Marcus Miller V restoration

Well, it needs a Brazilian wax amongst other things.

I would fully disassemble to better gauge the true damage. A thorough cleaning wouldn't hurt...naptha is perfect and I believe others use Windex.

Sorry, I didn't read the full post but we're on the same page.

Riis

 

holy crap. subbed.

 

Oh, that's beyond saving. You should dispose of it properly by sending it to me.

 

Oh man! Cat hair and rancid olive oil. You prolly need a full hazmat suit and respirator. Good luck. If I was foolish enough to take this on I’d probably try Simple Green and, if needed, move up to whatever solvent wouldn’t hurt the finish like mineral spirits or lacquer thinner, assuming it’s a polyurethane finish, to get all that off.

 

My gosh….

How could anyone look at an instrument and not see its condition deteriorating in front of their very eyes.

I was ready to fall on a stake because I forgot my beloved Lull being in my truck and letting it sit there for a couple of hours. I had gotten in from a gig and took in my music stand and iPad and was headed back to the truck when I got a phone call that distracted my attention. I was almost in bed when I remembered I hadn’t brought the bass and the small combo amp inside. I felt awful about that!….

No doubt, that bass will need a LOT of work and probably a few replacement parts. But it appears doable….

 

wow

 

I think it probably got put In a closet that the cat liked and was out of sight out of mind.

 

Turrible

 

If you're feeling lazy about cleaning it yourself, send it to Johnny Lee Long in Richmond, VA. He'll have that thing looking brand spanking new.

 

Sorry OP, when I clicked I wasn't.. expecting that..

Was it kept outside?

 

Where on the Titanic was it discovered?
Personally, I'd toss it and move on.

 

As others have suggested, it may be cheaper & easier at this point just to find a new neck for it. But kudos to you for tackling this!

 

That’s probably doable. Pull the frets, hit the fretboard with a radius block and clean up what’s there then refret and refinish. My only caution if you do it yourself would be I don’t know how thick those position marker blocks are. Be careful of sanding through those.

 

A refret is definitely going to be required. Personally, I'd rip them out, and get sanding, clean up of much of that as you can then hand off to luthier/tech for refret and finish.

 

Personally, I'd look for a replacement neck. The body seems fine. That maple is stained/oil soaked under the finish. It's always going to be dark like that, and you'll likely never be able to get a finish to stick to it.

 

So after receiving the bass back from your friend, did you ever bonk him on the head for neglecting your old bass?

 

Sir you are a true hero taking that poor neglected thing into your care..
No instrument should ever suffer this kind of trauma.....Cheers!

gotta say the staining on the fretboard is kinda groovy though.....