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Rattle Can Refinish Club
- Thread starter redlikejazz
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Yeah i thought about that but i wanted to keep it a little more classic looking and opted for mint green 
I've just finished a refurb on my very first bass, a Warwick copy made by Tanglewood.
Varnish is still drying, so it's just hanging at the moment, will get some better pics when I dare touch it more!
I've named it The Creeper, as the colour scheme is green and black, like a Creeper from Minecraft.
I even put a Creeper on the headstock.
Really pleased with the results, it's a really nice metallic green that sparkles under lights.
Here's a couple of pics of how it used to look. The original green kind of faded after a few years, and it got a fair few dents and finger nail marks under the strings where I played slap on it.
Varnish is still drying, so it's just hanging at the moment, will get some better pics when I dare touch it more!
I've named it The Creeper, as the colour scheme is green and black, like a Creeper from Minecraft.
I even put a Creeper on the headstock.
Really pleased with the results, it's a really nice metallic green that sparkles under lights.
Here's a couple of pics of how it used to look. The original green kind of faded after a few years, and it got a fair few dents and finger nail marks under the strings where I played slap on it.
Just refinished a mid 70s Harmony. Used Dupli-Color Ford Medium Blue Metallic.
Where can i get this paint?I took a stock SX bass and upgraded virtually everything on it, including a charcoal metallic/prism paint job, for a GTG raffle prize a few years ago.
Painted the headstock, even made a one-off logo, then sealed it all under a ridiculous amount of clearcoat.
The "prism" effect wasn't as obvious unless under very bright lighting (such as a flash). Wasn't perfect, but still a fun project that came out pretty well. The winner of the bass still has it, in fact.
Gawd help me, I thought your user name was Colon Turkey. Nothing to see here...
I'm doing my first rattle-can job on a pawnshop Epi LPJ. So far so good.
Before:
with primer:
After:
Yet to be seen.
Hopefully I can produce something half as good as some of the beauties here!
Before:
with primer:
After:
Yet to be seen.
Hopefully I can produce something half as good as some of the beauties here!
Any one here ever use Rust-oleum High Performance enamel? I got a few cans from work (safety orange/yellow/blue). I want to refinish my P-Bass Special (candy apple red). I had intentions of doing it yellow, with blacked out hardware/everything else.. However, after reading though the "It's not orange, it's amber" thread, it inspired me to use an orange colour.
I've used this in an industrial atmosphere so I know it can hold its own in terms of "stick' quality, but how about refinishing a bass? I've never personally refinished an instrument, and this P-bass of mine was my first bass, and is in rough shape. The neck is butchered from gigging in the past, and I'm pretty sure the truss rod is pooched.. That said, I'm looking at redoing the whole thing to make it more playable, replace the neck/pickups/hardware, etc and then refinish it.
This was my original inspiration (and to have this exact EBMM), BUT I cannot bring myself to refinishing my USA-SUB bass, just love the textured teal too much, hahaha.. So if you can imagine the exact color scheme of the Stingray below, but as a P-Bass Special.. And maybe orange instead of yellow, still trying to decide what one I want more..
I've used this in an industrial atmosphere so I know it can hold its own in terms of "stick' quality, but how about refinishing a bass? I've never personally refinished an instrument, and this P-bass of mine was my first bass, and is in rough shape. The neck is butchered from gigging in the past, and I'm pretty sure the truss rod is pooched.. That said, I'm looking at redoing the whole thing to make it more playable, replace the neck/pickups/hardware, etc and then refinish it.
This was my original inspiration (and to have this exact EBMM), BUT I cannot bring myself to refinishing my USA-SUB bass, just love the textured teal too much, hahaha.. So if you can imagine the exact color scheme of the Stingray below, but as a P-Bass Special.. And maybe orange instead of yellow, still trying to decide what one I want more..
I have been watching this thread and thought I would have a go at refinishing the red Squier p/j body with a different color,unsure what yet but not fond of the red.
So yesterday I went out and picked up a new Heat Gun and used my spare MIM Jazz body as a test. Took around an hour to get all the paint removed from the back. Unsure what the finish is I have removed ?
