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Relicing a bass guitar, any top tips!?

#42
Well my schecter looks pretty beat up after a couple of gigs lol.

Just play the hell out of it!! Don't be afraid of cymbals (I have multiple dings and scratches from them), don't use stands, spill stuff on it, wear huge sharp belt buckles, use the back as a dinner table, leave it in the car for a few days over the summer, use a gig bag, leave it in the sun in 100+ degree weather, take it camping, play gigs with a smoky environment. When combined, these things will make a new bass look ancient in a year or so.

Or refinish it with a nitro finish and wait a couple years with normal playing.

Just don't drag it behind a truck:P
 
#49
Has anyone here mentioned to the OP that you actually have to STRIP the poly finish first? That, or paint directly over it, as a few others have down as well. Gives a cool layered effect.

Directly sanding poly down to the wood would take FOREVER and turn out poorly in the end IMO

Use a toxic paint stripper like Citi Strip to first to remove the thick layer of poly OR another method is buy a heat gun and hold it to the finish. The poly peels off in sheets. There are youtube videos and posts on how to do this correctly.

Once you get the finish off, follow the re-ranch tips for spraying a new color in nitro and then you begin your relic piece.
 
#50
To get things looking accurate you have to think about the frets too . Maybe dremel little bits where the string would create wear .

Once people notice the frets are worn they're just going to assume it's the real thing regardless of how awful the rest of the job is.

Voila
 
#51
Suffice it to say, there is some HORRIBLE advice in this thread (there are also a few good tips). See what the posters attitude is....if it is evident that he/she doesn't actually *like* relics, well certainly don't take their advice. Dragging a body behind a car, for instance, will only look like a bass that has been "dragged behind a car"....not actually "played".


For the rest, I'm just gonna quote myself from previous posts:


Dark Horse said:
Travis -

There are a few things that stand out to me - but first let me say that it is very TOUGH to make a poly finish look convincing. It can be done, but it's such a PITA that most experienced guys avoid it.

Please take this as constructive criticism, as it is definitely meant as such...and hopefully will help you in the future.

Obviously you haven't worked on the hardware or the neck, so I won't address those things.

Overall the "feel" is fine. The things that stand out to me are :

1) The dings are all of similar depth, look like similar objects caused them, and are in some places where "deep dings" normally don't happen because the bridge and knobs keep the body elevated even if it is dropped on its' face. They take the brunt of the blow.

2) Also, even if the finish is somewhat dulled (and vintage guitars are usually at least "semi-shiny"), the dings will typically be shiny inside. That is because the paint in the dings is somewhat protected. When the dings are dull inside, that's a dead giveaway that the guitar is a relic.

3) The back/ buckle wear - pretty good job there...nice restraint, and overall looks like it should.

4) Pickguard - typically you won't have wear marks by the knobs, especially the tone knob. Wear indicates that it is a place that gets used/rubbed a lot, and bassists typically don't use their volume and tone knobs enough to wear down an anodized guard. The placement of the wear above the pickup is pretty good, though I personally use the corner of the pickup to anchor my thumb, as opposed to the screw mount...but that's a personal playing thing.

5) The area that you've "rubbed" along the bottom edge is a place that typically chips, not rubs. Dings happen there from setting the bass down, having it fall, etc... but you usually won't see rubs there that are similar to arm rubs.

So basically you have some good ideas, but since this is your first attempt, there are a few issues with the execution.

If it were mine and I didn't want to do a nitro refin, some things that I would do to make it more convincing are:

1) I would shine up the body. Use car wax and shine it to a nice semi-gloss.

2) Try to steam out/lift a few of the deeper dings. A wet/damp cloth over top and an iron can help raise them a bit so they aren't so deep.

3) I would add a few scrapes and dings (using different objects) along the bottom edge. Nothing big or drastic, but I would definitely (carefully and lightly)"chip up" the area that you've rubbed along the bottom edge.

4) Add a few shallow dings or grooves in the belt buckle wear area. Not much, but typically the paint doesn't wear smoothly there, and a belt buckle will usually cause a few deeper grooves.

5) Replace the anodized guard and only add a bit of wear in the place that my thumb actually "plants" when playing.


