Refinishing a '65 Fender Precision

When I bought the bass used in 1973, a prior owner had done a bad job of painting it white. I stripped and refinished the bass in 1975, applying a mahogany stain.

In July 2006, I found Mark Jenny, a relic refinisher, right in my small town. (Mark relocated to Missouri in 2007.) Mark and I decided to go with a faded-sunburst finish, reminiscent of the 1959-60 Precision. (The red becomes less prominent as those bursts age.)

I stripped and sanded the body to remove the lacquer and stain, then wet-sanded the original tortoise pickguard to remove the black paint and lacquer I'd applied in '75.

Mark also added some light wear and chips so the bass looks its age. The hardware is in good shape, so we kept the relic wear light.

Since Mark wasn't busy, his work took about ten days. Naturally, there was no shipping time because we were only a couple of miles apart, and I could preview the color before he shot the clearcoats.

You can see the "arm wear" that Mark applied. Below are two photos of the finished product. Other than the finish, the bass is all stock 1965.