Newbie needs to pick your brains...

[fatfingers]

Hi,

I'm Belinda from Elgin, Scotland and yes I do have fat fingers

I bought a 4001 bass 20 odd years ago. It was painted a violent purple colour. That didn't stop me playing and enjoying it.
About 10 years ago I got a friend to strip it back to the wood and wax it.

The bass didn't look right with this finish and it's been languishing in it's case with it's intestines in a poly bag since then...

So, eventually my question(s)...

It has black and white checkered binding, does this mean it's original colour was black?

Is the original paint(or a current Rickenbacker equivalent) available?

Was it originally finished in laquer? and is this still available?

I really want to restore it to as near original condition as possible - or rather get someone local to do it with the proper materials.

I bet you get fed up with questions like this?

Thanks

[cjj]

Welcome to the RRF!

The binding doesn't signify anything with respect to the original color. The best way to find the original color is to look in the control cavity and/or under the truss rod cover since the instrument is painted before everything else is installed. But, if those were stripped too, you won't be able to tell. If they were painted over and that paint is not stripped, you may be able to scrape through the purple paint and see what was there before.

The original finish was "CV", which means Conversion Varnish. It's a 2-part catalyzing polyurethane varnish. RIC has used this from the late 1950s until just recently when they switched to a UV cured polyester...

[sloop_john_b]

Belinda - sounds like you have a cool one. Please post some pics!

[RickyBubba]

Welcome to the fun, lots of good info on here. Enjoy the ride.

If the wood grain is nice, you could consider the clear Maple Glow look.....

But, don't be afraid to pick a non traditional color if you like something.

[fatfingers]

Thanks for the quick reply CJ.

I've just inspected Rick's cavities(that sounds bad ) and they are black.

Are the paint and UV cured polyester stuff available direct from Rickenbacker, or are there other outlets?

Another daft question - are there different shades of black and if so which one would have been on my 1973 4001?

My last daft question - is re-finishing best done by pros or could a numpty like me do it?

I do have a friend with spraying equipment.

[fatfingers]

I was originally going to have it 'natural', but went off the idea.

I'll take a photo - it doesn't have any bits on it though..
I'll ask it nicely.. it's a bit shy.

Oh, I just remembered something else.. the headstock has been off and repaired at some stage. This never cause any problem when I played it - Is this common?

You guys are so helpful, thanks..

[cjj]

No, RIC doesn't sell paint and such, they make instruments. You wouldn't want to use UV cured finish either since the Ultra Violet curing lamps would cost enough to buy a LOT of guitars.

I'm in no way an expert on refinishing (there ARE some here, jingle_jangle for instance, who runs the "Reflections of a Curmudgeon" section), but I've heard CV is a bit difficult to spray and may take special equipment (like all stainless steel). Nitrocellulose lacquer can be used and it a bit easier to do. If you really want a professional looking, factory quality finish, you really need to have a pro do it (or be willing to do it over and over until you learn how to do it properly).

I'd suggest reading through a lot of threads in the Curmudgeon section and asking Paul about refinishing options/advise. He's got a lot of info on how it's done in various threads there, lots of pictures of the process, and even videos...

[jdogric12]

off topic, but FYI re numpties:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/115400495218179/

You can date it down to month by the serial number. Jan, Feb, some March '73 are some of the most desired Rick basses outside of the 50's and 60's! Congrats on having a cool piece, good luck with the resto. And no, numptyglo is not recommended. Check in at that fb link and see what the group says there.

[sloop_john_b]

Since you have a rather desirable and valuable Rickenbacker - even with the headstock break - you should have the refinish professionally done. Keep in mind however that this is not inexpensive.

[ken_j]

Welome to the RRF Belinda.
My concern in refinishing is the wax that is on the bass. I'm not sure at this point what it would take to remove the wax form the open grain to get a vinyl sealer base-coat to stick. Vinyl sealer would be the first step in a CV or nitro spray job.

[teeder]

Wax on, Wax off. It's as simple as that.

[fatfingers]

Thanks for the great advice.

I think getting someone to do the refinishing is best. I'll checkout the curmudgeon(finishing) posts.

A Numptie(popular usage in Scotland) is someone who is often keen to do do tasks they are not suited for... like finishing a guitar.
It could also mean an idiot, bam, or just lacking in judgement.

I'm not really a numptie.. It was an example of my self defacing sense humour (honest)..

[antonius]

I got my 4001 refretted and the fretboard refinished at http://www.dm-guitars.co.uk/ because John Hall said he was good and because he uses something very similar to the original CV finish. It's a much more durable finish than Nitrocellulose lacquer but it's more complicated to apply, which is why there aren't many who do it (there may be a few more in the UK who can do it). You have a valuable and special instrument there so if you are getting it refinished it's worth getting it done properly in my opinion, but it won't be cheap...

[T.A.R.]

Welcome to the forum Belinda! Good Luck with your project as I think you 've found already there is a great deal of knowledge here. Pics we love Pics!

[cheyenne]

Pics would be nice.

Have we confirmed its an early 4001? If she bought it "some 20 years ago", it could be a trashed Shadow.

I Just thought I'd toss that into the soup.