4. Spray desired colour, every two coats sand with finer and finer paper, smallest I normally use is 4000 grit, though plenty of people will use microfibre stuff and go down to 12000 +
5. Clear coat gloss if you want. Helps protect the finish too.

Ive probably forgotten something, so have a read of all the guides ect on the net.
 
#18
Bone said:
I would NOT strip off all of the old finish. Guitar bodies have grain fillers and varnish coats under the color coats. If you break through to the grain you'll open a whole can of worms. If the current color coat is in good shape block it out flat with 600 grit wet or 420 grit dry sandpaper. If your going to paint your bass red or white or or any color that has pigment that doesn't cover well you'll need a netural primer coat(grey). Then color and clear, (if your using nitro wait 1/2 hour between coats). Once you reach opacity with your color give it 5 or 6 coats of clear. Let it sit a day or 2 then knock it flat with 600 wet or 400 dry then 5 or 6 more coats of clear(as always waitng 1/2 hour between coats). Let this sit for at least 7 days(drop filling with clear as the nitro shrinks) then knock it down with 1000 grit. Let it sit 3 or 4 more days then finish with 1500 grit and buff .
I finished over 400 guitars last year in nitro, this system seemed to work great for me.
Click to expand...

It would be helpful to the uninitiated if you would let us know exactly what these terms mean. Thanks.
 
#19
cool with all the great artwork though mine is a dynomax Fender bass.

It's just what my band members said sounded best!
\
And, unless you're a master craftsman associated with the production of ANY guitar whether it be bass, sitar..etc... paint is ludicrous

Paint is like make-up to an ugly gal...it works until you wake up in the morning!
 

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