StingRay gets a Do-Over!

[Levin Hannaford]

Hi guys! Long time reader first time refinisher here!

Here's a little back story on the Bass I will be working on. She is an '02 Stingray in trans teal that I bought in 2006. I was quite hesitant to buy based on the amount of damage that was already done to the body and the fact that trans-teal didn't really appeal to me, but the bass as a whole played so nicely that I decided that for $500 and an OHSC, I could overlook those things. After all, I'm not super careful with my gear anyways, so what's a few 'starter dings' anyways???

Well during 5 years of heavy gigging I've seen my arsenal of basses grow, with the Stingray being phased out due to some electronics issues, and the fact that I began to enjoy playing my Sterling just a bit more. In short, the Stingray was banished to the closet, with no reason to ever return

After nearly a year of excommunication, I had a series of events occur. I found my old automotive spray gun in my shop, an item long thought lost or sold, and I also discovered a Seymour Duncan MM pickup in the Clearance bin at my local GC.

So out came the StingRay!!

I decided I wanted to give her a new lease on life! I have seen so many great threads here on Talkbass with guys doing the same, that I figure I can give it a try!

So off comes the neck, pickguard, & bridge

the heel of the neck

Notice the dents and cracks in the poly

 

[JonnyAngle]

I hope it turns out to be metal flaked!

 

[Levin Hannaford]

I decided that using a heat gun would be my quickest option to get to the bare wood of this bass. I wanted to use nitro lacquer on the bass because I've read how well it goes on.

I start near the front 'ding' as I have called it

I used a scraper to gently peel the poly, keeping my heat gun just in front of the blade. This is really effortless!

Off comes the poly!

 

[Levin Hannaford]

I hope it turns out to be metal flaked!

one day I hope to pull off a flake!

I wanted to experiment on this one

 

[Levin Hannaford]

The poly left a green residue. I guess this is the 'teal' that comprises 'Trans-teal' lol It looks as if there is a wood body, then a coat of poly, a thin coat of teal paint, then teal tinted poly, layered. I didn't want to continue heat-gunning the body if I didn't have to. And being in uncharted territory (well for me anyways!) I want to err on the side of caution.

So I take a small chip of the poly and examine it....and decide it was time for Stripper!

get your minds outta the gutter!! :scowl:

I'n talking about THIS kind!

The teal paint on the chip of poly dissolves when dipped in the stripper,

so I apply it to the body..and pray

The stripper worked great, but saying that getting ALL of the teal off was tough, is a MASSIVE understatement. This stuff is awful! Just when you think it's all gone, there is a smudge of it somewhere!!

Notice the small bits of it left here

and the front

 

[Levin Hannaford]

I also discovered that my theory of a poly clear coat being under the teal paint to be true. As the cracks that were in the surface coat are also present in the 'base coat' as I'll call it.

So I patch up what I can

 

[Levin Hannaford]

I have decided to leave the teal in the pickup and control cavities, just so it'll never be confused as original

Armed with my knowledge of the base coat being poly, nitrocellulose is now out as my primary option. Time to adjust my tactics. I do what all men do when brainstorming...I go to Home Depot! There I find Minwax Polyshades. It is stain and polyurethane sold in one can. So I buy Black, Pecan, and a Redwood looking color. I get home and adjust the air compressor, complete with a regulator and water filter, and grab my spray gun. I fine tune my paint/air ratio, practice on some cardboard for a moment, and then...its time to get brave....

I can't believe how well it turned out!!!

 

[Levin Hannaford]

While the body dries, I sand the teal off of the headstock

The finish on the headstock was MUCH thinner, I used a palm sander and it took less than 5 minutes to get it down to the wood.

Now I turn my attention back to the body. I mix the red and pecan colors together and spray them in the center!

I let them dry all day and overnight and then touch up a little bit

 

[Levin Hannaford]

I sand a little before the first clear coat and begin blending the fade between black and brown.

then I spray clear

Now for some more fun with wetsanding!!

As I'm doing this I take care to gently blend the fade. I'm really getting excited!!!

Time for another clear coat!

that's all for today. more to come soon!!!

 

[Arnie]

I am impressed with the "burst" paint so far..

 

[Levin Hannaford]

I am impressed with the "burst" paint so far..

Thanks!! I watched Youtube videos of how to do it!

 

[tZer]

Man - that looks GREAT! Talk about an upgrade!

 

[kris pung]

Amazing, the sunburst looks so much better then the teal.

 

[Corey Y]

The burst came out great. I'd love to see that with a maple board.

 

[Levin Hannaford]

Thanks guys! I'm seriously considering either using a clear pickguard, or possibly none at all!

 

[crazygtr]

I would like to know more about how you diluted those minwax products to spray them.

 

[Levin Hannaford]

I would like to know more about how you diluted those minwax products to spray them.

I actually just poured them right into my spray gun. I added just a touch of thinner into the clear, just to make it atomize a bit better. But I'm not entirely sure it made any difference

 

[reverendrally]

looks great. what are gonna do about the decal for the headstock?

 

[BillyIVbass]

Great work!

 

[stroopy121]

IMHO I like solid, bright colours more than bursts but you've made an amazing job of that, well done!

xx