Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Thanks again for all of the good advice. Now onto the flip side.....I have a RIC 430 which I purchased quite some time ago as a project. It plays great and has a lot of character. I'm not trying to make it look any better but there is a lot of roughness that I just want to make as smooth as possible. What I could use help with is what type and grit(s) of sandpaper or micro mesh should I use and in which order. Also should I use wet or dry. I do not know how course the sandpaper should be to start. The roughest area in on the horn and around the pick guard. Also there is a filled hole on the body that was filled below the bridge near the input jack. Again I just want the area to be smooth and I am not concerned how it looks cosmetically.

strummersteve wrote:<Snip>I'm not trying to make it look any better but there is a lot of roughness that I just want to make as smooth as possible. What I could use help with is what type and grit(s) of sandpaper or micro mesh should I use and in which order. Also should I use wet or dry. I do not know how course the sandpaper should be to start.

I really do need assistance with this as I do not know the grit of the sandpaper that I should start with.

That video I posted earlier in the thread with Dan Erlewine talks about sandpaper grits for polishing, I believe; it's around the 2 minute mark.

DriftSpace wrote:That video I posted earlier in the thread with Dan Erlewine talks about sandpaper grits for polishing, I believe; it's around the 2 minute mark.

Thanks Sean. I watched the video again and know where to start. This should not be difficult as I am not concerned with the cosmetics. I just want all of the roughness removed.

Steve - your May 1975 430 is not a high gloss finish. It was called Matte Brown if I am recalling the 1981 RIC catalog.
http://www.rickenbacker.com/catalog_pos ... 75x-14.jpg
http://www.rickenbacker.com/catalog_pos ... f75x-2.jpg

I don't think there are as many coats of clear conversion varnish on them as a high gloss RIC- so you may find you sand down to the wood quickly.

Ontario_RIC_fan wrote:<snip>Steve - your May 1975 430 is not a high gloss finish.
I don't think there are as many coats of clear conversion varnish on them as a high gloss RIC- so you may find you sand down to the wood quickly.

Thanks Brian,
I was thinking about the matte finish. I just want to remove the roughness. What I'll probably do is start with 2000 grit sandpaper and then use finer micro mesh just to smooth it out. Wish me luck. I'll also wait a bit as there may be other suggestions. All are welcome.
Steve

strummersteve wrote:The chip is on the body as seen in the picture below. As you can see, it is quite noticeable. The wood does not appear to be damaged in any way, but it does go through the clear-coat and finish. For what it's worth, I purchased the guitar with the chip and the price was drastically lower because of it, Any and all suggestions are appreciated as this is a real eyesore.

RIC 660 Chip.JPG

I'd say that it would be much less daunting to do a small repair on this one, because the top is already fairly figured, so any imprecision in matching the fireglo gradient would not stand out like a sore thumb. I'd think a few bottles of well chosen nail polish would do the trick.