Refinish - good idea or not?

It's not gonna affect the value that much. Those can be found on Reverb or even here at TB around 800-1000 USD. It's not that it is a Holy Grail original '51 mint condition handcrafted by Leo himself. It is YOUR bass and if you want it in a different color go for it. LPB and Fiesta Red are two of my favorite Fender colors, but for that particular model I'd go with LPB.

P.S. Remember that here on TalkBass we love pictures so posting some of your bass will be awesome.

 

Man! That looks pristine. Leaving it as it is would be a great choice too. But, again, it is your bass. Keep us posted!

 

I’d send it to MJT and get them to do a tobacco burst

 

My vote is leave it alone. Not my favorite finish, but that is freakin' beautiful as is.

 

The butterscotch blonde is the iconic '51P.
That's the only color Fender I'd buy unless it was so cheap that I could not turn it down.
That bass looks like a "Real Awesome Fender!!!"

If you do LPB you'll make it look like a Squier, although there's nothing wrong with a Squier.
In fact, if I has a LPB Squier, I'd want to refin it to butterscotch.
I say leave it alone.

057912

 

I don't think refinishing will hurt the value, it looks like the "school bus yellow" blonde variety. If it was the less common, more authentic looking milky-white blonde version, then I'd hesitate to refin. There's a niche market for those Japan 51's, the milky finish ones command a bit more money because the finish looks way more like an actual early 50's blonde P bass. The darker yellow ones, not so much.

 

I’d leave it. And I love LPB

 

Leave it.

 

You can have it as you want.

 

Just a quick comment, Leo never handcrafted a guitar in his life. I’d bet the only time he even held a prototype was to hand it to a musician to get their feedback.

Refin that baby in nitro! It’s already had covers and tug bar installed so it ain’t original anymore.

 

I wouldn't. But if you did, make sure you see examples of the painter's work. If he / she can create a factory finish, great, but there are a zillion used guitars out there in a finish you prefer and if you are willing to look, you might find what you want. That's how I got my agave blue Strat. It took a few months to find one in good condition. Mine is mint.

 

It doesn't looked now, but so common.

Fiesta would be killer.

 

CinCityCustums. That thing needs some heavy metallic flake and ghostflames.

 

+ 1 on the red!!

 

Paint it artic white

 

Then don't refinish it.

Refinishing is nearly always a bad idea. You'll spend around $350 and reduce the value of the bass. If the bass is highly collectable, the value will be cut in half. In the case of your bass, you'll probably cut the value of the bass by $200. Doesn't matter how nice the refinish is. So do the math - let's say your bass is worth $800. You'll spend $350 on a nice refin, and when you're done, the bass will be worth $600.

Pretty much the only time it's worth refinishing a guitar is if the instrument has been mangled. That is, routed or a victim of a previous bad refin. You've got a nice bass there. Leave it alone.