Wednesday, August 31, 2011

King Mortone edge details...

While the neck is off it is a good time to work on the edge details. Lonnie has repaired all the chipped edges and they are ready for tinting with color. This process takes layers and layers of artist oil colors thinned for color tinting the edges to match the vintage finish. He also cleans off all the marks in the finish, on this bass it was some scuffs and paint marks. Lonnie has a method that work very well for cleaning and polishing the surface…I can not give away all his tricks!




The edges have the first layer of color which is a light orange. To end up with the nice vintage orange brown patina will take some patience and drying time. If the weather stays dry and the humidity low he can usually put one coat on a day. Some of the original, double black pin stripe with the gold center is missing from the lower back bout. It will be interesting to see how he “fakes” in that detail.




Stay tuned.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

King Moretone...

The work continues on the King Moretone. The neck and neck block have been cleaned of all the old glue (some of it not hide glue) and are ready to be re-fit. While the neck is off the bass Lonnie is taking advantage of being able to lay the bass on its top. This makes it easier to repair the edges on the back. Once Lonnie is all done with building up the edges and adding color the chipping will disappear. Sweet!