S.U.B. USA neck finish removal

[Blackened Soul]

Hi there!

I recently pickup a blue SUB5 reallllyyy cheap.. I made a low offer on one that did not have an actual picture.. I knew I was going to end up with a basket case.. first the bass was shipped in a box too small even when disassembled and was the dirtiest bass I have ever bought, and that is saying something…

I cleaned and put the bass back together and leveled and recowned the frets, and did a basic setup. But.. the incredibly worn finish (I have yet to see one used SUB 5 with a neck with the paint completely intact in years) on the neck got stickier ever time I tried to clean it… so what was left of the neck paint had to go.. (sorry I forgot to take a before of picture)

I read through all the threads here and on talkbass and came across a post warning not to clean your neck with rubbing alcohol.. so I thought to give this a try before trying more aggressive methods like stripper, scraping or sanding.

Just using a normal dish sponge and alcohol I got the black crud off and the sealer coat was mostly intact (except for where the previous owner had played it off)
Then I added a wipe of true oil for a final seal and then waxed the neck, now all is smoove.

 

[Blackened Soul]

Pt2

 

[Blackened Soul]

Bonus
How it showed up

 

[mynan]

We recently rescued a dog from one of those "dog rescue" places that got shut down due to poor conditions and over-crowding. This is giving me those same feels. Good work.

 

[tbonesullivan]

Naptha is pretty good for cleaning things. I don't think it reacts with the plastic in the way that rubbing alcohol can. It's even safe on Nitro finishes.

 

[Blackened Soul]

I agree, if you need something that strong. I was using the rubbing to remove the paint, not to clean. For the majority of cleaning I use something like Ken Smith’s product, only thing I don’t like about it is the cherry sent..

 

[danny-79]

Painted or lacquered necks are a dealbreaker usually, that’s the only thing I don’t like about my Bongos. The newer one , purple, that’s got a nice feel to it, it doesn’t feel like a gloss neck But the other two, especially the 4H get sticky quick.
what I do is use a scotch pad on , rough it up slightl. It eventually plays its self smooth again.. I live in hope it will eventually vanish but can’t see that ever happening

Nice looking new bass you have anyways, the older USA subs are great and seem to go up in value all the while
enjoy !