Refinishing - help me with colors

[HogieWan]

At home right now I have a Variax 705 bass and a Variax 500 guitar.

[not to scale:]

On Monday UPS will be dropping off a second variax bass in the same color (it's going to be defretted). I have been thinking of refinishing one of the two I own, but now it's going to be a necessity. I want to keep the original color on one of the 3. Which ones should I refinish and what colors should I go with (I am very partial to natural woods)?

I think I want one as it is, one dark stained (walnut) and one natural. What color pick guards would you go with? Here are my ideas right now:

The guitar has a slight ding on the side (top when playing) but it seems to only have cracked the poly, so I was thinking of refinishing it, but the body is a 3 piece and the grain is not very well matched. I was considering staining it dark brown and putting a walnut veneer on top. There is only a small route for the pickup switch under the guard, and I think I can fill that with something under the veneer and go without a pg or I can do the walnut with a white or white pearl guard.

The bass I have has a nice alder grain. I thought about leaving it natural and getting a white pg. If the new one has a better grain, I'll strip that one.

 

[HogieWan]

I thought this would get more interest

 

[WoodyG3]

A retro color like surf green, shell pink, orbaby blue would look cool, too.

I'm sure you probably already know, but stripping the old finish is a TON of work. I've done it a couple of times, and it's not a fun process.

 

[HogieWan]

how did you strip the finish?

 

[southernrocker]

Heat gun or a lot of sanding. Personally, I'd sand.

 

[HogieWan]

what about a stripper - I've heard good things about citristirp - takes a long time but isn't so dangerous

 

[WoodyG3]

I've used citrus based strippers, and it's slow going. On poly, even sanding takes a long time. It all depends on how much patience you have, I suppose.

 

[southernrocker]

Patience is a thing that I have, I just sit in the garage, pop in The Outlaw Josey Wales, and sand away!

 

[HogieWan]

I've used citrus based strippers, and it's slow going. On poly, even sanding takes a long time. It all depends on how much patience you have, I suppose.

I know it's slow, but I'm patient and lazy

BTW - I'm considering wood stain and pg color combinations right now. I've gotten rid of all my painted instruments (sunburst is an except), and I'd like to keep it that way.

 

[darthplagis]

go for Antigua....... that's a burst

 

[Dark Horse]

Patience is a thing that I have, I just sit in the garage, pop in The Outlaw Josey Wales, and sand away!

You better be prepared to watch "The Outlaw Josey Wales" about 4 times in a row then, as 2 hours isn't gonna get it done.

 

[Jeff K]

I'd probably leave the fretted bass as is. I think it looks great. If you do the walnut stain on the guitar, I'd see how the original tort guard looks with it before you buy a new one. I think that combination might look good.

As for the new fretless, go with whatever you really like. Personally, I'm a sucker for light basses, so I'd probably go with something like Arctic White. But I also like the pastel colors (light blues, greens, etc.).

 

[HogieWan]

I think I'll leave the fretted bass, and while I'm defretting the neck of the other, I'll start stripping the body. If the wood looks good, I'll leave it natural and put the tort guard back on, but eventually I'll probably get a white or white pearl guard for it.

If the stripping process is too difficult, the guitar may stay as it is. If it's not too bad, I'll try to put a veneer on top of the stained alder and leave it without guard.

 

[NOLA Bass]

I think one of those would like great in olympic white with the tort guard.

 

[rustynuts]

If I was stripping a poly body I'd use a heat gun. I've stripped two in the past couple of months and it takes about an hour, and that's with several breaks. All that's left to do after that is finish sanding, and your arm isn't worn out.

 

[HogieWan]

If I was stripping a poly body I'd use a heat gun. I've stripped two in the past couple of months and it takes about an hour, and that's with several breaks. All that's left to do after that is finish sanding, and your arm isn't worn out.

hey thanks - I'll research that a bit more.

I think one of those would like great in olympic white with the tort guard.

I'm going to do one natural with a white guard, and I'll probably switch the two guards between the two basses semi-regularly.

 

[J. Crawford]

Pink.. Pink! Hot pink... Im done with this thread. I have won.

 

[flea claypool]

what ever you do dont strip the body...

its ********..

leave the original finish on it sand with grade 320, then 400 then 600 wet and dry and spray, it now has teeth..

i went from this

to this

using that method, i did not spray it myself as most paints are illegal where i live.. but i did all the prepwork myself

 

[HogieWan]

what ever you do dont strip the body...

its ********..

how would I get a natural finish without stripping the paint?

 

[flea claypool]

how would I get a natural finish without stripping the paint?

ah.. its late, i misread my apologys