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TurnOnTheLight · 09-30-2005, 08:21 PM

I spray painted one of my older basses black with yellow stripes like an EVH kinda thing. Lemme answer your questions real quick and see if there's anything else I should add.

~ Do I have to sand it down first? Yes.

~I have to take the neck, bridge and pickguard off right? Yes.

~Can I just cover up the pick ups really well or do I have to take them out? I don't have a clue on wiring or anything. The pickups should be connected to the pickguard if it's a top routed bass. You can keep it all in one piece.

~And will it be ready to play by tomorrow? The painting process could take a while...

OK, if you are going to do this with spray paint. You're going to have to put a couple coats of primer on it. First sand your bass down to the wood. Spray on a coat of primer, let it dry. Take some steel wool and rub over it to smooth it out then put another coat on. Now steel wool it again and it should be ok to put the first coat of paint on. After you get the paint right, you might want to try to find a clear coat to go on top but it has to be compatible with the spray paint you put on there. When I painted my bass the first time, the clear coat made the paint crack, crinkle, and come off. Well, the only real problem I had after I got the paint right was when I put the neck and bridge back on, the action was very strange, it would buzz on certain frets, not on others and it was annoying me so eventually I took the damn frets off.

09-30-2005, 08:21 PM	#6
TurnOnTheLight Son of a Bundy Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Texas (more like Taxes) Posts: 406	I spray painted one of my older basses black with yellow stripes like an EVH kinda thing. Lemme answer your questions real quick and see if there's anything else I should add. ~ Do I have to sand it down first? Yes. ~I have to take the neck, bridge and pickguard off right? Yes. ~Can I just cover up the pick ups really well or do I have to take them out? I don't have a clue on wiring or anything. The pickups should be connected to the pickguard if it's a top routed bass. You can keep it all in one piece. ~And will it be ready to play by tomorrow? The painting process could take a while... OK, if you are going to do this with spray paint. You're going to have to put a couple coats of primer on it. First sand your bass down to the wood. Spray on a coat of primer, let it dry. Take some steel wool and rub over it to smooth it out then put another coat on. Now steel wool it again and it should be ok to put the first coat of paint on. After you get the paint right, you might want to try to find a clear coat to go on top but it has to be compatible with the spray paint you put on there. When I painted my bass the first time, the clear coat made the paint crack, crinkle, and come off. Well, the only real problem I had after I got the paint right was when I put the neck and bridge back on, the action was very strange, it would buzz on certain frets, not on others and it was annoying me so eventually I took the damn frets off.