Got my P-bass today

[vanstry]

So, it showed up and I'm happy that I have another project to start here soon. I'm going to seal the body with sanding sealer tomorrow, but I'm going to wait until the rain is done before I paint it (water base paint). I'm debating a first coat of white or silver, before I put the metallic blue on it, so there's less chance of any grain showing through.

Looking at it though, I'm almost sorry I got the pickguard, I'm wondering if I should have done a rear rout and then just stained it, because it's a seriously nice looking piece of wood (alder). I almost feel bad for hiding it.

I'm also debating routing a slot in the pickguard so I don't have to take it off to adjust the truss rod. Any ideas on that?

Pic:

 

[Cagey]

That is a nice-looking piece of Alder. Since you haven't finished it yet, what's stopping you from changing your plans? You don't have to cover it up. Do something transparent.

As for cutting access to the truss rod adjuster, the pickguard is just ABS plastic. A rattail file and some patience will get you there. Might be worth clamping some guides on either side of the slot you're going to cut to keep things straight.

 

[vanstry]

I am thinking about it (changing my plans on paint vs stain). If I do, I may just cut the pickguard down to only cover the rout (like on some of the Jazz basses I've seen) and a small square or such shape around the pickups to make them look nice.

 

[Michaelga]

That is some nice figuring! Some alder has better figuring than some swamp ash. It'll look great with a natural or dyed finish!

Michael

 

[musicispeace]

I'm a big alder fan, except when it is really, really putty colored. Or, as I recently read somewhere as an apt descriptor, the color of hearing aids.  :laughing7:

Yours is a beauty.

 

[Cagey]

Hehe! "The color of hearing aids" LOL! Never heard that one. Have to remember it.

 

[vanstry]

Well I stained it today. I like how the back looks, a little 50/50 on the front. May sand it back and re-stain the front. Here are pics so you can all tell me how bad it looks
In the end, it will have a bunch of clear on it (and yes, I did use prestain first).

 

[Cagey]

Alder is one of those problem child woods that doesn't like to stain evenly. The density varies somewhat invisibly, so absorption does, too. You don't hear about it with Alder very often, as people tend to not stain it since there's rarely any distinctive/attractive grain to bring out. It's more often given an opaque finish, or if it's to remain exposed as a wood, clear coated.

I'm not sure sanding that back is going to help unless you take it all the way back to raw Alder, then re-seal it.

 

[vanstry]

It actually looks better now after sitting a few hours. I'm probably just going to clear coat it at this point.

 

[musicispeace]

It actually looks better now after sitting a few hours. I'm probably just going to clear coat it at this point.

Cool, please keep us posted.

 

[rgand]

It should look great with clear over what you have. Looking forward to seeing your progress.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Hehe! "The color of hearing aids" LOL! Never heard that one. Have to remember it.

Or band-aids!

 

[vanstry]

Okay, just started the second day of clear coating. I did six coats the first day (I would have done only five, but I forgot to put a sealer over the stain, so the pores were a bit thirsty).

The pics below are after the first coat of the day. I'll do four more today, then five more tomorrow. I did fifteen coats on the first bass I built (scroll down for pics: http://www.vanstry.net/vanstry/Solo%20Bass%20Build.html it was a $220 kit) and it came out rather nice.

I'm using General Finishes High Gloss water based topcoat, and sanding back each morning.

 

[vanstry]

Finished clearcoating today. I'll sand it and start polishing it sometime this weekend.
Here's a finished pic, the lighting isn't the best, so you really can't see the gloss.

 

[vanstry]

So yeah, tragedy struck.
Finally get to polish sanding. This time around I decided to do it like the guy whose instructions said to: Spray 5 coats, sand back, Spray 5, sand back, Spray 5 and you're done.

Never doing that again.

last build (which was my first one) I did the 5 coats a day of clear, but I lightly sanded each one after it was dry. So when it was done 1200 grit got rid of the orange peel pretty damn quick. Doing it the 'proper way'?
I went through three pieces of 800 grit. After first going through one piece of 1200 and realizing I was just wasting my time.

So, I got it smooth and the orange peel is almost all gone and I see a strange mark by the arm cutout, so I sand it lightly and a 1 inch long piece of finish, right down the the wood comes off, including most of the stain.
(see pic below)
So yeah, kinda screwed there, and kinda pissed. To me it looks like oil contaminated the wood there, and the stain prep didn't do anything about it. As I'm using water based products, that's just not going to work well.

So, sand that spot back to wood, try to re-stain. Nope, won't take. Sand it back with 200 grit and get down into the wood. Took a few tries, ended up using the drying stain on the cover and working it in with a finger. So now it seems to look mostly okay.

Taped it all off and I'm going to paint the finish on with a foam brush in that area, not gonna waste the time with the spray gun. Just gonna glop it on, let it dry, sand it back. For a couple of days.

It it comes off again, I'll either strip it back to a rough enough finish and just rattle can it with cheap paint, or just toss it. In either case I'll be buying a new body, because I sure as hell don't want to have to sand the whole thing back to bare wood and then risk having this happen a third time.

It really sucks too, because it looks great, or it did until that piece of finish came off.

 

[Cagey]

That's too bad.

I usually lightly sand between coats, rather than try to build too much and then fix it.

One thing I learned from the sheet metal guys 100 years ago is "no matter what you think, it's never clean. You clean it before you put anything new on, or be prepared to cry". Those guys were nuts. They'd take Methyl Ethyl Ketone after it. That stuff will make you grow strange body parts, and give you a thousand-mile stare. But, their paint always stuck.

One thing to keep in mind about edges when you're sanding - stay away from them. Even with a conscious effort to avoid them, you'll still hit them just enough to be right. They need almost no attention, and any more than that will cut right through them.

 

[vanstry]

I had sanded that wood down, before I stained it, and used a pre-stain to prep the wood. Beyond that, I don't know what else I could have done. It wasn't the sanding that did it, because everywhere else is just fine. A piece had already flaked off, when I noticed an imperfection and then tried to smooth it out, and suddenly that huge piece is just gone.

I'm worried about how it's going to look when it's done, or even if what I'm putting on there will hold, or if it's just gonna flake off again. If it does, I'm pretty much left with trashing the body and buying a new one. I'm not set up to spray with oil based stuff or the harder chemicals that will deal with that kind of issue.

Also, I wanted the finish to look perfect on this one. When I finally get it polished out, even if that spot is fine now and doesn't bubble up, if it's a visible imperfection, I won't be using it. So, kinda bummed. Yesterday a friend, through negligence, ruined a brand new generator I bought, and I had to throw it out. So yeah, so far this week has been a bummer.

 

[Cagey]

Well, I wouldn't trash it. If you're anxious for progress on a new bass, maybe replace it and move on, then when you're feeling more ambitious, give 'er another go.

Also, unless you're trying to create a finish Warmoth won't offer, I'd consider letting them finish it. They do fantastic work and you get a highly durable finish for a very reasonable price.

 

[vanstry]

The point of it is doing it myself. If I was willing to pay someone else to finish it, I'd just drop two grand on an actual fender p-bass. As for trashing it, I'm hoping to move here in a few months to nicer state. The less stuff I have to move the better, and honestly? I know I can strip it down and do it all over again, I just don't feel like wasting my time doing it, because I don't have that kind of time to waste. I work 12 hour days, 7 days a week most of the time already. This is supposed to be something to get away from that.

I'm hoping that when all is said and done, that I managed to save it and it will look fine. If not, well, then we'll see what I decide to do next.

 

[Cagey]

I understand, and I salute you. You're a pragmatic, which to my way of thinking is a good thing to be  :headbang: