Body is half finished and half stripped... where to start?

Hey all. My girlfriend finally said, "We're running out of room. No more Telecasters. In fact, no more guitars!" Well, I went out and got a "bass." I win.

I apologize for the non-Tele this time, but you all are the most knowledgeable forum on the internet.

I picked up a '71 Musicmaster at a garage sale for $30, and the body is really beaten up. The front of the body is stripped, and based on the shape of the wood, it looks like it was sanded all the way to bare.

http://jaredmcohen.com/storage/mm/IMG_0234.jpg

The back of the body still has paint on it:

http://jaredmcohen.com/storage/mm/IMG_0235.jpg

I'm assuming the original color was something like a Daphne, but parts of the painted area definitely look way more green than blue. The paint in the cavities is blue as can be, but I see no signs that anything was repainted ever. I don't know what explains that. Maybe sun exposure? Some of these pictures look like there's brush stroke marks, but upon closer inspection, those lines are just tiny cracks in the paint.

http://jaredmcohen.com/storage/mm/IMG_0236.jpg

There are some deep dents in the paint that go right through to the wood. The finish looks incredibly thin. I don't know much about the history of finishes... but maybe they were just really thin in 71?

http://jaredmcohen.com/storage/mm/IMG_0239.jpg

So, I would like to refinish this body in Reranch's Vintage Cream. I've seen recommendations to fully strip the body before priming and painting. I've seen other suggestions to just sand the original finish until it's scuffed. I'm wondering what your guys' take is on this body with it's half painted/half stripped state.

Thank you all in advance. This is going to be a big, long, project, but I'm excited for it.

That one needs to be completely stripped and finished sanded before you can apply finish.

This is one case where leaving the old finish on is more trouble than its worth. Better to start from fresh and strip it.

i like it now

Awesome, thank you guys!

I agree it's kinda cool the way it is

+1 on stripping it all the way down.

Strip it back & you have a blank canvas for your own creation.

+1 style point for this: "In fact, no more guitars!" Well, I went out and got a "bass." I win." :mrgreen:

You can, in fact do either. At this very moment, I have 2 guitar bodies hanging in my basement that go both ways. A Jimmie Vaughan strat that had a wood crack, so the entire body got stripped and a former single hum Delonge strat with a horrible relic job and even some carving that got some body filler, lots of sanding, lots of shelac BIN primer and then black lacquer. They both are looking almost the same at this point. I have already refinished one other guitar that I only roughed the poly and repainted. The shelac BIN white primer isolates the poly from the lacquer, which is key. You can even use clear shelac, but the white is easier to sand and to see problems.

Cool, thanks guys. This is an intimidating project for me. It'll be my first full-finish of a body. To those of you who like it the way it is... I know where you're coming from, it's a cool look. But the top is raw wood, and it's got some gashes in the wood that don't show up in the photos very well. I'd rather have it fully finished.

I think the original finish was Daphne Blue that "greened" through aging. Is there any way to keep the original finish on the sides and back and refinish only the top to match...or is that totally impossible? By the way, great find for $30!

Radspin,

That definitely might be possible, but it would take much more skill than I have. I'm going to try to just strip and paint. Anything beyond that and I'll be way out of my comfort zone.

You can get that same finish by first spraying Rustoleum Painter Touch Aqua followed by a tinted clear. I just did a couple and the Aqua is bang on to your blue and the tinted clear will get you the same green.