T-Bird refinish part 3
 

Feeling much better today I decided to move to the color coats on the redhead..

primed and sanded one last time...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1285196726.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1285196741.jpg

First color coats...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1285196778.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1285196796.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1285196811.jpg


coats 2-4...RED!!!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1285196844.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1285196858.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1285196872.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1285196887.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1285196900.jpg

Now I wait 24 hrs and sand the color coats. After that I start the clear coats, all 10 of them!

* the "orange peel" that you see flattens out when it dries. I love nitro lacquer.

Wow! Looks great!

Thanks Art. It's been a ton of work.

Lookin' good.

Here's a little more redness for you... Stu Cook on today's Creedence Clearwater Revisited news feed on Facebook...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1285354336.jpg

same red!

Looking good!

Wish I had the patients for that kind of woodwork.


Not too late for you to switch to the hello kitty pink theme... the red would be a good undercoat!

now why didn't i think of that. now where is that stripper?

just noticed he has a PICK strung into the strings. PICKS ARE FOR PUSSIES!

Heh heh... I wondered about that... I've never seen him use a pick.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1285399046.jpg

Maybe the tech uses a pick and had just handed it to him.

How's it comin'?

Here's more on Stu's T5... they posted a link to this on FB yesterday...

Stu Cook Red T5 Bass Build

Here is a Q... not that I would ever have the patients for this sort of thing.

But are you going to shield the cavities when you put it back together?

well. I'm waiting to do the clear pending my decision on the serial number debacle. I'm trying to decide what to do about the serial number. The break went right through it, so it was destroyed. 1976 was the only year that gibson used a decal on the t-birds. I called the repair and restoration dept. and they told me that they don't do decals anymore. They also said that they have no way a of verifying the number so I was S.O.L. I asked what they would do if they could verify it and they said they would just stamp the number in like all the rest of the T-Birds. Well hell I can do that. I have the same size and font number stamps. The a few days ago I got an e mail for the head of the same department saying they could do it, if they could verify the number some how, for $75.00 + shipping both ways. That would be $80 round trip.+ insurance. So I'm torn between doing it myself and them doing the same thing for a lot of money with no guarantee that they could verify the number.

Shielding? Maybe.

AMEN Brother!!!!!!!!!! (although I must admit I was forced into using one while covering some "YES" songs - about the only time I use the old Ric anyway)

You just have to ask yourself what is a COA worth on this instrument. (I guess that's what you're doing.) A naive thought - would a copy of this thread with all pictures accomplish almost the same thing?

PS Thanks for sharing your labor. I love this kind of stuff.

well it's not like i'm making up the serial number. whether i put it on or gibson, the number is the number. if they're just gonna hammer one in why can't I?

Exactly - you're not making this number up. So, if you sent it to the factory, they'd restamp it for you for a couple of hundred bucks, essentially giving you a certificate of authenticity. And for what purpose? Resale? History?
That's why I thought that maybe a copy of this thread along with the pix of the restoration would accomplish the same thing.

I mean, if I was going to spend the long green for a serial number I'd probably have a re-pop decal made.

But that's me. :-)

I'm with you 100%. If I can't get a decal, I'll just stamp it myself. It's not like this is a collector bass. Hell it's been paint 3 times now. It's a working bass, I don't plan on cashing it in anytime soon. If I could get a decal made, I would do that.

Waterslide decal paper for inkjets:

(I know NOTHING about this.)

DecalPaper.com - Decals - Waterslide decal paper or inkjet,laser printers Alps & copiers

yeah I looked at that. Problem is, it's gold metallic printing. Kinda hard to get that with an ink jet. They sell foil waterslide paper but then to have to print in black, which isn't correct either. It has to be gold type on clear. It also has to stand up to nitro clear solvent.

You'll figure something out.

Keep us posted on the progress. :-)

Just sign me -

"Living vicariously through the hardworking craftsmen on the Pelican BBOT"

I'll probably just stamp it myself.

real men carve the sn in with a Bowie knife...

Dremel tool & then gold leaf... then a little clear over it... until then....


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one of my fave songs from muddy.

Do you have a decent photo of the # before you refinished it? If so, just make it look as close to that as possible and save the photo in case someone questions it if you ever decide to sell.

Of course, a complete cynic could say you could've taken that photo of another bass. Dunno how to answer that. Maybe it's a moot point if your redone # looks almost exactly like the original.

Duh... I just remembered you said the original is a decal.

Just move ahead like you don't care and don't plan to ever sell it... maybe a solution will present itself later.