Double Bass Protect/reseal edge wear?

[bigthemat]

Hey everyone,

Searched in here but couldn't find a good answer.
Just got a new to me bass, and there's some typical wear on the edges, some chips and what not but seems to be all cosmetic. Not looking at getting it professionally repaired, and looking into adding some bumpers, but, is there something I can or should use to protect the raw wood? Not like a refinish, but would it make sense to "seal" the chips with like tung oil or something? I don't want the rough wood to catch on anything and get worse, just kind of want to prevent future damage. Or does it not matter?

thanks!

 

[Steven Ayres]

I'll infer that you most likely have an all-plywood bass. Yes, edge damage is cosmetic, but without attention it can easily cascade. Usually the edges chip due to small impacts and scrapes, often on hard and maybe rough floors. I handle the instrument carefully and use leather edge bumpers to keep the edges off the floor, preventing the most common issues.

When you have a chip, first save the chip if you can for repair. If it gets away, with some effort it can be replaced, though it's niggly work that takes real skill to fully blend in. For the sake of ongoing maintenance of a working instrument short of a restoration, I smooth edges that can catch on fabrics, etc., and seal them with varnish. If the plies are separating, I inject CA or CV glue between them and clamp, then smooth and seal.

 

[turf3]

For appearance sake, and it also helps keep things together, I touch up with Zinsser Bullseye Amber Shellac. It's basically what "instrument varnish" is anyway. It's lightly tinted so if your instrument is darker in color you'll need multiple coats. The multiple coats also act kind of like a glue to keep little "hairs" and splits that are just starting from progressing.

I have bumpers, of course, made of two layers of 1/4" belting leather about 1/2" wide and attached with contact cement. After using the amber shellac on them, the color blends very well with that of the bass.

 

[fdeck]

When I had a plywood bass, it had the usual rough edges. My luthier suggested coating the edges with hide glue. And although liquid hide glue is frowned upon for "real" repairs, I can't see it being a problem for this kind of maintenance.

Recently, I had a bit of edge start coming up on my "new" bass. I carefully teased some hide glue in there, and improvised a clamp to hold it down. Then I sealed it with some dark shellac. If you buy the shellac as dry flakes, it comes in multiple colors. It's not an easy varnish to work with compared to modern oil varnishes, so I wouldn't try using it for general finish repair, but edges should be more forgiving.

 

[janlan]

I just got this bass, and these chips are catching on my clothes. I'm looking for a DIY solution. Should I sand and then apply hide glue and/or shellac? My first thought was to put tape over it, but then wondered about the adhesive damaging the finish. Thanks in advance.

 

[Steven Ayres]

I just got this bass, and these chips are catching on my clothes. I'm looking for a DIY solution. Should I sand and then apply hide glue and/or shellac? My first thought was to put tape over it, but then wondered about the adhesive damaging the finish. Thanks in advance.

You could sand it all down and seal it, but you'd be increasing the damage and probably spreading it further. Before you get into that it won't hurt to take it to a pro luthier for evaluation. It may not be as expensive as you imagine to fix it right, a niggly and somewhat time-consuming job, but not particularly difficult. Matching the finish is the hard part.