Tips for the future:

1) Take a look at how you play. Look at photos and see how and where your arm hangs, where your waistline is, where you hold your plucking hand, etc.

2) Formulate a "history" for the instrument. I do this before aging because it helps envision how the instrument will age. Who originally owned it and how was it played ? Was it stuck under a bed, or was it gigged ? If gigged, how often and by what type of musician ? Was it modded ? Etc, etc. Once you have a history/plan in place, you can begin aging.

3) When you think that you need to do "just a little more", that's the time to stop.

I hope this helps - this can be a really cool bass with a bit of planning, effort, and execution. In the end all that matters though is that YOU are happy with it !

;)
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Dark Horse said:
2 things -

1) Chrome ages VERY differently than nickel - in "real life" and in "relic-world". It is incredibly UNCOMMON to see a beat up, rust set of pickup and bridge covers.

2) Typically people took the covers off their bass and kept them in the case, so scratching is light.



If you look at a bunch of "real" vintage guitars you'll see what I'm talking about. People are now so indoctrinated to the "rusty = vintage looking" theory that most relic builders follow, that they don't take the time to look at "real" guitars.
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Dark Horse said:
In looking at the pictures, I notice a few things.

First (and the most "telling" that the wear isn't natural), I wouldn't advise "scraping" the paint off. It just looks like "scraped off paint", not paint that has been "rubbed off over time. Better ways to get realistic wear include buffing wheels, steel wool, and lots of elbow grease.

Second, the key to making a poly finish look worn is to use moderation. Don't go too heavy on the wear, stick to very "light use" wear. No big arm wear marks, just a small rub. Dings, but no huge chunks out of it.

Third, look at the hardware on an old guitar. How is it worn ? Is it "even", or is there more wear in the places where body oils come in contact with the metal ?


What you want to do is formulate a plan, follow it, but go just a bit "lighter" on the wear than your plan calls for. Get a grease pencil or wax pencil, put your guitar on a strap and mark where your arm falls when you are playing it. mark the places on the back where your belt buckle would be, and any other "contact points". Stick the guitar on a stand, and mark the points that would be "hit" if the guitar fell. Just things like that. It's almost like fabricating a "history" of the guitar, and then through careful "artwork", you are making that "history" come true.

I hope this helps.
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A few I've built in the past -


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#53
^ Agreed.
Hey Dark Horse, why don't you just go ahead and post that blue P to me? :D
That thing is all my dreams in an instrument. Really nice work, man!

To the OP. I don't know whether or not you're a smoker but something I've always been very interested in seeing is cigarette burns. Perhaps on the pickguard.

Great lover of worn out basses, regardless of how they got to be like that (unless it's via the Fender factory that they got like that)

Cheers,
Slim
 
#54
Don't sand a big patch off- that always looks bad to me.

The biggest problem with relics IMO is when people try to make their bass look 50 years old, instead of 10 or 20 years old. Radical relics often look fake to me. Go for "subtle". Try to make it look a few years old, not like it's a rare and valuable early instrument. IMO, the more subtle the better.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned... seems like certain colors are better suited to relics. Natural, off white and sunburst maybe. While other colors seem harder to pull off convincingly (bright blues, reds, blacks... colors with a lot of contrast against bare wood). The closer the paint job is to bare wood, may be better.
 
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#55
5string5fingers said:
No as apposed to getting gratification through patience and waiting for a good thing.
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I hear ya, brother Calvin.


Loving those Esquire teles up there, I would rock them out (especially the one with the bigsby).

Now IIRC some dude on here has a 1980s P bass in poly in LPB that has reliced from his playing. It has some crazy onionskin thing going on through the layers of clear, LPB, undercoat etc...

Now that would be how reliced Poly should look. I guess people try and relic Poly to look like Nitro. However some natural Nitro relics (like Herbie Flowers' J bass) do not look 'authentic'.

Its strange, but I think relics are their own island. They do not always honestly represent the wear you see on real vintage basses. There is a guy on here also who has a Sunburst P he taped something onto, and taking off the tape lifted the finish. If you saw it you would think a 14 year old went at it with his Dad's tools.

There seems very little middle ground for relics. You either get the tastefully modest ones or the all-out sandblasted ones with the burned finish and the horribly rusted metal parts.
 

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