I got some Peavey parts...

[Lonnybass]

Wow, just seeing this build, super cool project and it kind of makes me want to strip the black paint off my 1986 Peavey Fury...my original #1 from when I started playing in the 5th grade. Must...resist...refinish...urge....

Anyways - WOW on that maple figuring. It's practically begging for a tigereye finish! Not sure how dramatic you're interested in going in terms of color but there are some really cool things you can do to make that thing extremely distinctive. Let me know if you want some help, happy to walk you through it!

 

[Reedt2000]

Wow, just seeing this build, super cool project and it kind of makes me want to strip the black paint off my 1986 Peavey Fury...my original #1 from when I started playing in the 5th grade. Must...resist...refinish...urge....

Anyways - WOW on that maple figuring. It's practically begging for a tigereye finish! Not sure how dramatic you're interested in going in terms of color but there are some really cool things you can do to make that thing extremely distinctive. Let me know if you want some help, happy to walk you through it!

I do like the tiger eye effect. I have no idea what peavey put on it. Whatever it is much of it is sitting on the surface cause it pulls off with the masking tape. I don't hate the color as is, if it wasn't so worn from being handled I'd just clear gloss it.

My plan is to sand it back and see what's stuck in the grain. Could be enough to accent the flame, I don't know if they did a similar process originally. If it all comes off I've got Jaco bean, a brown, almost black, oil-based stain that I'd use to copy your process. But instead of dye over top, I'd spray amber poly. I know the poly works over the stain. I'd also shoot 3-5 cans of clear, let it fully cure, then sand and buff. I've gotten a good result in the past doing this:

That's polyshades pecan and clear on the back after darker stain and just clear oil-based poly on the front.

It's labor and time intensive, but spending the time is a big part of the reason I do projects like this so I'm OK with it

 

[Reedt2000]

I would like advice on sanding highly figured maple like this. With the grain? With the figure?

 

[Lonnybass]

I would like advice on sanding highly figured maple like this. With the grain? With the figure?

always sand in the direction of the grain to the greatest extent possible - go up to 400 grit.

 

[Reedt2000]

Sanded the plugs flush. They look OK, not invisible but I didn't expect them to be.

I would have liked to line the grain up better, but it was hard to tell which way it was oriented. Probably should have marked the plugs with pencil before gluing them in. They are flush and smooth. A little trans color might hide them a little better but for what this project is they'll be fine.

Only real mods left to do is clearance the tuners and drill for bridge ground. Then it's on to dent repair and sanding for both body and neck in preparation for finishing. I hope to get that done today so I can clean the bench and start finishing it up. I plan on doing the neck finish first cause it's easiest and I have the stuff needed on-hand.

 

[Reedt2000]

Pretty sure tiger eye is where peavey was going with this bass. Here's the current state of the top wiped down with mineral spirits:

I think they put a darker stain on and sanded back, then put a translucent color on top and that's where it stopped. I could almost just clear it like it is. There are 2 dents in the maple I hope to gently steam out. Then I'm going to gingerly sand the top at first, see if I can just even it out. Not sure how far I'll end up going, need to play it by ear.

 

[Lonnybass]

Pretty sure tiger eye is where peavey was going with this bass. Here's the current state of the top wiped down with mineral spirits:

View attachment 4995212

I think they put a darker stain on and sanded back, then put a translucent color on top and that's where it stopped. I could almost just clear it like it is. There are 2 dents in the maple I hope to gently steam out. Then I'm going to gingerly sand the top at first, see if I can just even it out. Not sure how far I'll end up going, need to play it by ear.

That looks awesome! And to my eye, a definite candidate for the tigereye approach. I agree with you, that’s what Peavey thought too!

 

[Reedt2000]

Tuners are clearanced

Got some more hand clean up and then it's on to drilling the bridge ground and lots of sanding...

 

[Beej]

You're really doing right by this old bass, looks great!

 

[Reedt2000]

Thank you sir!

I definitely have more of a comfort level now compared to the last couple projects.

Bridge ground is done

Don't ask me how I ended up so perfectly placed in the cavity wall, I assure you it was 90% luck

Here's a mockup of the whole tuning situation

I dig it

Now I gotta go buy sandpaper. I have 60 and 80, I have 800 and up, but nothing in between

 

[Flying B]

Though the one I have came from Harbour freight, is big and clunky, and gets hung up trying to plunge (I greased it which helped that a little). There are definitely better units for what I'll be using it for

I highly recommend a small "Palm"router. I've got a battery makita one which is my go-to for most guitar routing tasks. Cheap clones of this are available on Amazon (the katsu one is good, it will take makita batteries and accessories). Save the big heavy one for routing body perimeters, or mount it upsidedown on a board and make yourself a router table.

 

[ctmullins]

Nice clearancing! Very clean. You’re going to love this bass when it’s all back together.