The wood got a little hot in places but I did get better as I went and the wood beneath looks Ok. I actually thought the body was split as thats why its a spare but all the splits were in the finish only.
Question , Am I doing the right thing,is it best to strip down to the bare wood ?
So yesterday I went out and picked up a new Heat Gun and used my spare MIM Jazz body as a test. Took around an hour to get all the paint removed from the back. Unsure what the finish is I have removed ?
The wood got a little hot in places but I did get better as I went and the wood beneath looks Ok. I actually thought the body was split as thats why its a spare but all the splits were in the finish only.
Question , Am I doing the right thing,is it best to strip down to the bare wood ?
Some progress this morning.I found a resin filled ? repair near the top horn,I presume this was done at the factory ?
It was a nasty time trying to get the finish removed here and I ended up splitting some wood from the area ! Doh ! I guess I can always fill it with something ?
I also notice the top wood is darker and looks different to the back ? Is this normal ?
It was a nasty time trying to get the finish removed here and I ended up splitting some wood from the area ! Doh ! I guess I can always fill it with something ?
I also notice the top wood is darker and looks different to the back ? Is this normal ?
The top looks like it is a veneer. There may be a spot or two in the veneer that didn't turn out nice enough for a sunburst, so they decided to make it a solid color.Some progress this morning.I found a resin filled ? repair near the top horn,I presume this was done at the factory ?
It was a nasty time trying to get the finish removed here and I ended up splitting some wood from the area ! Doh ! I guess I can always fill it with something ?
I also notice the top wood is darker and looks different to the back ? Is this normal ?
You don't really have to go to wood if you're going to repaint it. Just sand off the gloss coat to the sealer coat. Fill any holes or imperfections. Sand, repeat as many times as needed. I like to finish this with a couple coats sander/sealer. Others skip this step. Spray primer. Check for imperfections. Fix if needed, then repeat. When primer is all laid down start with finish color. Then go to clearcoat. Wait til it's completely dry. Then buff and shine.
Some of those photos looked like someone used a real air compressor spray gun. I've once tried to refin a bass guitar... when I was kind of young. I used a paint brush to apply the clear lacquer. 
I didn't know. I kind of thought, well, that's how you use it on furniture.
I've spray painted other things in refinish attempts throughout the years, a bicycle frame, rusted sections of a car, unfinished furniture, etc. using a rattle can and I've pretty much experienced most problems that noobs experience, fish-eye, orange peel, overcoating, not enough clearcoat, poor prepared surface, bugs and dust landing on wet paint, etc.
I'm a bit too scared to try a rattle can job on a guitar. I have a Yamaha RGXA2 electric guitar which I bought for very cheap. It had a broken pickup selector knob so Guitar Center sold it for hundreds less at a sale. I replaced the knob with a Les Paul type 3-way pickup selector and the problem was fixed. The finish is nice, no cracks or chips or scratches, but it is kind of TRON-ish, It has silver lines on the top and silver painted binding. it's all black, including the neck. Invalid Link Removed I don't know how long it would take to remove the lacquer from the body and the neck. Has anybody just sanded the top of a body and not the back and sides?
I didn't know. I kind of thought, well, that's how you use it on furniture.I've spray painted other things in refinish attempts throughout the years, a bicycle frame, rusted sections of a car, unfinished furniture, etc. using a rattle can and I've pretty much experienced most problems that noobs experience, fish-eye, orange peel, overcoating, not enough clearcoat, poor prepared surface, bugs and dust landing on wet paint, etc.
I'm a bit too scared to try a rattle can job on a guitar. I have a Yamaha RGXA2 electric guitar which I bought for very cheap. It had a broken pickup selector knob so Guitar Center sold it for hundreds less at a sale. I replaced the knob with a Les Paul type 3-way pickup selector and the problem was fixed. The finish is nice, no cracks or chips or scratches, but it is kind of TRON-ish, It has silver lines on the top and silver painted binding. it's all black, including the neck. Invalid Link Removed I don't know how long it would take to remove the lacquer from the body and the neck. Has anybody just sanded the top of a body and not the back and sides?
