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What a lovely looking bass. Congratulations and good job!The finished product:
Big Hoss
Up note, down note, blue note, brown note...
- Sep 5, 2014
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Those 485s are pretty rare. If you do a refin on it, post up pics. I would LOVE to see one.
Here it is the SR485 as I bought it. A happy Ebay accident. Kind of ugly but a great player that I will probably refinish some day.
If you want that instrument to really come alive, replace the preamp. the aguilar obp-3 is a good choice for the SR basses. not a simple install, although not rocket science either.
Knowing that the factory finish is that easily removed makes me want to get a beat up used one and rehab it.
Same here. I almost got one a few years ago but didn't because of the finish issues. I may need to re-think that!
Thanks! No residue issues. The steel wool and the old sock left the occasional piece of dust or fiber, but I tried my best to wipe it clean before letting it dry, that is the beauty of the Wipe on Poly, super easy to apply without worrying about brush strokes. Any particles that were left in the finish I smoothed out once it dried with more steel wool before I applied the next coat.
If it was a painted finish I might agree with you. But its like a natural stained finish that peels like cheap paint. Stain isn't supposed to peel. Also the wood underneath the finish is insanely soft. My finger had worked a considerable gouge into the wood where the largest patch of missing finish was. This would have just gotten worse. Luckily that gouge mostly sanded out.
I think Ibanez is using something akin to Minwax "Polystain", which is just tinted polyurethane varnish. I have some cheap furniture with the same finish, when it chips you are right back to bare wood. I'm hard pressed to think of a better bass with a worse factory finish. They make a version of this bass in the SR400 line with a traditional poly finish, can't remember the exact model number.
I think you are right. In fact there was a section where the original finish wore off where my finger eventually wore a groove/gouge in the wood because it was so soft, and unprotected. Luckily that all but sanded out and isn't very noticable anymore after the refinishing job. Proably better I did end up with poly now that you mention it, since it is so soft!
Time to revive an old thread! I'm trading for an Ibanez SR600, which is swamp ash finished in "walnut flat". It's probably the same kind of thin lacquer finish that is on the SR500 because it has the same wear spot over the neck pickup. I'd much rather have it the natural swamp ash color, so figured I'd eventually remove the finish and refinish in a clear oil. Am I right in thinking that it would be pretty easy to sand it off, or would it be better to use a lacquer stripper?
I recently used Tru Oil on a Japan Arbor Kramer Duke copy of sorts....except it is a neck thru body design made of basswood.
The Tru Oil is awesome to work with.....you can keep adding coats and it dries fast in 24 hours...I would up wet sanding with 500 grit to get some flaws out after the first few coats and then 2 more coats wiped on with a sock...looks like shiny glass!
I will definitely be doing Tru Oil again...easiest product I've ever used to finish and super tough yet it can be sanded and feathered to repair easily.
The Tru Oil is awesome to work with.....you can keep adding coats and it dries fast in 24 hours...I would up wet sanding with 500 grit to get some flaws out after the first few coats and then 2 more coats wiped on with a sock...looks like shiny glass!
I will definitely be doing Tru Oil again...easiest product I've ever used to finish and super tough yet it can be sanded and feathered to repair easily.
