LeftyBassist.com

Is there a thread on body refinishing?

I have an early 70s P body, sunburst, and I want to refinish it to sonic blue.

I think the current finish is nitro. How can I tell for sure?

Can I do this myself? I've never refinished a body, but it sounds like a fun project. I've read the info at Reranch. Will I be OK with just aerosol cans? Any thoughts or recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks!

I did several bodies utilizing the ReRanch products and suggested workflows, and they came out every bit as good as what I see in Fender products today.

a couple things to consider:

* a heated shop is very helpful, since all of my attempts at spraying Nitro when the temperature dropped below 74F resulted in blushing to some extent. the great thing with Nitro is that you can easily remedy this - even 8 months later! - by shooting a new topcoat in proper conditions

* getting a grain filling and solid primer coat will save you tons of time down the process road. get that primer perfectly levelled nad you final clear coats will be a relative snap

* you can get a better deal on the primer by shopping for Deft brush-on primer at Lowes

* have the patience to hold off on buffing the clear until the body has had more than ample time to offgas. buffing too soon will result in the soft finish 'smudging' (hopefully this only happens where you can cover it with a pickguard)

* shooting outdoors will allow you to preserve many unusual looking insects that can only be seen after your final clearcoat

* wear a good respirator with the correct cartridges (and not just a paper dust mask) and eye protection


when you order from the ReRanch site, you may get a log-in prompt ... no biggie - the owner is a travelling musician and sets the site to password protect when he's unavailable to make shipments. try again in a day or two

o - most important ... but an extra can or two and have some fun in the process

all the best,

R

Ah, thanks so much, Rodent. I'm just going to take my time, do the best I can, and have fun.

Is my finish nitro? The body looks a lot like the one at the top this page. I hear removing poly is whole other ballgame.

unfortunately I don't remember the cut-off date for when Fender switched to poly. maybe someone else here does

if you do have a poly finish I can recommend trying a couple things

1) a heat gun and a scraper - I've heard of a few people who were able to remove their heavy poly finish rather easily with this method. I assume it's because the primer wasn't applied too well and the poly didn't bond to it - but the poly was thick enough that it didn't fracture off

2) LOTS of sandpaper and elbow grease. ugh! I don't think I need to say more


in either case use a good respirator with cartridges designed for the kind of fumes/dust you'll be creating. I'd avoid a chemical stripper if possible - messy, messy, messy IME

all the best,

R

ReRanch has a great forum with lots of knowledgable folks, it's worth your time to check it out.

http://www.reranch.com/reranch/

don't quote me on this, but I'm pretty sure Fender switched to poly shortly after CBS bought them. I have read that there are some early CBS basses with nitro finish left over from Fender era.
I highly doubt anything from 1967 onwards has a nitro finish.

Hey, Rodent, I read about the heat gun approach on reranch. They say that there's a chance I might burn the wood, and that might lead to an inconsistent refinish.

Have you heard anything first-hand about this?

If I were to refinish it in natural (no paint), would this be less of a factor? (I'd like to go natural, but I'm undecided on a clear nitro finish or just tung oil).

Thanks again for all your help.