Vintage Aria 1820 Restoration: Part Three

Quick Links:    Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four

This post is the third of an ongoing series on a vintage Aria 1820 short-scale bass restoration job. At this point in time, the body had been separated from the neck, a couple holes plugged; and the headstock refinished in Tru-Oil. The existing tuner peg holes had also been reamed to accommodate new tuners; and they fit nicely.

Now it was time to deal with the badly delaminated body. First of all, as much of the existing finish, sealer and grey autobody filler was scraped off with the aid of a heat gun. Following this, the delaminated edges of the maple top and bottom were glued and clamped to the ash center layer. Once the glue had dried, a sanding we did go; right up to 240 grit.

Having sanded off the dried glue, remnants of the old paint and sealer, as well as the most of the autobody filler; specific areas of the body that needed to be repaired were clearly visible. These areas were repaired with glued-in slivers of wood, and also wood dust mixed with super glue. Once sufficient time had elapsed, the clamps and tape used were removed; and the whole body sanded once again.

The next step was sealing, filling, and strengthening the body before anything else was done to it. Several coats of super glue were used for this purpose, with a lot of sanding done in between coats. After the last coat of super glue had been sanded, a generous layer of Elmer's Wood Filler was applied. Once the filler had dried, the body was sanded yet again; creating a sufficiently even and smooth surface.

Meanwhile, the pickups needed some work. They were functioning, for sure; but it was the leads and magnets that needed attention badly. The frayed ground/shield braid and cracked insulation meant that a short could occur unexpectedly. Also worrying was the fact that the pickup magnets could move around as they were not properly secured to the bottom of the pickups. That being said, the best remedy was to replace the pickup leads; and attach the magnets securely with a little hot glue.

As for the filthy and discolored pickguard, it was given a good scrubbing and hung up to dry. The underside was then shielded with aluminium foil. Cheap, yes, but it does the job. Following this, the new three-way toggle switch, Alpha pots, tone cap and Neutrik NYS229 output jack were installed. 

Getting back to the body, new holes had to be drilled for the neck plate and screws, and the neck reattached in preparation for the next task; locating the correct position for the new bridge. After taking lots of measurements and drawing the necessary guide lines, new bridge-mounting holes were drilled. The bridge was then installed temporarily to check for proper string/neck alignment.

At this point, most of the holes that needed to be drilled had been drilled; save for the pickguard. So the pickguard was laid on the body, aligned with the edges of the body and neck pocket; and taped in place. The holes for the pickguard screws were then drilled using my trusty Cremel [Chinese Dremel knock-off]; and countersunk 1/2" screws installed. A new tug bar was also test-fitted, as the original one had long been lost in the mists of time. 

Once the positioning of all components had been finalized, the neck was separated from the body once again, and the pickguard removed. As one can guess, this was done in preparation for the next step of this Aria 1820 Bass Restoration; namely refinishing. Refinishing should be covered in an upcoming post, so do stay tuned for updates. Thanks for checking in, and God bless :)