re-fin advice

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Adrian Levi

I have noticed that many restorers seem to re finish their basses in darker brown colors ! Can this be to try and hide imperfections ?
Also does antiquing an instrument help hide imperfections ?

What does one do if an old instrument in need of a refin has so many dings on it that it is not possible or even desirable for that matter to fix them ?

Do not sand out dings. Only strip off the old finish and then apply the ground when startling to apply the finish. Chemically stripping the old finish is 100% better than sanding it off. Then you only have some light scraper marks to remove (hopefully) from lifting off the 'gunk' with something like a small paint scraper.

Do not 'try' to make the bass look new. Knocking down the gloss will help this. Also, some light antiquing tastefully done in the varnish will look better. Here is a bass of mine that was made from 2007-2008, just 2 years ago or so. http://www.kensmithbasses.com/doublebasses/lott/

You don't have to beat it with chains to help it look old. There is nothing worse than an old bass that looks new..