the things I find under the rug as it were

[Prowl]

right now the hardest bit i'm facing is the binding and the little bit of black before it and the little bit just before the sides of the fretboard. very slow going process right now

[jingle_jangle]

Sand it dry with #150 paper, aluminum oxide if you can get it. Sand paint, clearcoat, and binding all at once. Use a small sanding block--this is important!

Don't worry about sanding the binding. You're supposed to. Just don't round off the top edge!

[Prowl]

right now I'm cutting the paint down the sides of the body. I've the binding tapped off. I'm using 80grit. should I use something lighter?

[jingle_jangle]

Use 100 to cut paint over larger areas like this. Use a sanding block, and remove the tape. The binding should be sanded, too.

After all the paint's off, sand with #150 or #180, then finish off with # 320, dry of course. Then you're ready to seal and sand and apply color.

[Prowl]

Thanks for the tip again Paul. I don't have a block at the moment so I'm going to have to pick one up. But I've only got the face of the bass and a small section of the right cut away to sand down and the finish will be off. I sanded the head and back of the neck and overall back of the bass with 80 grit then up to 120 to clean the grain up. I found a couple small wood knots filled but other than that its a lovely cut of maple with a nice grain to it. I want to use a natural color to make it pop a bit if I can. I may not clear coat the bass. I may just seal it and leave it as is and let the wood breathe so to speak. Its interesting to feel how much of a weight difference I'm feeling with the bass now. It feels a bit lighter for sure

[jingle_jangle]

Best to go over the whole thing again with a block once you get one (a small, flat wood scrap is fine for now). If you don't block it, it will look really wavy and amateurish...

[Prowl]

I can probably fab up a block with whatever I have laying around. shouldn't be a problem. Its starting to look good now though. I've only the face of the bass to do now. I've been making some serious progress in te time frame that I started.

I read somewhere that if I wet the wood it would pop the grain out and allow it to accept stain is that possible?

[jingle_jangle]

Theoretically, yes, but in practice you'd have a fail. Don't stain. Don't stain. Use a tinted topcoat, so at least you can control color and the wood will look super this way. It's the basis for most bursts out there--dyes on top, rather than stains that penetrate. PRS is one exception, and they use aniline penetrating dyes.

Just look at eBay to see guitars that have been "restored" by their owners by stripping and staining...for some reason, this seems to be done a lot to Fender Mustangs, Duo-Sonics, and Musicmasters; maybe because they were cheap beginners' instruments.

Here's one of the saddest "improved" Fenders I've seen, recently on eBay:

[Prowl]

what in the world is that thing? and was that stained? Where can I get tint without having to order it?

[jingle_jangle]

Cut-down '60s Du-Sonic; stained after stripping. Probably found under the rug, too... there are literally hundreds of these butchered Fender shawties around.

You can buy tints at any auto paint supplier.

[Prowl]

Think I'll just seal the bass up and call it done after I tint the headstock wings. That Duo Sonic needs a mercy killing.

[jps]

Looks like it is about to be sacrificed! As if it weren't, already!

Must have been done in the '80s.

[Prowl]

I had one of those Squier Classic Vibe Duo Sonic guitars. It was pretty nice then I got a Fender Cyclone which is way way way more nicer

[cassius987]

PRS is one exception, and they use aniline penetrating dyes.

Learned something new today! I didn't think anyone (besides misguided garage luthiers like me) used penetrating dyes or stains.

[Prowl]

there are a few videos on YOUTUBE, you know, the future of DIY lol, of a guy building an Ibanez Jem knock off. His finish work was painful to watch. I'm not saying I'm any better but at least what I'm doing is tasteful