Am I dumb for keeping my bass guitar unfinished

August 20, 2019 5:46 PM

Years ago, I bought a bass guitar secondhand – a Fender Bullet Bass Deluxe – secondhand, from someone who might've been planning to refinish it. Which means that it came unfinished. The body is, simply, wood. I've toured with it, recorded albums, played innumerable practices. But am I still tempting eventual fate by keeping it sans-paint?

To be extra clear: the neck of the bass is finished, I'm pretty sure with what it had originally, a glossy finish. But the rest of the bass, the body, is just wood.

According to the serial number, it's a 1979 or 1980. According to random forums, the body might be made of Alder. According to eBay, it might be worth something if it weren't beat up (it's beat up) and anyway my only single concern is playability and keeping it forever, so pay no heed to that.

If keeping it raw is a terrible idea, what's the smallest intervention that I could do to make it less porous or 'finish' it? Like right now if I wipe down the back, it… absorbs what I use, because it's wood.

posted by tmcw to Grab Bag (9 answers total)

Best answer: Asked my luthier husband. He says it will get dirtier and dirtier from sweat, etc., but that this will not affect the sound. It will look crustier and dirtier over time, because it is absorbing your body oils, dirt, etc. As far as value, the minute whomever took the finish off of it, it moved into the "refinished" category. You won't reduce its value further by putting another finish on it -- "you could spray paint it with pink glitter sparkles and it wouldn't make a difference," he says, but by playing it unfinished for so long it may be difficult to get it to take a finish now. Overall, the harm (to its value) has been done, so if you like the sound and don't mind the appearance, it's fine to leave it as is, according to my guy.
posted by shadygrove at 6:04 PM on August 20, 2019 [12 favorites]

If keeping it raw is a terrible idea, what's the smallest intervention that I could do to make it less porous or 'finish' it?

Something like this
posted by thelonius at 6:11 PM on August 20, 2019 [1 favorite]

De-waxed shellac seals and also acts as a primer if you want to cover it with something. If you decide to use the Tried and Tru oil suggested above, it would be fine to put a coat of shellac down first. Being Canadian, I get my shellac flakes from Wood Essence (but Lee Valley sells them too). Dissolve them in as pure an alcohol as you can find. You can wrap a bit of old t shirt around a bit of sponge and lay on a few very thin coats. Rub it down with 0000 steel wool between coats and at the end to avoid a glossy look.
posted by bonobothegreat at 6:28 PM on August 20, 2019

I came in to say beeswax and oil, so that link that thelonius posted looks good. I like the salad bowl finish that Lee valley sells. The smell is very nice.
Chris schwarz's daughter sells beeswax too sometimes under the name the anarchist's daughter.
Making your own is simple, too, in a double boiler.

Unfinished wood absorbs/releases moisture faster than finished wood, but the only important joint in an electric guitar is the neck and that's not so likely to fail.

If it were acoustic, your problems would be more noticeable. That said, I've even left a small acoustic thing (not a guitar, but a lot like a travel guitar) unfinished for years, too, with no issues.
posted by Acari at 7:26 PM on August 20, 2019 [2 favorites]

My alder P bass has been unfinished for 22 years and it's fine. It's actually aged very nicely.

The type of wood and the humidity of where you live are probably worth considering as part of the equation.
posted by quarterframer at 8:05 PM on August 20, 2019 [2 favorites]

I use Birchwood-Casey Tru-oil followed by Birchwood-Casey Gunstock Wax on my unfinished maple necks per the Ernie Ball recommendations. Should work pretty well for a body too.
posted by doctord at 8:14 PM on August 20, 2019 [1 favorite]

I think a finish is a good idea. But it is a large part aesthetic. All the dings that the body get will ding the body instead of the finish, if left untreated. Maybe this is fine.

If you want to finish it (which has benefits - you can decide how it'll look!), you'll have to take it apart. This isn't too complicated, but it does involve a soldering iron (to remove the electronics) and a couple of screwdrivers. A guitar shop will happily desolder your electronics for you, and you can do the rest; re-building it is an opportunity for a professional setup, which can improve the playability - if you're not in the habit of that.

A simple finish would be applying several coats of Tru-Oil. It'll slightly darken the wood, soak in, harden the top layer, and if you spend enough time to do several coats (sanding in between) you can get a nice smooth shine to it.

Something slightly more involved, but still pretty simple, is a Nitrocelulose Lacquer. Which comes in a spray can, dries super fast, and with some light sanding and time to build up several coats, can result in a really beautiful finish (I just did this to one of my guitars, gave it a light couple of coats, and it was just an afternoon of work).
posted by entropone at 6:38 AM on August 21, 2019

Being lazy, I’d clear coat it to keep it as is, rather than get into a relationship with the wood and oils and waxes, like maintaining a cricket bat. That way it’s got the well played serious look without getting grubbier over time, like clear coating a rusty truck.

Either that or get a professional to spray it your desired flat color plus clear coat, if you prefer that to the 70s wood look.

I had to look up this bass. I am all in favor of a full scale bass with a Mustang split pickup, being a longtime Mustang bass player, although that 50s Precision style small headstock takes some getting used to.
posted by w0mbat at 11:16 AM on August 21, 2019

Normal oils like linseed may darken the wood and will not be very durable. If you do want to finish it, I'd recommend Osmo Poly-x. It applies just as easily as regular oil finishes but dries much harder/last much longer. It will also not change the colour or the feel of the wood very much. It is relatively expensive, but you would not need more than a small amount and they sell small cans of it on amazon. Make sure whatever you choose you test first on a small inconspicuous area if possible.
posted by Poldo at 11:21 AM on August 21, 2019 [1 favorite]