First build: TB-4 bass

[fender3x]

I feel your pain. The bugs, the droplets, the waiting...

[Simon Barden]

I use a pop-up toilet tent as an outside spray booth, others use pop-up fabric wardrobes (which are useful as they come with a hanging rail).

No other ventilation, but having as much volume as possible helps the overspray disperse mire before it settles.

But you’ll probably get orange peel regardless. The overspray tends to manifest itself as a dry surface powder. With a spray gun you can add retarder thinners to the paint, which lets the paint dry a bit slower and reduces the surface tension, allowing it to sit flatter on the surface.

[Karl]

It's been a long time since my last post. I reread it and laughed at what I wrote back then: "I'm excited that this is the last time I have to wait for something to dry or cure."

I had to start over. There were some weak spots where a layer of paint under the surface never cured. Too much paint and too much humidity. I waited a month and a half to see if it might get better over time, but no luck.

While I was sanding off the paint, I decided I liked the look of the bare wood with random patterns of primer, so I left the upper and lower sections of the front as you can see in the picture. This is the new paint job, with the first layer of clear applied yesterday.


I intentionally over-sanded some edges and a few other spots to go with the relic-ed theme. No, I'm not just saying that to cover up my mistakes!

[fender3x]

That's pretty interesting. Looking forward to seeing it assembled.

[Trevor Davies]

While I was sanding off the paint, I decided I liked the look of the bare wood with random patterns of primer, so I left the upper and lower sections of the front as you can see in the picture. This is the new paint job, with the first layer of clear applied yesterday.


I intentionally over-sanded some edges and a few other spots to go with the relic-ed theme. No, I'm not just saying that to cover up my mistakes!

I like it. I think the primer pattern looks great. It should go well with the rosewood neck.

[Karl]

I have to start over again.

I was about done with paint job #2, trying to decide if it needed more clear, when it took a dive. I had it on a 5 foot long dowel with one end in the output jack hole and the other end stuck in the ground. It flopped over and landed on gravel. There are dents in the body and the paint is chipped, scratched, and cracked.

I'm feeling more disbelief than angry about it. I'd probably be more upset if my other build wasn't coming along well. At this rate the second one will be finished first.

I've chosen a different color for attempt #3. Stay tuned...

[fender3x]

That is heartbreaking. It's the thing that drives me nuts about finishing. You can get really close and then something happens. Fortunately almost anything is fixable. It just takes some patience. I can't tell you how often my design choices have been driven by prior mistakes. Will you finish it the same, or do something new?

[Karl]

Yeah, if it had flopped in the opposite direction it would've landed gently on my lawn. As you said in another post, "Too soon old, too late smart."

I'm not going to finish it the same. Thinking of something darker than before, maybe black or purple or blue. Blue is my favorite but I already have a blue bass with a maple neck and rosewood fretboard.

I decided to buy a sander. It was a hell of a lot of work to take the paint off by hand last time. I may use it for polishing too but I don't know if I want to risk learning another lesson, the one about not burning through the clear coat!

[Rabbit]

Just make sure you don't skip grits when fine sanding the finish befor polishing, use the right compound and slow the sander down for polishing, and be patient.

[Karl]

It's cracked.



The photo was taken with me pushing on one side of the neck, widening the crack so it shows up better in the photo. Normally you can't see it unless you look very very closely, which is why I didn't notice until today. The crack starts at the back of the neck pocket and ends in the bridge pickup cavity. It doesn't go all the way through from top to bottom.

How should I fix this? The crack is so tight that I doubt I could get much wood glue into it. I also have some thin CA which flows better but it sets in seconds. The body is basswood, by the way.