• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Refinish project - "Bullitt" style

Bullitt5135

Bullitt5135

Nov 16, 2010
2,057
4,160
SE Michigan
#1
I've decided to take the plunge and refinish my LTD MD-500 bass. This is my first attempt at a refinish, so I'd really appreciate comments and tips.

Inspiration: Steve McQueen's Mustang from the 1968 film "Bullitt." Here's a pic of my 2001 Ford Mustang Bullitt in Dark Highland Green. This will be the color of the bass. And with a few upgrades to the electronics, hopefully the bass will rumble and growl like the car.

Bullitt.jpg


Before: matte battleship gray finish was becoming worn and shiny in some spots. Not a big fan of the painted neck, either.

MD500_2.jpg


Step 1: Stripping the old finish. Sanded off the gray color coat with 80 grit. The orbital sander nor Strip-Eze would touch the thick polyester coat underneath, so I resorted to the heat gun and scraper. It was slow but steady work, with the poly flaking off in fish-scale sized pieces. Finished with more sanding with 150 & 220. All told, I probably have 5 hours into the stripping and sanding process (taking my sweet time).

IMAG0133.gif


Next up: more fine sanding and a couple coats of sanding sealer. I've been researching paint options. I'm hoping I can get rattle cans from an automotive paint supplier that match Ford's color code.

Question: if I have a choice, is acrylic lacquer the best bet for the color coat? Anybody have experience with automotive paint on a bass/guitar?
 
#2
Bullitt5135 said:
I've decided to take the plunge and refinish my LTD MD-500 bass. This is my first attempt at a refinish, so I'd really appreciate comments and tips.

Inspiration: Steve McQueen's Mustang from the 1968 film "Bullitt." Here's a pic of my 2001 Ford Mustang Bullitt in Dark Highland Green. This will be the color of the bass. And with a few upgrades to the electronics, hopefully the bass will rumble and growl like the car.

Bullitt.jpg


Before: matte battleship gray finish was becoming worn and shiny in some spots. Not a big fan of the painted neck, either.

MD500_2.jpg


Step 1: Stripping the old finish. Sanded off the gray color coat with 80 grit. The orbital sander nor Strip-Eze would touch the thick polyester coat underneath, so I resorted to the heat gun and scraper. It was slow but steady work, with the poly flaking off in fish-scale sized pieces. Finished with more sanding with 150 & 220. All told, I probably have 5 hours into the stripping and sanding process (taking my sweet time).

IMAG0133.gif


Next up: more fine sanding and a couple coats of sanding sealer. I've been researching paint options. I'm hoping I can get rattle cans from an automotive paint supplier that match Ford's color code.

Question: if I have a choice, is acrylic lacquer the best bet for the color coat? Anybody have experience with automotive paint on a bass/guitar?
Click to expand...

I just bought a bass that was painted with blue auto paint. Either they didn't do it professionally or it just doesn't work too well. I mean...it's not bad...but it's not good either.
 
#5
Color went on today... Dark Highland Green (Ford PY) to match my Mustang. I thought about going transparent, but decided I wanted the finish to be just like the car. The first can of automotive primer went on really really dry. I ended up getting another can of BIN primer at the hardware store. That went on better than the first can. I got three coats of color on before running out. That'll have to do -- coverage seems good.

IMAG0143.gif


Lessons learned: sanding sealer isn't grain filler. I'm seeing some grain through the color. Oh well. Hopefully the clear will mitigate that a bit. I can live with it either way. Also, as smooth as i thought I had sanded the primer, I still missed a couple of unfortunate scratches... most notably between the pickups. I'll just string it up with extra extra heavy strings to cover it up. :-)
 
#7
Update: I put down two cans of Deft gloss lacquer and wet sanded with 600 and 1500. Then I went to town with the buffing wheel. I think I need a slightly more aggressive polishing compound to work the light scratches and swirl marks out. You have to look pretty close to see the imperfections. Overall, I'm pretty happy and would give myself a B+ on the effort.

Bullitt_1.jpg


Bullitt_2.jpg


The headstock logo was tricky. I cut a mask using masking tape and spraypainted with silver. The edge of the logo is a bit choppy from when I removed the tape. It won't be perfect, but I think it's OK from a few feet away. I'm putting some coats of clear over it today.

IMAG0148.gif
 
#10
I've applied a few coats of Tru-Oil to the neck, and it's looking and feeling really nice. I'll probably knock back the gloss to more of a satin finish. Next I need to move on to the fret board and frets, which are showing some wear.

Neck.gif


I'm about ready to pull the trigger on some new parts. I'm going with a chrome Babicz FCH bridge (have one on my Fender and love it) and most likely pickups from SGD Sidewinders. David at SGD told me that the Sidewinders are somewhat in the ballpark of a classic Geddy-ish Rick tone, which sounds cool to me. I just need a little clarification between the "wide and narrow" pickup options before I lay down the cash. I'm shopping for tuners as well. Res-O-Lites or Hipshot Ultralites would be my first choice, but I'm not sure that they are worth 2X the price of Gotoh micros for my purposes.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back