I’m facing minor obstacles to getting this Strat refinished satisfactorily. I’m documenting it all here at The Fender Blog in case it helps anybody else who is refinishing their guitar with as little experience as I have!

I was preparing for the 2nd tin of clear coat and noticed a few little bobbles on the surface that I decided to lightly sand out. This revealed a few small white dots where I’d obviously gone through the blue paint and so I now need to go and get another tin of Sky Blue and spend some time making sure I prepare the surface properly. In hindsight I should have applied more blue than I did on the Jazz Bass because the surface of the body was more porous and the white under-coat was not as solid as it was on the bass.

Also the problems I had with the headstock (i.e. dropping it) have been overcome. I sanded what I had painted right off and started again from scratch. I’ve got to tidy up the edges and then wait until I get a nice decal before I clear coat it. I’ll also try and clear coat the back of the neck.

So it’s still moving in the right direction, but I guess I got really, really lucky with the J-Bass because that has come out almost perfect, especially for a first time attempt.

UPDATE
I took a deep breath and patiently sanded the entire body gently, seeing as I needed to do another coat of blue. I took the time to make sure I smoothed out all the little rough spots I could find. If I’m going to back-track I might as well improve on the whole thing.

The blue has now been re-applied and the result is stunning. It’s a much better finish than it was and it looks like a much more professional job than the J-Bass now. I’m stoked about how this and the 2 hours I spent wet-sanding the body has given me good training for when I do the final wet-sanding after the clear coat has cured.


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