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Warwick FNA Jazzman 5 Makeover

#22
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#23
dkelley said:
Wow, that's extreme effort LoL - but it turned out amazing!

I'm curious about the darkening of the fretboard (and immediately scared of it coming off on fingers, or impacting the frets, but considering the incredible job you did on this thing, I'm sure you solved these potential hurdles!). How'd you do it?

Interesting about the auto body shop.... it's not just rattlecan ... I mean, it is, and you did AMAZING work OP, but that's cool that you also had it professionally finished after, which no doubt is part of the magic we're seeing.

May I ask the approximate total cost in the refin including all parts and out of pocket expenses for tools you may not have had etc? obviously much less than the custom shop model.
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To darken the fret board I scuffed it up with a scotch brite pad, cleaned it with denatured alcohol, masked the sides of the neck with high quality no bleed tape (2 layers). I used Fiebings black leather dye from a craft store. Wipe it on and immediately wipe off. Did this twice. The next day I wiped again to make sure everything was wiped off, then oiled the fretboard. As for the cost - All parts shipped from Warwick Distribution Germany was $245. Sandpaper, tape, rags, paint was about $50. $100 to have the auto body shop spray the satin clear on it. So $400ish. Then I sold the gold hardware for $125
 
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#25
biggredd said:
To darken the fret board I scuffed it up with a scotch brite pad, cleaned it with denatured alcohol, masked the sides of the neck with high quality no bleed tape (2 layers). I used Fiebings black leather dye from a craft store. Wipe it on and immediately wipe off. Did this twice. The next day I wiped again to make sure everything was wiped off, then oiled the fretboard. As for the cost - All parts shipped from Warwick Distribution Germany was $245. Sandpaper, tape, rags, paint was about $50. $100 to have the auto body shop spray the satin clear on it. So $400ish. Then I sold the gold hardware for $125
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Brilliiant idea! It doesn't come off on your fingers, I take it? (The fingerboard color)

The costs are SO LOW!!!!!! WOW!!! I'm blown away! Of course there are lots of your own man hours in there unpaid, but as a DIY cost that's really good to know!

Would you mind posting what service the autobody place did? Like, the product name or service name? I can imagine any of us going and asking for same thing and getting a runaround... but if we specify, then at least we know it worked well for you.
 
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#26
dkelley said:
Brilliiant idea! It doesn't come off on your fingers, I take it? (The fingerboard color)

The costs are SO LOW!!!!!! WOW!!! I'm blown away! Of course there are lots of your own man hours in there unpaid, but as a DIY cost that's really good to know!

Would you mind posting what service the autobody place did? Like, the product name or service name? I can imagine any of us going and asking for same thing and getting a runaround... but if we specify, then at least we know it worked well for you.
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The dye doesn't come off on your fingers as long as it's wiped off good enough. After I painted it black I wet sanded down to 1000 grit. I did all the prep work so they just had to hang it and spray it. The auto body shop used Omni clearcoat which is made by PPG Finishes. The painter put a flattening agent in it to give it the desired low gloss sheen.
 
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#27
biggredd said:
The dye doesn't come off on your fingers as long as it's wiped off good enough. After I painted it black I wet sanded down to 1000 grit. I did all the prep work so they just had to hang it and spray it. The auto body shop used Omni clearcoat which is made by PPG Finishes. The painter put a flattening agent in it too give it the desired low gloss sheen.
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Thank you! Awesome work, and thanks for sharing all of the details! :-)
 
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#32
biggredd said:
I've had gas for a Warwick FNA Jazzman 5 and finally found one for a decent price. The only thing I don't like about these basses is that they were only sold in "honey violin" finish with gold hardware unless you got a limited edition or custom shop model. I don't have 5k+ to throw down on a custom FNA Jazzman 5 so I refinished mine in Satin black with new black hardware. It came out just how I envisioned it. I'm totally happy with the end result. View attachment 4220041 View attachment 4220042 View attachment 4220048 View attachment 4220049 View attachment 4220051 View attachment 4220052 View attachment 4220053 View attachment 4220054 View attachment 4220055 View attachment 4220056
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Much, much better
 
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#34
biggredd said:
I've had gas for a Warwick FNA Jazzman 5 and finally found one for a decent price. The only thing I don't like about these basses is that they were only sold in "honey violin" finish with gold hardware unless you got a limited edition or custom shop model. I don't have 5k+ to throw down on a custom FNA Jazzman 5 so I refinished mine in Satin black with new black hardware. It came out just how I envisioned it. I'm totally happy with the end result. View attachment 4220041 View attachment 4220042 View attachment 4220048 View attachment 4220049 View attachment 4220051 View attachment 4220052 View attachment 4220053 View attachment 4220054 View attachment 4220055 View attachment 4220056
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Looks amazing, great job
 
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