Staining Opinions

[JoZac21]

My first bass, a Squier Affinity I got when I was 12, is completely in ruins (long story), except for the body, pups and bridge. So, in want of a p-bass I've decided I'm going to fix it up.

I'm going to stain it in the next week or two (a rebuild thread will exist), but I was wondering what people thought for stain color. I lifted these picks from other talkbass users... but they're both perty.

It will have a maple fretboard.

Natural (the body's not ash, so use your imagination):

Or walnut:

Other ideas are appreciated... let me know what you think!

 

[EagleMoon]

Have you stripped the body of paint yet? You might be surprised at whats most likely underneath there. IME, they tend to be mulitple pieces of wood sometimes with a laminate on top. They can be pretty ugly.

 

[JoZac21]

Have you stripped the body of paint yet? You might be surprised at whats most likely underneath there. IME, they tend to be mulitple pieces of wood sometimes with a laminate on top. They can be pretty ugly.

I'm not totally worried about ugly lol.

I suppose after I strip the paint, if it's really bad, I'll stain it a lot darker... like a couple of coats of dark walnut. Hopefully, I'll be stripping it within the week (damned full-time jobs).

 

[5string5fingers]

Even with dark stain it's going to look awful. Best bet is to go for a paint.

 

[oldrookie]

Hmm...

It's a crap shoot as to what is under the paint.

The first one I did was a very ash and it turned out pretty good.

The second one...the jury is still out as I am trying to decide what color to go with, but the wood is not as good. Veneer top over poplar...I think.

 

[Spinal Tapper]

you're going to want to paint that body a solid color after you see the wood...

 

[5string5fingers]

Hmm...

It's a crap shoot as to what is under the paint.

The first one I did was a very ash and it turned out pretty good.

The second one...the jury is still out as I am trying to decide what color to go with, but the wood is not as good. Veneer top over poplar...I think.

those aren't cheap squiers though?

Even my VM squier had a multi piece body,that looked rather ugly with the paint off.

 

[oldrookie]

No, those are Peavey's. Both Fury's. Posted to illustrate that you don't always know what you've got until you strip it.

Are the Squiers basswood?

 

[Stranger Danger]

Go for the Walnut.

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