Borth

Excellent tutorials by Gary Willis can be found here. Sure, he's talking about his own signature bass, but this applies to pretty much every other bass in existence...

so wait, do I have it right? am I supposed to seal first and paint later? OVER THE SEALENT? is that how it works? ...'cause I read that "3D Quilt" tutorial again, and Kevan Geier says I should use color stains on top of the black stain, and then apply the clearcoat. He doesn't mention sanding primer, or a sealant of any kind. I'm getting somewhat confused. At first, I was thinking of using oil-based, translucent paints for my green-burst. Now I find that I should use stains? How does one go about doing a burst with colored stains? HEEEEEEEEELLLLLLPPPPPP!!!!!

I'm kind of a newb here, and I have very little advice to pass on as far as guitar building goes. I DO, however, know my pickups, and I think you'll be doing your guitar a big favor by fitting it with Rio Grandes. Great pups. Hot output, and with decent electronics they can prove quite versatile. hope this helps, Borth

Wow, That's kinda neat. Any idea what the different calc. methods mean? Do they yield different results? Anyhow, I guess it's time to get a ruler, and a piece of paper, to see just HOW possible that 36 fret bass REALLY is

Heh, thanks for the warm welcome and speedy reply Brian! I really want this all to go off without a hitch, so please take the time to go through my checklist and verify it: Apply a dark stain to the quilted top, and let soak for an hour or so. Sand off the top of the stain untill I'm satisfied with the resulting "3D" quilt. Seal the entire body (including the back). Paint with translucent colors of my choice. Apply a clear-coat / laquer, and wait. Stand back and look at my incredible masterpiece. If there's more to it, by all means, PLEASE let me know! Also: I'm not at all sure what kind of sealer and laquer I should use - What would you recommend? Thanks again, Borth

I have just received this incredible Jazz Bass Deluxe 5 body from Warmoth. It's a lovely piece of Swamp Ash, with a Quilted Maple top. I have decided to make it a green-burst (green on the inside, fading to black). The Maple's Quilt is somewhat mild, but still ellegant, and I want it to show through nicely. The grain on the back of the body is extremely defined, and I want that to show through the finish, too. So basically, I have 2 questions: 1. How does one keep his finish vivid, and his quilt showing? 2. Will my Ash's grain show through the black finish on the back? Would I be better off going with a grey-ish tone? This the first time I'm doing anything of this sort, so any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance, Borth