The cost of a refinish job

ghs_boomer · Post by **ghs_boomer** » Sat Jun 17, 2006 5:30 am

Well, $600.00 is WAY out of my range so i may attempt it my self. I have a friend who does auto refinishing and has the equipment but my concern is the binding and the type of paint and clear coat to use..Any suggestions?

Mike

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Tue Jun 20, 2006 7:32 am

...and therein lies the rub.

Sorry it's out of your range, Mike. But the difference between refinishing a car (which I did professionally on manufacturers' auto show cars, for a decade) and refinishing a guitar properly, especially a Rick, is pretty substantial, and the learning curve is a long one. There are many differences. Procedures which work fine on a car will not work on a guitar.

Amateur finishes reduce the value of a guitar or bass by a substantial percentage. If a painter is a car pro, he's usually a guitar amateur, until he's done a dozen or so.

That having been said, any black lacquer or urethane can be used. Do NOT use enamel or synthetic enamel. The clear coat can be any catalyzing urethane clear, made for furniture or for cars. The automotive ones are a bit more durable but more expensive.

An important step in a refin like this is the color sanding/buffing of the clearcoat. A Rick bass done properly will take about 12 ounces of black and about a quart or litre of clearcoat. The old finish needs to be stripped. Don't get chemical stripper on the binding--it will dissolve it and you'll have to re-bind. The binding is partially masked (the 1/4" wide area on the sides of the bass), and partially painted over (the face of the guitar or bass) and scraped. Scraping alone takes a good deal of practice before a guitar or bass can be done with confidence. You should not use paper masking tape to mask; it leaves too jagged of a line.

If you're going to re-coat the fretboard too, that's a whole other topic and has its own tricks and procedures that most people don't have a clue about.

I've been doing this for a long time, although I've only been doing Ricks for a year and a half. It takes about 30-50 hours to do a good refin job on a Rickenbacker.

I'm not trying to discourage as much as educate. And if you're going to be happy with a paint finish that is not "factory" looking/quality, then, fine, go at it.

Good luck...

throw_this_away · Post by **throw_this_away** » Tue Jun 20, 2006 7:40 am

There is a VERY well respected guy in our area that specializes in refinishes and vintage instrument restoration, and he charges about 1000$ canadian... so to me 600$ US looks pretty good.

I was thinking about refinishing my 72 at one point... but then I realized that for the price of a refin and a new fret job (+300$) I could get another ric.

aceonbass · Post by **aceonbass** » Tue Jun 20, 2006 8:19 am

Mike, what area are you in? I'm in So.Cal. and Pat Wilkins does all of my refins. He usually charges about $450.00. He's pretty well known around here and does great work.

shamustwin · Post by **shamustwin** » Tue Jun 20, 2006 10:22 am

Wilkins Guitars in Van Nuys?

aceonbass · Post by **aceonbass** » Tue Jun 20, 2006 10:48 am

That be the one.

ghs_boomer · Post by **ghs_boomer** » Tue Jun 20, 2006 3:46 pm

Paul, Thanks for the info....I think i'll save up the $$ and send it to you, although it may take a while. Mapleglo has never been my color of choice but the waiting period for a Jetglo was several months and i didn't want to wait.
So i got the Mapleglo..I figure if i attempted the job, i would probably ruin the bass..(it was just an idea)

Dane, I live in central Nebraska.

Thanks

Mike

scoobster28 · Post by **scoobster28** » Wed Jun 21, 2006 4:49 am

When my father damaged his 1970 Gibson SG, the quote was about what it cost him to buy it in the first place. Thus, he left the damage. 30 Years later, I acquired it and had it repaired (ironically, for about the same price as the earlier quote!)