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To sand-down or not to sand-down....?

B

BassJase.

Feb 15, 2006
2
0
50
Norfolk, England.
#1
I bought a Yamaha RBX375 about a year ago, and initially i really liked the silver finish, but now i'm on the verge of selling it as i can't stand it. I'd love to keep it as it sounds good and plays great, but i really have no idea how to sand it down.
It has a solid Alder body (but i have no idea what Alder looks like) but it looks like the silver paint might be quite thick. I also have no idea as to what kind of varnish or laquer to put on it if i successfully manage to sand it.
Any help at all would be very much appreciated, cheers folks.
 
#2
Sanding it down and refinishing it will take a lot of work but is do-able. Its all about how badly you dislike the finish. If I was you and it bothered me a lot i would sell it and buy a different bass in a color that i liked.
 
#3
Yeah, it is a ton of work to do that. But if the bass sounds and plays good, what does it matter what it looks like? But if it bothers you that much, as it has probably happened to us all, just trade it in for something that looks better to you. Make sure the new one though at least sounds and plays just as good if not better.
 
#4
I'm going to have to recommend not sanding it down. The wood underneath could have nasty gluelines, filler, or any number of other problems. If you don't like the bass the way it is you are better off selling it, and it will be worth more with the original finish.
 
#6
Don't do it. My buddy and I tried it once on his guitar. Big mistake. Wood is joined in weird places and terrible angles, the grain looks awful, it looks glued together in some places, he ended up just repainting it, and those some substantial hours in our life that we will never get back
 
#7
There's a reason that some guitars are painted in solid colors, and others are natural...I'm guessing that you're going to spend hours and hours sanding that sucker down and you won't like what you find!

Lonnybass
 
#11
I highly recommend NOT doing it. BUT if you want to see how thick the paint is you could take out a screw on the bass and look down the hole. you should be able to see the wood and then the layer of paint.

but since yours is a yamaha I dont know what screws you could take out....since its not got a pickguard.
 
#14
I've got an RBX bass, doin what you're plannin too - the laquer is fairly thin - but it will take a while to get thru tho. My advice would be to get access to a belt sander - it'll cut the time dramatically.
Mine had a clear finish - and it looked pretty good, just badly pitted from many years of playing. So strip and re-finish. Strip done.
I'm in the process of dropping the new PUP and wacking a stain on it soon.......
 
#15
Basses that are painted are painted for a reason...to cover unsightly wood blemishes and/or laminations/joints.

Sometimes (not often) you'll find some appealing wood underneath. The P-Bass in my avatar is an MIM that I sanded off the ugly sunburst finish and slapped a tort pickguard on. The alder had VERY little grain and one block of wood is noticably glued up with no regard to matching the rest.

If YOU want to do it, go ahead, but you've been forewarned.

Having said that...Wanna make it easy? Two words...

Belt Sander.

Just be careful or you are likely to just sand right through to the other side. Sanding by hand or with palm sanders will take A LOT longer (as in you'll think your arm is going to fall off...either that, or you wish it would). Belt Sanders, with appropriate grade paper will go through the finish (and the wood itself) like a hot knife through butter.
 
#16
May I suggest stickers?

or find an artist to paint some art on it then clear coat it again.

if you dont mind spending the time with the sanding and are willing to go with a solid color, i'll be the devil on your shoulder and say "go for it."
 
#19
Use a chemical paint stripper and it's not that hard. The only reason to do it is because you are curious and WANT to do it for fun. I repainted a Jazz bass a wild color of orange for fun. The wood under was actually plywood, so a natural finish was out of the question. It's really a pretty enjoyable project if you are in to working with wood and finishes.
 
#20
A chemical stripper will not work on a nitro finish. If it's nitro, your only bet will be a belt sander.

You won't know what's under it unless you get to what's under it.

Worst case? You have to repaint it. No big deal. I've done it on many, many instruments. If you don't like the color...change it. It's not very hard to do...no black magic or voodoo to it.
 

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