 

[Reedt2000]

I highly recommend a small "Palm"router. I've got a battery makita one which is my go-to for most guitar routing tasks. Cheap clones of this are available on Amazon (the katsu one is good, it will take makita batteries and accessories). Save the big heavy one for routing body perimeters, or mount it upsidedown on a board and make yourself a router table.

Yup, I've got one

At this point I'm convinced a grain enhancing stain and translucent color was peavey's plan. The orange was just sitting on top and has come almost entirely off, still got a little hand sanding to so but it's close. What's left is a warm brown in the pores.

Before

After

I'm gonna work this a little more

Carefully paint stain where I routed for tuner reccessing and sand it back, then it gets a coat or 5 of amber, followed by clear.

 

[Reedt2000]

Alright, time to wrap up for today. I feel really good about the progress, and I'm hitting that "I did a bunch more work on it but it doesn't look like it" phase

I kept sanding on the body, smoothing scratches and getting all of the orange off. Then I stained the bridges platform. You can see my stain has way more black in it than what peavey used, but I like it for that spot cause it'll have the black bridges on it and it's recessed and in shadow anyway. Still have some fine sanding to do, and the neck needs the same treatment, but all of the mods are done and finishing is about to start

Here's one more pic wiped down with mineral spirits:

 

[Reedt2000]

I highly recommend a small "Palm"router. I've got a battery makita one which is my go-to for most guitar routing tasks. Cheap clones of this are available on Amazon (the katsu one is good, it will take makita batteries and accessories). Save the big heavy one for routing body perimeters, or mount it upsidedown on a board and make yourself a router table.

Crap, you said palm router (I looked at it and saw "palm sander" )

Yes, the thing I was given is way too big and heavy for what I'm doing. A smaller, lighter router is definitely in my future.

 

[ctmullins]

The Bosch Colt is pretty great. I use mine a lot.

 

[Reedt2000]

The Bosch Colt is pretty great. I use mine a lot.

Looked on ebay and there was one NOS for $80 so I grabbed it

I've already been scanning for a body blank to scratch build a body. Don't know if I'm ready for a neck yet but I've got a body design I'd like to build.

I've got the pickups and bridge already. I'd hunt down a cool 5 string neck somewhere

 

[Reedt2000]

The name of the game today is surface prep. Hitting all the mods to remove sanding scratches, steaming and sanding out little dents and dings. It took a bit of elbow grease but the body is all set to go, smoothed down from 220, to 320, to 400, and wiped clean.

It's looking good and ready for spray.

The neck not so much. It had a couple puncture wounds that wouldn't steam all the way out So I drop filled them with CA. When it cures I've got another hour or so of sanding and it will be ready for its coat of poly. That's it for today, gonna get out hiking (and buying poly )

 

[Lonnybass]

The name of the game today is surface prep. Hitting all the mods to remove sanding scratches, steaming and sanding out little dents and ding. It took a bit of elbow grease but the body is all set to go, smoothed down from 220, to 320, to 400, and wiped clean.

View attachment 4996397

View attachment 4996398

It's looking good and ready for spray.

The neck not so much. It had a couple puncture wounds that wouldn't steam all the way out So I drop filled them with CA. When it cures I've got another hour or so of sanding and it will be ready for its coat of poly. That's it for today, gonna get out hiking (and buying poly )

That looks amazing! The surface prep is worth it…your life will be much easier if you’re not chasing scratches all month long. Have you thought about a contrast color over the top? A light burst or solid would really look fantastic!! Even an amber orange would give you a sort of “Bengal Tiger” look. What are you going to use for clear? Of all the readily available polyurethanes, I MUCH prefer either General Finishes or an easily made homemade varnish blend. Happy to walk you through what you need.

Excited to see how this turns out!

 

[Reedt2000]

That looks amazing! The surface prep is worth it…your life will be much easier if you’re not chasing scratches all month long. Have you thought about a contrast color over the top? A light burst or solid would really look fantastic!! Even an amber orange would give you a sort of “Bengal Tiger” look. What are you going to use for clear? Of all the readily available polyurethanes, I MUCH prefer either General Finishes or an easily made homemade varnish blend. Happy to walk you through what you need.

Excited to see how this turns out!

I had considered doing something to the top to make it stand out from the back but it's extra work and extra chances to screw up a project that has to date gone pretty smooth

My plan was to coat the body in an amber tinted poly, Minwax oil-based PolyShades in pecan. Then clear with minwax oil based clear gloss, cut, buff, and polish. I know the products work together and I've gotten good results in the past.

A burst is intriguing... but again if a chance to screw it up. What product(s) do you use for the color? I want to darken the alder a bit cause it'll help hide my plugged holes better than clear which is part of why I was gonna amber the whole thing.