Rickenbacker Refinish

terryfunk4life · #1 10-04-2009, 04:59 AM

Ok A few weeks ago I got a used 4003fl jetglow. The finish is in very bad shape. Lots of chips and dings.I thought It would be cool to sand off the old finish, stain it (because I am pretty sure the wood underneath wont be too exciting) and apply a satin sealer-only finish like the c64s basses.

Is this a decent plan? The only problem I can see is the binding. I have no idea how that would work out.

Thanks in advanced.

Tarrbot · #2 10-04-2009, 07:57 AM

Depending on how bad the nicks and scratches are, it could be salvaged. It would likely be a lot of work but no more work than you're already planning.

And personally, I've seen a few of those "stained" Rics. I haven't once seen a good looking one.

I'd vote against that.

If you're going to redo it, just pick another color or put a custom paint job on it.

tdogg · #3 10-04-2009, 09:00 AM

... and make sure you post before and after pics!!!

Tarrbot · #4 10-04-2009, 09:36 AM

Please post pics of it now. This will help us visualize how much salvage work would need to be done.

Seriously. If it's just a lot of nicks and scratches, it can be fixed to look almost as if it were new.

I do this to my JetGlo all the time when I nick it. After I'm done, it looks mint.

Which reminds me, I need to go through and redo a few scratches I've done.

If you want, I can do some before / after pics but it may be a week or two before I even do that.

2lim · #5 10-04-2009, 11:10 AM

I am just gonna throw out the one big issue. The finish on a ric extends right over the FB if I have heard right. If you sand it down, you are gonna have to draw a line somewhere that you stop sanding, as you can't sand down the fretboard too, without pulling the frets.

If it is that bad, I would say fill and sand the dings, then paint the whole thing a solid colour.

Simon

Ric5 · #6 10-05-2009, 09:23 PM

Here is an oil finished 4003s5 that I used to own ... I rounded the edges slightly and gave it 2 or 3 coats of tung oil and mineral spirits mixed together. Then I applied paste wax. It is very comfortable to play and has a nice woody tone.

Tommygunn · #7 10-05-2009, 09:25 PM

I'd go with limegreen, sonic blue or yellow!!!