To paint or not to repaint?

[Mr_GoodBomb]

Not entirely "guitar" related, but I post here most often, and the bass forum has a lot fewer posters.

 

I recently purchased a Gibson Grabber for fairly cheap. I play in two bands, it's definitely become my main bass (the Rick is likely to get beat up and abused, which I don't want). It's been repainted in red. I think red is the tackiest color for a guitar, it's always just read of "cheap strat knockoff" and sportscars screaming"look how fast I can go". But with the black pickguard and wear it has, it looks ok. I'm just not sure it's as cool as it could look.

 

Obviously the good ol' natural color is the coolest Grabber look, but I'm unsure if this was ever natural, it could have been black, which means it may have a fairly unattractive grain under the paint. Also, I don't have the tools to refinish it by removing the previous finish without killing myself over it (sandpaper, by hand), and that may prove unpleasant. Also, being my main bass, I dunno if I could have it out of commission that long to take the extra time to sand it down and clearcoat it.

 

Another option is evening out some of the wear it has and finishing it in a solid color with spraypaint. I was thinking white. I'd like to find a good mock-up or a Grabber in white, or an original in white because I've read they made some in white from the factory, but haven't found a picture anywhere.

 

Or, I can say screw it and keep going with the red. Those are my three options. Here's what it looks like now.

 

 

Any opinions (on the finish)?

[Mike Fiasco]

I'd say bite the bullet and sand it to see what the grain looks like. If it sucks, then you'd have a better surface to begin painting it. Ivory would look better than white.

[Mr_GoodBomb]

I'd have to do it by hand, which may yield unpleasant results, and I dunno if I want it out of commission that long, but it's possible.

[SerpentyneXIII]

By attaching the sandpaper to a wooden block you get a smooth surface after sanding.

[Longhair]

Pick guard, pickups and knob color changes are probably going to be the easiest & most forgiving thing to try out first.

 

[tlbonehead]

By attaching the sandpaper to a wooden block you get a smooth surface after sanding.

WAT???

[thick_mike]

If you're looking to go white, you'd be best off going over the red with a white or light grey primer first. This would be better for adhesion too.

 

Whites don't tend to have good opacity, so you'd need lots of coats to cover the red (unless you want a pink finish). The neutral primer will give a better base colour for your white colour coats.

[jak83]

The pickguard/knob suggestion isn't a bad one. It might look kind of bad ass since the inlays are white. Then again, it might look kind of White Stripesish too...

 

You could maybe try sanding down a small area in the back to the grain where they usually get buckle rash anyway just as a test.

[Mr_GoodBomb]

I'd have to get a custom Grabber pickguard, and the pickup change isn't an option.

[Mike Fiasco]

From the picture, the repaint doesn't look all that bad. It doesn't help the fact that you don't like red guitars, but if you keep it as is, it's still a nice looking bass.

[Belva]

Scuff sand, feather edge the worst dings, hit it with a full rattle can of B.I.N. shellac based primer (many light coats) and paint it with your favorite color. Use Duplicolor acrylic lacquer and you can have it done in less than a week. If you want it to look really good, plan on it taking at least a month. Minimum.

And take the sumbitch apart before you begin fercrissake! You want white, you can speed this process up by putting clear right over the B.I.N. Trust me, it works.