Starfire 1 Bass f holes

Kristo

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I wish the f holes on my Starfire bass stood out a bit more, like they do on some Gretsch’s. Has anyone tried using a cream paint pen or similar on the inside edges to make them more prominent?
 

dadglasser

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I haven't tried anything like that. I was thinking that trying some sort of adhesive tape might be a better idea. If you didn't like it then you could peel it off and not risk leaving any paint residue.

 

fronobulax

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I have not tried. I tried to find an example of a Gretsch with bound f-holes to see what you were talking about and fell into a rabbit hole. People have tried it.

Tape has been tried, sometimes obtained from an auto parts store. The big complaint was that the adhesive did not last as long as hoped for so the tape was being reapplied in a few months.

A "paint pen" or some type of marker was tried and several people said it looked good from ten feet away but looked cheap and rough up close. That was enough to get one person to try and remove what they had added.

Using paint and a paint brush seemed to have similar results except that the up close view was better if someone had a steady hand when painting.

Actually adding binding to an existing instrument was discussed but no one seemed to want to make the effort.
 

Kristo

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Having no patience, I got some Uni Posca Ivory Pens today and had a go. Only the first layer, but I’m pleased with how it’s looking. 89F4286A-7C70-4CFA-8776-D89F2D26FC5E.jpeg
 

Kristo

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Just to update, I liked it so much better the bass is now with a luthier getting binding added.
 
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