Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Just picked up some Gibson Pump Polish for my nitro vintage telecaster...is this stuff also safe for my Rickenbacker?

*I was using Dunlop65 in the past but I strongly prefer the Gibson Pump polish after using it (cleans easier, dries fast, plays awesome, and smells great).

If it's good for rods it's good for guitars.

Is it safe to use on the finger board since the fingerboard is sealed?

Safe for the entire guitar?

Thanks!

Is there any silicone in it? Some "guitar" polishes are not really safe for the finish, especially if there is any refinishing/touching up that may be needed down the road. The finish on the fingerboard is the same as the rest of the instrument.

I would not risk using anything like that. All you should need for a Rick is a soft cotton cloth. If you want nice and pretty, you could do the RRF-standard procedure of Scratch-X (old style, now called Swirl-X, IIRC) and Zymol.

If it's good enough for a vintage tele and Gibsons, it's good enough for a Ric!

Greenstone wrote:If it's good enough for a vintage tele and Gibsons, it's good enough for a Ric!

What are you basing that on? Have you considered that Ricks have poly conversion varnish, not nitro?

Basis: I have used several different guitar polishes (including the Gibson) on the Ric and they work fine. Do you really think Gibson would make a polish that would be harmful to any guitar finish? I haven't seen any " Caution! do not use on Rickenbackers, they have poly conversion varnish!" warning labels on guitar polish. I'm sure there would be quite the backlash from folks who just plunked down 3K on a new Ric and ruined it straight away with their standard polish. Also, don't you think there would be a warning from Rickenbacker not to use certain formulations of guitar polishes if they ruined the finish? Not all Gibsons are made with nitro- most guitars out there are made with poly. Has anyone ruined a Rickenbacker with a certain guitar polish? I'm sure Zymol works great for Rics- it could very well be the best, but I feel like this is a bit of a cork-sniffing issue.

Greenstone wrote:Not all Gibsons are made with nitro

Ohhhh... really???

Greenstone wrote:Basis: I have used several different guitar polishes (including the Gibson) on the Ric and they work fine. Do you really think Gibson would make a polish that would be harmful to any guitar finish? I haven't seen any " Caution! do not use on Rickenbackers, they have poly conversion varnish!" warning labels on guitar polish. I'm sure there would be quite the backlash from folks who just plunked down 3K on a new Ric and ruined it straight away with their standard polish. Also, don't you think there would be a warning from Rickenbacker not to use certain formulations of guitar polishes if they ruined the finish? Not all Gibsons are made with nitro- most guitars out there are made with poly. Has anyone ruined a Rickenbacker with a certain guitar polish? I'm sure Zymol works great for Rics- it could very well be the best, but I feel like this is a bit of a cork-sniffing issue.

There are plenty of reasons not to play fast and loose with various polishes, even those marketed for guitars. There has been plenty of discussion about this already. Silicone is the most common reason cited to be wary of many polishes. But if you want to proceed at your own risk I'm sure that's fine by all of us. On the other hand saying, "If it's good enough for Gibson it's good enough for a Ric," just doesn't fit with logic. The finishes are hardly identical on all guitars.

That is the worst leap of (non) logic a person can make. The correct if-then is, "If it is good enough for [the particular finish Gibson used on this particular guitar], then it is good enough for [other guitars finished with the same particular finish]. No further leap can be made.

lacquer (of various kinds)
shellac
nitro
polyurethane
polyester
conversion varnish
UV cured finish
tung oil (and other hardening oils)
and others

Each of the above reacts differently to different polishing products. The only constant is DO NOT USE SILICONE.

As for me, I have instruments from different manufacturers and different years of manufacture. Except for the tung oil neck on three of my instruments, they all get original Zymol in the light blue-green bottle and soft cotton cloth, and they all shine like they were new, slight wear from years of playing excepted. Original Zymol is non-reactive with a variety of finishes. The tung oil necks? Once a year they get buffed with another coat of tung oil to re-seal them. (You know: from new, once a day for a week, once a week for a month, once a month for a year, and once a year for the rest of the instrument's life.)

what is the tung oil neck?

i just want to know if Gibson Pump Polish is safe to use on a Rickenbacker...

gibson pump polish is a polish AND a cleaner.

it says its safe for ALL finishes...

ricricric wrote:what is the tung oil neck?

i just want to know if Gibson Pump Polish is safe to use on a Rickenbacker...

gibson pump polish is a polish AND a cleaner.

it says its safe for ALL finishes...

Don't believe everything you read. Here, I'll make it it real easy for you:

http://www.popularwoodworking.com/techn ... ry-and-use

Do you have such a vested interested in Gibson that you want to use that stuff on everything?

ricricric wrote:what is the tung oil neck?

i just want to know if Gibson Pump Polish is safe to use on a Rickenbacker...

gibson pump polish is a polish AND a cleaner.

it says its safe for ALL finishes...

Ok, so lets take the pragmatic approach. There was no clear answer to your question - other than people responding based soley upon the "safe for all finishes" claim of the manufacturer. I've never used the stuff myself.

To me, that makes it a big "Maybe". That leaves you with two options.

Try it and find out (noting that problems may only become apparent after a significant amount of time/use), or stick with what people are saying they know works.

RIC says that if the polishing cloth provided doesn't take care of it, use Brillianize cleaner or occasionally Turtle Wax. Others here who know suggest Zymol wax for occasional polishing. I found both very easily on Amazon.

jps wrote:Is there any silicone in it?

there is "silica", or sandy stuff, in Gibson Pumppolish:

60% Water
25% Aliphatic hydrocarbons
12% Linear Alcohol Ethoxylate
3% Silica