Painting bridge cover gold on Pbass

[Pablotx]

hello everyone. First time posting here so i suppose ill make an introduction.

Ive been a vocalist in many local bands and am just now transitioning to bass as well. Im a little rusty with my chops and knowledge of all things bass but with time it will all come back to me (havent picked up a bass in years)

So after much thought I purchased a Fender squier 70's pbass to work on and customize. One of the first things I wanted to do was to swap out the hardware for all gold parts. Bought a gold bridge cover and it doesnt fit. Upon searching for an answer as to why it doesnt fit I came across this message board. Now my question is this. Has anyone ever painted a metallic ashtray gold? How did it turn out? Im thinking the 70s vibe is definitley not the standard size. Thanks for any help guys!


Tl;dr im new here and has anyone painted a bridge cover gold.

 

[Oddly]

Firstly, welcome to TB!

Does it not fit as in the holes don't match the original or will it physically not sit over the bridge?

 

[Pablotx]

Both.

Firstly, welcome to TB!

Does it not fit as in the holes don't match the original or will it physically not sit over the bridge?

Both. I went to amazon and read the reviews and they all said ot will fot a squier pbass. Im thinking perhaps this particular model is just beefier than the average squier...

 

[sissy kathy]

I've never heard of a Fender P bass cover not fitting on a 4 string Squier P bass with a STOCK Squier or Fender bent plate bridge. It won't fit over most any after market bridge though.
So, do you have a Fender or Squier bent plate bridge or something else? And finally, is that a Fender or Squier cover?

 

[Pablotx]

Bought it from Fender through Amazon and when i read the reviews it stated it would fit a squier also. Im thinking I bit off more than I can chew. I jist wanted to add a little flare and tried not to pay for someone to set it ip. Switching hardware seemed simple enough but noticed even the gold paddle tuners dont seem to match up with the holes. I checked every item to verified they would in fact fit a Fender Squier precision bass

 

[sissy kathy]

Bought it from Fender through Amazon and when i read the reviews it stated it would fit a squier also. Im thinking I bit off more than I can chew. I jist wanted to add a little flare and tried not to pay for someone to set it ip. Switching hardware seemed simple enough but noticed even the gold paddle tuners dont seem to match up with the holes. I checked every item to verified they would in fact fit a Fender Squier precision bass

Gold tuners are available from Hipshot you want the HB7 model. They are drop in replacements. Fitting and being a drop in replacement are two different things. Almost any tuner with 1/2" post can be fitted to a Squier bass. A drop in replacement requires nothing more than removing the old part and installing the new one; no new holes required.

 

[Pablotx]

Gold tuners are available from Hipshot you want the HB7 model. They are drop in replacements. Fitting and being a drop in replacement are two different things. Almost any tuner with 1/2" post can be fitted to a Squier bass. A drop in replacement requires nothing more than removing the old part and installing the new one; no new holes required.

Thanks. Know of a better websote than Amazon in which to get gold hardware.. im starting not to trust amazon reviews... that or in pretty horrible at assembling

 

[sissy kathy]

Thanks. Know of a better websote than Amazon in which to get gold hardware.. im starting not to trust amazon reviews... that or in pretty horrible at assembling

If you bought that cover from Fender it will fit you P bass. You have the wrong bridge though, the cover REQUIRES a Fender/Squier bent plate bridge. Here's a site that has the bridge you need; any in the top row will fit as well as the second bridge on the second row. NONE of the other bridges will fit under that cover.
Link Removed
Here's a source for the tuner.
Invalid Link Removed

 

[wcriley]

I remember reading (back in the 70s) that you can get a reasonable facsimile of gold plating by spraying a chrome pated part with candy yellow paint, then clear coating. Never tried it myself, so don't know if it works.

 

[MrMoonlight]

OK, like I mentioned in another thread here in this section, if you have a Squier Classic Vibe series bass and you want to replace the stock tuning machines with Hipshots, do not buy the HB-7. You want the HB-1 (normal length, not the "short ear" version). These are available in gold. The HB-7s are for Vintage Modified Squiers. You have a Classic Vibe...different tuners.

The reason your bridge cover doesn't fit is because the Classic Vibe series basses come stock with a Squier high-mass bridge that is wider and higher than a standard Fender "bent plate" jobby. So in order to keep the classic "vibe" of a 70's P-Bass (see what I did there? ) without using a different bridge, Squier designed a cover that looks like a classic P-Bass bridge cover at first glance, but with larger overall dimensions in order to fit over the high-mass bridge. To make things even more complicated, the Squier bridge screw holes are spaced further apart than on a standard Fender bridge, so it's not possible to just replace the bridge with a bent plate version...you'd have to dowel the existing holes and re-drill for the new bridge.

Having said that, I do have solutions to offer:

1) For the tuners, go with Hipshot HB-1's in gold. Readily available.

2) For your bridge cover, seek out someone from the car customizing scene. There are guys out there who specialize in plating auto parts (rims, exhausts, etc.) who have portable plating equipment that will even come out to your home and do chrome or gold plating on your parts. You could have your current Squier bridge cover, neck plate (and whatever else) gold plated and it's really not all that expensive. I used a local motorcycle "pimper" with a portable plater to do a couple of non-standard neck plates for me for a special project and it was relatively cheap. Worth looking into, IMO.

 

[Pablotx]

OK, like I mentioned in another thread here in this section, if you have a Squier Classic Vibe series bass and you want to replace the stock tuning machines with Hipshots, do not buy the HB-7. You want the HB-1 (normal length, not the "short ear" version). These are available in gold. The HB-7s are for Vintage Modified Squiers. You have a Classic Vibe...different tuners.

The reason your bridge cover doesn't fit is because the Classic Vibe series basses come stock with a Squier high-mass bridge that is wider and higher than a standard Fender "bent plate" jobby. So in order to keep the classic "vibe" of a 70's P-Bass (see what I did there? ) without using a different bridge, Squier designed a cover that looks like a classic P-Bass bridge cover at first glance, but with larger overall dimensions in order to fit over the high-mass bridge. To make things even more complicated, the Squier bridge screw holes are spaced further apart than on a standard Fender bridge, so it's not possible to just replace the bridge with a bent plate version...you'd have to dowel the existing holes and re-drill for the new bridge.

Having said that, I do have solutions to offer:

1) For the tuners, go with Hipshot HB-1's in gold. Readily available.

2) For your bridge cover, seek out someone from the car customizing scene. There are guys out there who specialize in plating auto parts (rims, exhausts, etc.) who have portable plating equipment that will even come out to your home and do chrome or gold plating on your parts. You could have your current Squier bridge cover, neck plate (and whatever else) gold plated and it's really not all that expensive. I used a local motorcycle "pimper" with a portable plater to do a couple of non-standard neck plates for me for a special project and it was relatively cheap. Worth looking into, IMO.

This explains it. Thanks!