Restoration Project - Squier Vista Musicmaster Bass

Marshs211

Marshs211

May 7, 2015
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#1
Thought I’d share this with you all.

I found this bass hanging in the “bargain basement” of my local music store with a price tag of $50. I saw it had a bad spray paint makeover, but was still interested. So I start looking at it, and notice the bass at one point was pink, which got me even more interested. Then, I took a look at the pickup, and instantly knew what it was - a Squier Vista Series Musicmaster Bass.

I plug it in, and this thing THUMPS. Great sound, and HUGE range of colors with the tone control, and played great. So I get the idea of removing the spray paint to see if the original pink is in tact. Lo and behold, it is. 91% isopropyl alcohol is doing a great job of dissolving the spray paint. It’s going to take some elbow grease and some polishing once the paint is gone, but I can’t wait to have this thing back to it’s former beauty. And if it doesn’t work, I can strip the pink and repaint it correctly, and I’m still only in maybe $80.

Let me know what you think, or if you have any ideas or suggestions for restoring this little beauty.

Rock on

-Spencer

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#3
WI Short Scaler said:
Sorry, old thread, was just searching "musicmaster" and came across this.

Were you able to successfully get all that crud off and restore it to it's original pink?
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Actually, this isn't an old post. I just posted it yesterday (3/27/19). Ive made a good dent just as of last night. Its going to take some serious work to get rid of all the spray paint, there is A LOT. Whoever painted it also sanded the whole thing, so there is paint in the scratches which is a pain to remove. it will definitely need a buffing when i get rid of all the gunk.
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#5
Here’s an update - sanded the headstock to 2500 grit, might try and find some more paper and go to 6000 or 8000. Got a little carried away by the vista stamp, but I’m not too bummed. Also, I noticed something kinda strange - there’s no hole for a string tree. Is this normal on these? I swear there was one on every other I saw online. Either way, she’ll be getting one.
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#8
Another update - work on the headstock is DONE for now. Might buff up to 8000 some day, but after a polish she is looking good. Paint is clear from the front and back, the last guy got messy around the ferrules, but I don’t mind cause it’s on the back. Just the sides left to do, and then lots of sanding.
 

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#10
Marshs211 said:
Thought I’d share this with you all.

I found this bass hanging in the “bargain basement” of my local music store with a price tag of $50. I saw it had a bad spray paint makeover, but was still interested. So I start looking at it, and notice the bass at one point was pink, which got me even more interested. Then, I took a look at the pickup, and instantly knew what it was - a Squier Vista Series Musicmaster Bass.

I plug it in, and this thing THUMPS. Great sound, and HUGE range of colors with the tone control, and played great. So I get the idea of removing the spray paint to see if the original pink is in tact. Lo and behold, it is. 91% isopropyl alcohol is doing a great job of dissolving the spray paint. It’s going to take some elbow grease and some polishing once the paint is gone, but I can’t wait to have this thing back to it’s former beauty. And if it doesn’t work, I can strip the pink and repaint it correctly, and I’m still only in maybe $80.

Let me know what you think, or if you have any ideas or suggestions for restoring this little beauty.

Rock on

-Spencer

View attachment 3369192 View attachment 3369193
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The pink is sexy (my second-fav next to the blue). But I’m not gonna lie, that purple was kinda hot.
 
#13
Bourbongangster said:
They definitely all had string trees on the D and G strings. That's such an amazing find!
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Here’s an original from my wall. Looks pretty standard from the top, but they had the grooves underneath to guide the strings (if you care a lot about originality). I kinda hate the grooves cuz they can be a bit finicky to get straight when tightening it down which then just bends the strings a bit. My Fender basses don’t have the grooves.
 
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#15
Next time you change strings, loosen the screw for the string tree and give it 1/4 turn... now the strings aren't in the grooves, it's like a "regular" string tree... ;)

burl0029 said:
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Here’s an original from my wall. Looks pretty standard from the top, but they had the grooves underneath to guide the strings (if you care a lot about originality). I kinda hate the grooves cuz they can be a bit finicky to get straight when tightening it down which then just bends the strings a bit. My Fender basses don’t have the grooves.
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#17
Here we are, the end is in sight. Finished 2500 grit on the body. She has some swirl marks that will need to be buffed out someday, but I’m STOKED with how it turned out. All that’s left is drilling out the broken screws and adding new, strings, and a new string tree. I’m still confused as to why this didn’t have one.
 

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#18
Marshs211 said:
Here we are, the end is in sight. Finished 2500 grit on the body. She has some swirl marks that will need to be buffed out someday, but I’m STOKED with how it turned out. All that’s left is drilling out the broken screws and adding new, strings, and a new string tree. I’m still confused as to why this didn’t have one.
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What a great find and restore! Congrats!
 
#19
Marshs211 said:
Here we are, the end is in sight. Finished 2500 grit on the body. She has some swirl marks that will need to be buffed out someday, but I’m STOKED with how it turned out. All that’s left is drilling out the broken screws and adding new, strings, and a new string tree. I’m still confused as to why this didn’t have one.
Click to expand...

Well, I'll start by saying I was never a big fan of the pink color, but these are cool basses and you've got a hella-cool find there for $50!
 
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