2010 Squire Jazz Bass Make-over

[andrewsrea]

Pete Townsend would be proud!

Here was the guitar:

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And here is what is left of the finish:

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Here is the body & neck ready for spray:

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[ILuvTeles]

And here is what is left of the finish:
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I got a chuckle out of that!

What method did you use?

[TVvoodoo]

What colour??? Tease!

[andrewsrea]

[/quote]

I got a chuckle out of that!

What method did you use?
[/quote]

Heat gun. Was perfect and took about 2 hours. No scorching - that black is leftover Nylon paint, deep in the pores and I kept it as filler after a ton of sanding. Way better than chemical stripping.

Crazy thing: the flakes that came off were perfectly shiny. Like there was no effect from the heat gun on the surface. I've head stripped enamel and latex, which haze as soon as the heat is applied. Not this stuff.

[andrewsrea]

What colour??? Tease!

Fiesta Red from Re-ranch.

Doing it according to early finishing schedule, as recorded by Leo Fender and Freddie Tavares! Vintage thin - not too glossy.

[andrewsrea]

*** Critical advise ****

When your gut says order an extra can - order an extra can. Ran out of Fiesta Red, shy of two more coats needed. Not as opaque as I expected and not covering the dark and light spots underneath (see pics).

Oh, and Reranch is down for restocking. I email him, but bought a can from Gracey's Vintage Finishes in Ohio. Looked the same. We'll find out.

I'd say this sets me back a week, depending on delivery speed, color match, etc.

Drying a really nice shade, though...

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[andrewsrea]

Shout out to Bill from ReRanch, who expedited an additional can of Fiesta Red to the Andrews residence!

Unfortunately, Gracey's Vintage Finish was 3 weeks out of stock and might have been a different shade.

[andrewsrea]

The saga continues for the Jazz Bass refinish. 1958 Fiesta Red!

Since I don't have a spray booth and nitro cellulose lacquer requires good ventilation, I spray in my garage and rely on proper humidity and temperature. Had some really great days to finish the red toner, clear coats and flash-coat over the base color. It will be totally cured and ready for polishing in two weeks, but looks really close now...

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[Mossman]

That looks awesome! In my experience, it always takes more than one can to paint a guitar body, and it's best not to try to use up the last dregs in the can (unless you want a sputtery, textured surface). It's always a good call to stick with the paint you started with too. You'll never get an exact match if you switch brands.

[andrewsrea]

I will need to revisit the Jazz Bass finish in 3 to 4 months to remove some more swirls, when the nitro has slowed down its shrinking and hardening.

But here it is, along with an new set of AMI 'Swing Bass' hand built pickups. They are in-between the fat original 60's specs and the funky 70's. The guitar color is really affected by the light source. It looks more orange or more red, depending on the light.

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[Gear_Junky]

But here it is, along with an new set of AMI 'Swing Bass' hand built pickups. They are in-between the fat original 60's specs and the funky 70's. The guitar color is really affected by the light source. It looks more orange or more red, depending on the light.

I'll admit, I never saw it coming out this way from the "in progress" pics. Awesome! Would you call this a "salmon" color?

[andrewsrea]

But here it is, along with an new set of AMI 'Swing Bass' hand built pickups. They are in-between the fat original 60's specs and the funky 70's. The guitar color is really affected by the light source. It looks more orange or more red, depending on the light.

I'll admit, I never saw it coming out this way from the "in progress" pics. Awesome! Would you call this a "salmon" color?

That is very kind - thank you!

The color is ReRanch 'Fiesta Red', which is his version of the Fender 'mistake' of that color which ended up on Hank Marvin's 1957 Stratocaster. The real Ford / DuPont 'Fiesta Red' looks close, as seen on this 1956 T-bird:

I understand your comment on progress, as not having a clean room / spray booth broke my stones. Eyelashes, arm hair, head hair, dust, etc. Also, I did a VOS (Vintage Original Spec) finish, as thinly as possible. Following Fender's hand written paint schedule this was daunting: thin-clear sealer, chunky white primer sanded back to 'level,' color base, red / orange tint (simulates aging), crystal-clear coats, leveling and wash-coat (melts and bonds prior coats). The first go, I had sand-though and had to buy more paint and fix. If I had to guess, I would say I have over 80 hours invested in this finish.

The finish is not flawless and I kept telling myself that the originals probably were not either. But, I am happy with the results. Like I mentioned, it will get better with age.

The bass sounds great and plays like a $2K instrument.

[Gear_Junky]

The closest I'll ever get to refinishing anything is using truoil. I've tried spray painting a few things (pickup rings, pickguards) and wasn't happy with the "easy" results. And the long and proper method is just too lengthy for me.