Super rare 1966 Fender Precision slab bass

Initial assessment, disassembly, body strip, sand, prep and sealer coats applied

The original white blond was long gone and the body had an old refinish in clear varnish. Some of the original white blond was still present in the control cavity.

The neck was beautifully figured birdseye maple with a plain maple cap fretboard which had some dark wear/staining. The neck back had some 'overspray'. The frets were non original, very flat and worn.

All original hardware and electrics, other than a replaced ground wire to the bridge.

After disassembly, the next task was to strip, sand and prep the body, then apply some clear sealer coats. The remaining original white blond in the control cavity and the neck pocket markings were masked over to preserve them.

Body.....applying the semi opaque aged white blond nitro-cellulose finish

We continued working on the body and applied the semi opaque white blond nitro, followed by some 'age tint' lacquer coats, which, once dry would be given a faded aged look in keeping with the overall look of the rest of the bass/parts etc.

Refurbishing the neck

We removed the frets and trued up the fretboard surface, which also removed most of the staining. We refretted with Jescar 47095 fretwire, then relacquered the board surface, matching the tint to the original lacquer still present on the neck back. During the process we masked over the headstock front as this still had its original finish and decal.

We made and fitted a new unbleached bone nut. 

Reassembly and set up

While the paintwork was drying, we serviced and cleaned the hardware and electrics.

Once the paintwork had had sufficient drying time, we buffed the surfaces and created a cool faded look, then reassembled the bass and did the set up adjustments.