NBD - 1969 Fender Jazz! (Should I refinish?)

[imdkoz]

I'm sure most of you saw this hit the classifieds mid June. Pretty much all original 69 Jazz with the finish sanded off. I was in the process of making a deal on this when the seller said another TB'er thought it was his old bass. Not going to get in the way of that, are we? But as luck would have it, it wasn't so I made a deal with the new owner and here we are.

I love everything about the bass, especially since it's a birth year bass and one I could actually afford. The only "issue" I have is when the finish was sanded off they rounded the horns, not crazy but enough to notice. It currently sits with what I would assume is an almost worn off nitro/bare wood condition. The question is should I refinish it? I like the way it looks, but something in the back of my mind says it should be.

Anyway. Big thanks to @smcgov and @sonicyogi for an easy buy!

 

[BurningSkies]

Since the original finish is long gone and that current finish is at the very least sub-par in terms of pro-grade finishing...do it. At the very least you'll add to the overall value with a quality job that looks the part and is well done. And the bonus would be a bass that looks great and more 'authentic' than it is now.

 

[WI Short Scaler]

Since the original finish was already removed you don't have to worry about the whole decreasing value argument you get when discussing a refinish.

I would definitely do it, I like bright colors, but it's your bass so go for it!

 

[jdthebassman]

Go for it. maybe it would be worth sending it to the fender custom shop, match it up with the neck.

 

[smcgov]

i love the June 7th, literally 25 years and 1 day after D day

 

[Chef]

as the finish is gone, not worn, there's no downside to refinishing that I'm aware of.
the control cavity doesn't seem to show what the original finish might have been.
I don't know if you could find that out via serial number...

 

[imdkoz]

as the finish is gone, not worn, there's no downside to refinishing that I'm aware of.
the control cavity doesn't seem to show what the original finish might have been.
I don't know if you could find that out via serial number...

That's a good thought. Any idea how to go about finding out? Thanks!

 

[80jazz]

I don't think I would, but it isn't my bass.

I would also choose a color that was available in 1969 that wasn't sunburst. Maybe Ice Blue Metallic or Sonic Blue.

Edit: scratch that. In checking a listing, I would go with Dakota red. It appears it was still available in 1969 and would go nicely with the tort guard.

 

[Chef]

That's a good thought. Any idea how to go about finding out? Thanks!

yeah, I don't know how to do that or if it's even possible, just a thought I had.

 

[BurningSkies]

as the finish is gone, not worn, there's no downside to refinishing that I'm aware of.
the control cavity doesn't seem to show what the original finish might have been.
I don't know if you could find that out via serial number...

I don't think that Fender has this kind of info on hand (and maybe never did), unfortunately.

We can say pretty definitively this wasn't a 'natural' or 'blonde' finished instrument since they used ash for those and this is alder. So it probably was birthed as a solid finish or sunburst.

 

[imdkoz]

yeah, I don't know how to do that or if it's even possible, just a thought I had.

Dang! It was a good idea though.

 

[commonplayer]

I would send it to MJT, they specializing in refinishing vintage instruments. I sent them a reissue jazz bass and they did an amazing job with it.

 

[imdkoz]

I don't think I would, but it isn't my bass.

I would also choose a color that was available in 1969 that wasn't sunburst. Maybe Ice Blue Metallic or Sonic Blue.

Edit: scratch that. In checking a listing, I would go with Dakota red. It appears it was still available in 1969 and would go nicely with the tort guard.

Yeah that would be a good choice. I have time to look at other basses and see what catches my eye.

 

[imdkoz]

I would send it to MJT, they specializing in refinishing vintage instruments. I sent them a reissue jazz bass and they did an amazing job with it.

Thanks for the info! There's a guy near me that has a pretty big finish shop that does world wide projects but MJT looks good.

 

[Pdaddy1978]

White, white, WHITE!!!!
Sorry,....just been jonesing myself for a white bass for awhile now.

 

[filwitheneff]

Personally, if I were the one that bought that bass, I'd leave it as is. I think it looks cool.

 

[BurningSkies]

I would send it to MJT, they specializing in refinishing vintage instruments. I sent them a reissue jazz bass and they did an amazing job with it.

I worked with Mark Jenny early on for a Telecaster. At that time it was purely in his garage after his day job work. He does really nice work. I love his backstory, where he loved old Fenders but couldn't afford what they were going for...so he bought all the ones that had been mis-refinished, poorly modded, etc. and re-did them all to as close to original as possible.

 

[imdkoz]

White, white, WHITE!!!!
Sorry,....just been jonesing myself for a white bass for awhile now.

Always a good choice!

 

[imdkoz]

I worked with Mark Jenny early on for a Telecaster. At that time it was purely in his garage after his day job work. He does really nice work. I love his backstory, where he loved old Fenders but couldn't afford what they were going for...so he bought all the ones that had been mis-refinished, poorly modded, etc. and re-did them all to as close to original as possible.

I'll probably send them an email and see what they have to say.

 

[MonetBass]

Since the original finish is already stripped, and the current finish isn't that great, I say refinish it in the original color. Is there any indication in the neck pocket or pickup cavities of what that color was?