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Relicing a bass guitar, any top tips!?

#21
Wise words from relic master himself, darkhorse

"
If you go for a "more worn" look, it's all about "stopping before you think you should". People go overboard with relics, and that's why there are so many "fake looking" ones out there. They give "nicely aged guitars" a bad name.

It is rare that you see an old guitar with rusty parts and looking like a belt sander was taken to it...although it does happen. With regards to vintage guitars, there are some that look similar to the OP's tastefully done bass, and there are some that look like they went through a woodchipper. Still, if you are going to "age" a guitar, your best bet to do a"convincing" job is to do it lightly and tastefully, like the OP has done."
 
#24
5string5fingers said:
people saying to play it for x amount of years is like telling all these great people on here who spend hundreds of dollars and x amount of hours into a squier bass and people telling them they should just save up for years and buy a sadowsky instead.
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Well, I guess some of us just find the relic-ing fad to be silly.
If I wanted a reliced bass I would hit up used shops. So it would be an actual used bass with real wear and tear, not sandpaper damage.
I guess if you have to have a real Jazz/Precision "relic" than you are out of luck. But there are plenty of relic Guilds, Gibsons, Ovations, Ibanezs (Artist or Musician series!) etc. You might want to get into cruising the garage sales in your area?
I just think it is a shame to inflict damage to a perfectly good bass. But what do I know. According to Rocker Guitars in SF the relic Fenders outsell the "new" ones 2 to 1.
 
#26
Calaverasgrande said:
Well, I guess some of us just find the relic-ing fad to be silly.
If I wanted a reliced bass I would hit up used shops. So it would be an actual used bass with real wear and tear, not sandpaper damage.
I guess if you have to have a real Jazz/Precision "relic" than you are out of luck. But there are plenty of relic Guilds, Gibsons, Ovations, Ibanezs (Artist or Musician series!) etc. You might want to get into cruising the garage sales in your area?
I just think it is a shame to inflict damage to a perfectly good bass. But what do I know. According to Rocker Guitars in SF the relic Fenders outsell the "new" ones 2 to 1.
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Everybody is entitled to their own opinion, but to tell someone to play a sub 100 dollar bass covered in hard plastic for 30 years to achieve something they want to just dabble in is a little absurd.

People buy faded worn out jeans,t shirts,hats, shoes, and furniture. If I want a nice comfortable hat NOW I'm not going to go buy a stiff brand new hat and wear it for 2 years before it's nice and worn in, and shaped to my head. Our society is rasied on instant gratification, we want what we want, now, especially when we're talking decades to get what we want,that in the end probably will never be what we wanted because it's covered in a thick poly finish.
 
#27
tangentmusic said:
Play it 8 hours a day, everyday for the next 35 years.
There's your do-it-yourself (and authentic) relic job.
Seriously, there are many ways to get that relic'd look. I have never done one myself. I seem to recall reading a few threads here. Try the search function
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You can get the relic'd quicker look if you not only play it 8 hours a day, but also gig several times a week with it in smoky dive bars
 
#29
Morson93 said:
Yeah, I will probably give the elbow cut abit of wear, and in the picking region where i sometimes catch the paintwork.

Is there anyway i can get it so it doesn't just look like a spot has been sanded, so it actually looks like paint has generally worn
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Morson93 said:
What do you mean by feather edging?

There is a car parts shop liturally a 2 minute walk from my house that sells sandpaper from 80 grit all the way to 1500 grit, so i should be cool on that basis.

I have a white scratchplate on it which I will either change to a tort, or relic to fit with the look, how could I relic the scratchplate? when i say relic, i don't mean make it look yellow
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Reeeeeeeeeeeally high grit sand paper, at least 2000p, rub it with that aaaaaaaaaaaaalllll day. Done...
Get some 800ish grit for the pickguard, what else...
Oh yeah, shove it in your ceiling fan when it's turned on, I did that (accidentally of course) first day I got my new bass, as p****d off as I was, I must admit, it looks pretty relicy and natural and stuff. :D Have some fun! Isn't that what it's all about?!

Good luck anyway man.

peace
 
#30
Hopkins said:
I just don't see how you can simulate that naturally worn off finish with poly. Like 5string5fingers said, it will look like you just sanded the finish off.

It would take forever and 3 days to do it but maybe if you used mild abrasive like pumice or rottenstone it would look more natural. But it would be a ton of work and would take a long time.
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I like the reliced look and I also agree with this. My '74 Jazz bass doesn't so much have "player's wear" as just plain abuse from the previous owners. There's large sections of paint that has chipped off and dings everywhere with some gouges here and there.
 
#32
Send it to me to play! Seriously let it live. Play it while you're watching TV, lean it up against the coffee table and then kick it over accidentally when you want to run to the fridge in between commercial breaks!

Run down the steps with it and smack the headstock against the wall, direct sunlight will help age it. Tool marks, cigarette burns. Think how things naturally get damaged.

Two friends: One guy left his guitar sit out in his living room for 5 years it looks old, another friend thoughtfully steel wool'd his guitar and chipped some paint, it looks very unrealistic.
 
#34
If you sand it to the grain in normal playing wear areas, rub it down with oil (the natural oil from your hand should be perfect) until it looks authentic. I believe this step makes ALL the difference between a good-looking relic and a ******-with-power-tools job.
 
#36
If you are going to do a reliced instrument then start with a used body that already has some real wear and tear on it. Buy some chaep used bodies from ebay for $20 and practice on them. When you get one you like then build it into a parts bass.
 

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