Diy electric bass guitar present

[Kirbnerd304]

(Copy pasted after asking in the wrong thread lmao) hey guys! Sorry for the bother, but I need help with a present of mines that I'm planning to make for my boyfriends 19th birthday . I was thinking on buying a used bass, sand it and paint it afterwards. However I'm not sure if sanding is a good idea because I'm worried it'll affect the sound of the bass. Additionally, I considered in using acrylic paints and a glow in the dark paint, however I'm not sure what to use for that. And lastly, would like to know what type of varnish I should use after repainting the guitar. I'm really new to the bass community so I hope I'm not annoying anyone with this lmao. Anything helps(even extra advice). Thank you!

 

[Jon Clegg]

Probably more danger of altering the shape than affecting the sound in sanding. If you're going to repaint anyway, I'd suggest just sanding it enough with like 320 grit paper to give the new paint something to stick to. For paints, yes acrylics will work -- I use Createx Acrylic airbrush paints mixed with Varathane Water Based Polyurethane. There's some discussion of it in the big Using water based products for instrument finishing, Target Coatings 9000 6000 and Varathane WB thread. Don't worry about annoying us, we're a pretty friendly and helpful bunch here. Welcome to the LC!

 

[cheapbasslovin]

It was suggested to me to use a heat gun to get the paint to bubble up and then scrape it off. Bass finishes tend to be pretty thick and not like to sand off any time soon. The one time I did it I probably cut 3 years off my life with the debris I breathed.

 

[T_Bone_TL]

Hello and welcome.

Depending on the state of the bass you buy and your intent in repainting it, no need to fully remove the finish, so just removing the hardware (pickguard if any, electronics, bridge etc) and scuffing up the surface (Jon's suggestion of 320 seems perfectly reasonable) to allow a good bond with your new paint should be fine, and would have no effect on the sound. Some used basses might benefit from serous cleaning before the sanding depending what sort of gunk they have been put through in their past life.

If it's more beat up with dings through the finish, you may have to sand more just to get dings, etc. out, (or stickers off) in which case you might need to go coarser to efficiently remove it and then work up to finer grits again before primer (perhaps gesso if you are contemplating an acrylic brush paint artwork approach, not sure from your post) and paint. Still won't have any noticeable impact on the sound.

Once you get the arty part done, multiple coats of clear and a good deal of patience.