I f'd up a couple of times, so thought I'd list my woes so someone else might not make the same goofs, or if anyone has suggestions for what I should have done, please chip in.
Here is what I started with.. I know its history from the early 90's when it had already had a dodgy refine to black.
Here's the products purchased
With the paint stripper attempting to do its best, there was lots of sparkly red bleeding from the cavities
Other than showing the previous red in the cavities, left overnight in a bin bag, the stripper didn't do much more, so I switched to heat gun.
Now the body is back to wood and sanded, I applied the sand and sealer. I should have done more with the filler first because when I sanded again I kept going through to the wood. As the bass is old, the wood is no longer flat which is most noticeable where the 3 sections are joined. I continued to sand through to the wood even after the primer stage, so the whole "sand and sealer / wait over night then prime" process was repeated 3 times - dick...
When I'd finally realised the error of my ways and applied more filler to the wood, I got back to the primer stage and goofed again. I had used 800 wet and dry with soapy water, then decided to reopen the screw holes with a bradle. One of the screw holes is on a join and the water got to the wood and made a 2 inch crack along the join. So I had to cut a little channel with a craft knife, added filler to the bare wood, then primed for the 4th and final time. At this point the bass was all one colour, although I'd coloured the workshop blue with loud profanity
Next was the Silver base coat for Candy Apple red.
Then Candy Apple Red base coat. I wasn't keeping the aerosol close enough to the body when spraying, so the red didn't cover well after 4 coats and I ran out of paint - F**K..
I ordered another can and used 1200 wet and dry to prep the poorly applied existing base coat. Holding the can closer (20cms) the finish was way better.
Next for masking the stripes
On with the cream stripes
Then lacquer - leave a week and reassemble.
The paint feels a little soft still so I've place a strip of wood over the 2 supports on my stand which would normally touch the body. So the bass rests on its strap button and is held by the neck. A bit precarious, but hopefully avoids mixtape's woes.
I've also yet to do any buffing. In certain light I can see a little orange peel. Should I still use the cutting compound and polish?
Once again thanks to the people who know how for sharing the knowledge.
