Cleaning up a Jetglow 620

stevek · Post by **stevek** » Sat Sep 13, 2003 9:03 pm

I just accquired a Jetglow '93 620, but unfortunately it looked like it had been hung in the kitchen of a greasy spoon for years. Covered in greasy muck. I've tried my best using liquid soap and Planet Waves guitar polish, but I cannot get a decent shine on it. Despite my best efforts it still looks as though it's had a half pound of butter smeared on it! Any advice for getting this puppy looking as good as it sounds?

Cheers - Steve

philco · Post by **philco** » Sun Sep 14, 2003 3:52 am

Since it's a Rickenbacker, you have to use something that is safe on conversion varnish. Anything containing alcohol would probably be out of the question, but you need to cut the grease. I know that Dunlop Formula 65 works well to get greasy fingerprints off of my 4004 Laredo, but you have to give it time and use a very clean cloth. Do NOT use a cloth that has been laundered with fabric softener. I cleaned the windows of my pickup once with a "clean" laundered undershirt containing fabric softener, and it took at least 3 cleanings with Windex to get the resultant greasy film off. It was really tenacious and I had to use paper towels to wipe it off. Fabric softener might do the same to a Rickenbacker, and nothing will show greasy streaks as well as Jetglo type black finish. I suspect that paper towels would put micro scratches into the Jetglo finish. If you go that route, you could have the finish buffed out again after the grease is gone. First try to get hold of some polypropylene towels that are lint free. At least polypropylene towels will not scratch delicate finishes the way paper can. My father has an old Gretsch with a spot on the bottom that appears to be greasy that will not go away. The guitar has a nitrocellulose lacquer finish and obviously was sitting on a PVC surface for some time. After the chlorine attacks the lacquer, it feels soft and tacky forever. Maybe conversion varnish has similar reactions to certain chemicals, but I don't know. I have heard of some people using automotive cleaner wax on Rickenbackers, but I don't remember which brand(s). I use Meguiar's Cleaner Wax (on my auto) which is clear coat safe, and it seems to have no abrasive particles that could scratch, but it cuts grease. You might want to try that in an inconspicuos spot and see if it works. You have to stay away from polishes with abrasive particles (unless taking out bigger scratches). There is a thread in this forum somewhere that covers polishes for Rickenbackers, and I think that an automotive product was mentioned. Automotive cleaner waxes remove greasy spots very well.

dave4004 · Post by **dave4004** » Sun Sep 14, 2003 4:26 am

It sounds like you've already removed the grease and are looking for a polish that will restore the shine. John Hall recommends using liquid Turtle Wax, the original bottle with the white cap, thinned with water to about 50/50.

philco · Post by **philco** » Sun Sep 14, 2003 4:33 am

Steve, I looked up that thread, and John Hall himself said that a 50/50 mixture of regular liquid Turtle Wax and water works very well and is what he uses on his instruments. Rub it on and rub it off before it dries. When you have the timing right you will see little beads of water on the surface before the final pass. In other words, it seems to work very similarly to Dunlop Formula 65, but one heck of a lot cheaper and the availability is at every store selling automotive polishes and waxes.

Personally, I would try the Meguiar's Cleaner Wax because that is what I already buy for my vehicle. It has proven superior to Turtle Wax for me in automotive applications. I also liked liquid Rain Dance for durability, but that is in an automotive applications as well. Mainly you want to clean rather than slop on a "protective" coat of wax. All these waxes do not protect your finish because they are softer than your finish, and your main focus is cleaning crud off your finish that could do damage (like salty acidic sweat). I would go with John Hall's recommendation of 50/50 liquid Turtle Wax/water before trying other stuff, at least so I would have a reference to judge against.

Plug "Turtle Wax" into the search utility and you will quickly find the thread.

stevek · Post by **stevek** » Sun Sep 14, 2003 5:29 am

I was using paper towels & liquid soap to shift hte worst of the mung. I've put a whole stack of fine scratches in the finish. Ooops. I have some Dunlop polish as well, but that doesn't bring the shine back up. I think I've now got a nasty combination of finish scratches and grease.

I think I'll just play it for a few months and see what happens

ricnvolved · Post by **ricnvolved** » Sun Sep 14, 2003 8:43 am

Steve-- Check out these 2 websites:

http://www.virtuosopolish.com/
http://www.ducksdeluxe.com/index.html

melibreits · Post by **melibreits** » Mon Sep 15, 2003 4:41 am

When I got my jetglo 330/12 last summer the finish looked kind of dull and greasy (it was used) so I looked up the owner's manual on the official Rickenbacker site and read that any "high-quality carnauba-based auto wax" would do the job.... So I polished mine up with a tiny dab of Kit wax on a very soft cotton cloth.... It now shines beautifully and looks brand-new except for a couple of very minor nicks.

stevek · Post by **stevek** » Mon Sep 15, 2003 8:48 pm

The difficulty I have with being here in Malaysia is that none of the car waxes I've seen have any sort of contents information, so identifying a canuba-based wax is a bit hard! I'll have to have a careful survey of my local Supermarket & hardware stores auto-wax stocks.

The guy I bought the guitar through told me that when he picked the guitar up it had been stored in a room directly above a kitchen and there was a layer of grease on the floor!

Cheers - Steve

ric_rocks · Post by **ric_rocks** » Tue Sep 16, 2003 3:47 pm

Steve, I would suggest you try some naptha. I bought a used Ric that was kinda grungy and rubbed the entire guitar down with it using an old flannel shirt. After a thin coat of polish the finish looks like new.

stevek · Post by **stevek** » Wed Sep 17, 2003 3:59 am

Thanks Dave, I'll try and scare some of that up. I was playing it tonight are wore through the layer of polish I'd managed to put over the crud on the neck (I thought I'd cleaned it...). Yeuch! A faint smell of rancid oil and my hand started sticking

I'm also attempting to order a truss rod wrench from Rickenbacker Asia, but their ordering process seems a bit archaic. Fingers crossed!

It has far too much relief on the neck at the moment, even with 009's. It's still playable, but could be so much better. I'm still planning on taking it out to jam at the weekend though...

paul_yan · Post by **paul_yan** » Wed Sep 17, 2003 6:09 am

Steve,
Contact Jimmy at (email): "[email protected]"

You may get your rod wrench sooner, with less troubles. Tell him Paul Yan sent you.

stevek · Post by **stevek** » Wed Sep 17, 2003 5:14 pm

Thanks Paul. I know Shinseido, I've bought stuff from their stores in Hong Kong in the past. They have all sorts of weird "made for the Japanese market" stuff there, never seen any Rics in the HK stores though.

- Steve

paul_yan · Post by **paul_yan** » Wed Sep 17, 2003 9:15 pm

No, their HK store don't carry no Ricks.
Both the Japanese and Asian RIC sites were setup by the same people in Japan, I reckon.
I've been served well by Jimmy when buying RIC t-shirts and stuffs. Seems easier and faster to deal with him than to order through www.rickenbacker-asia.com.