Hi everyone!

Here are the fruits of our labours with this bass!

Looking much brighter now! We didn't do a huge amount with the finish as apart from the dings and depressions it wasn't in too bad a condition.

We found individual saddle height adjustment screws or the right thread were almost impossible to get hold of without importing from America. We decided instead to just buy a new bridge entirely.

We gave the electrics a clean up and made sure they weren't crackling. Also we replaced all of the scratch plate and control plate screws.

After dismantling, cleaning and shining all the components of the machine heads they have come up looking almost brand new!

We managed to bend the peg heads back into alignment and made sure they were shining!

The frets surprisingly came up looking very good indeed! we gave the fretboard a going over as well with some light wire wool and a good lemon oiling!











We are happy with the way this turned out! Looks and plays so much better now!

Any comments or questions please leave here or email us!

Best regards!

Mike & Martin

swguitars@hotmail.co.uk

Hi Everyone!

We had this 85' Fender® Jazz Bass come in for a refurb. The owner had been given it for free! She was looking to get it cleaned up a bit so gave it to us for a bit of TLC!

On the face of it, not too bad, there are many dings and depressions in the finish however without a full refinish these would be very troublesome to get out.

The bridge was quite dirty and the saddle adjustment screws were completely seized! Unfortunately the hex key heads had corroded so much that it was impossible for the allen key to find purchase and turn the screws. We managed to get them out with a pair of small vice-grips but they will need replacing entirely.

The control plate wasn't too badly tarnished, the screws holding the control plate and scratch-plate however did need replacing as most of the heads had corroded badly.

Grotty machine heads aplenty! A lot of tarnish and wearing on the mechanisms.

A lot more tarnishing on the peg heads!

As you can see the pegs themselves had become fairly bent over time. Nothing that a short straightening in a vice wont fix!

The fretboard wasn't too bad however the fretwire left a lot to be desired!

Something not seen on many new Fenders is the old 3 screw "micro-tilt" neck joint. A good idea in theory however never really executed that well.

Something we did find interesting, although the serial number on the neck indicates that this is a 1985-1986 bass, there was a stamp inside the neck pocket stating "Mar 98'" We can only assume that this bass has had a body change at some point in its life.






If anyone knows another reason why this would have this stamp, we'd love to know! Feel free to leave a comment or email us!

So there we have it! Not too drastic all things considered, stay tuned for part 2!

Best regards,
Mike & Martin

swguitars@hotmail.co.uk

Hi everyone!

Here are the results of our work on the 88' Squier® Bullet!

After dismantling , cleaning and polishing the machine heads came back to life very nicely!

We replaced the yellowing plastics with new white ones. The scratch plate is original as the yellowing wasn't bad. All we did was give it a clean up and polish. There was a large deep scratch near the contour that is hard to see in the "before" pics but we managed to buff it out and get the finish looking good again!

We gave the dusty, grime filled bridge a good going over. Dismantled and individual components cleaned brings it back to a good condition.

Here's the shot where that large scratch previously was. Looking good now after some light sanding, buffing and polishing.

And an after shot of the other major scratch and we replaced the missing switch tip!

For its age this little Bullet has come back to life remarkably well! I hope you've enjoyed its refurb, the owner certain did! Any comments or questions please leave here or email us!


Best regards
Mike & Martin

swguitars@hotmail.co.uk

Hi everyone!

Here we have a 1988 Squier® Bullet. The owner bought this guitar in a shopping catalogue back in '88 and has had it ever since. Despite the age this guitar wasn't actually in too bad a shape! The body had taken most of the wear and tear as the neck only needed a light polish and an oiling of the fretboard to bring it back to a good standard!

Here's how it started, The usual yellow fading on the plastics and an array of scratches and dings.

Missing its 5 way switch tip and a nice grime build up around the screws and plastics.

Some nasty scratches on this side, thankfully not gone right through to the wood so should be relatively easy to touch-up.

Another deep scratch.

You can see the general condition of the finish is getting quite worn. A lot of minor scratches and general wear & tear.

A quick look at the electrics, nothing too bad here, we'll just give it a clean up and check all the connections for wear or cracking.

All in all the neck wasn't that bad but the machine
heads were pretty gummed and tarnished with dust and grime.

Stay tuned for the "after" pics in Pt.2!

Best regards,
Mike & Martin


swguitars@hotmail.co.uk