Dull finish needs help

elgranluis · Post by **elgranluis** » Sat Nov 27, 2004 1:05 pm

hello everyone, this is my very first thread. I always found everything i needed by only lurking around you great bunch of people. Anyway, here{s my dilemma:

To get rid of lots of surface scratches on my 4003, I used rubbing compound , first the red one (turtle wax brand), then the green one. I reaqd the post about finish touchups where Mr HAll goes about saying how it should be done.

Use a bit of abrasive rubbing compound (automotive red or green works fine) on some cheese cloth to polish up the dull area, trying to keep off of the surrounding area as much as possible. Switch to fine compound (automotive white) to polish it more and you can now go a bit wide to blend it.

anyway, i cant seem to find the "white" polish. Is this some sort of mistake? i went crazy looking for that stuff today: walmart, autozone, hardware stores, you name it. I did find polish/wax, formula1 polish, but i have no idea if these producs are the same thing as mr Hall suggests. I'd like to know exaclty some brand/product/presentation that offers the thing i need (white rubbing compound?) Can anyone please help me out on this? my finish is sooo dull

admin · Post by **admin** » Sat Nov 27, 2004 3:19 pm

Luis: Welcome to The Rickenbacker Forum. I have used the Meguiar products with much success.

But before you get into the polish, do you need to be that aggressive. Will a pure carnauba wax do?

If you mix the white top carnauba turtle wax with an equal volume of water you can get a brilliant shine even with hand buffing.

dave4004 · Post by **dave4004** » Sat Nov 27, 2004 5:45 pm

Luis, you're quoting the post here: ../43/13227.html"#FFEECC">

elgranluis · Post by **elgranluis** » Sat Nov 27, 2004 7:49 pm

Dave:
oooooo, yeah, i think there was a misinterpretation. You know, since he mentioned polish as "red or green" i thought he meant any of those, and that there was yet ANOTHER step of polish. See, i think you are trying to say that he meant: red bucket, then green bucket, then turtle wax. I guess i'll just keep rubbing then!

I know those weren't instructions for removing scratches, but there was a big chunk of unevenness in my bass that needed to "blend in" with the rest of the body. Thanks a lot!

thx1955 · Post by **thx1955** » Sun Nov 28, 2004 9:17 am

Luis !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Great to see you here, this is definatley the place for Rickenbacker knowledge, there are some really gifted, and knowledgable folks here who are always willing to help.

Is this the White Ric you were asking me about over at AB ???

rickenbrother · Post by **rickenbrother** » Sun Nov 28, 2004 9:44 am

Like Peter, for many years I have had great results using the Meguiars carnauba cleaner wax.

elgranluis · Post by **elgranluis** » Sun Nov 28, 2004 10:38 am

hello Jim, nice to see you araound!

Yes, we're talking about the same ric, except it was not white but red. White would have been great since it has the black hardware and binding option.

anyway, I think i went a bit maniac over the whole finish thing, and it turned great. Let me explain:

For some reason, my drill was right next to my ric.. so i figured why not put the polishing adapter and just go at it? So i poured some turtle wax and started drilling.. I mean polishing. I spent close to an hour, and the results were amazing. The finish is a mirror again. Although the back still sports some buckle rash, it is the shiniest "rashed" surface i've ever seen. Amazing what a puff of wool and some turtle wax can do

. Plus i never thought that Red could look so great on a ric. I mean, it was one of my least favorite colors until I actually saw one in person.

Thanks everyone, you've been great!

thx1955 · Post by **thx1955** » Sun Nov 28, 2004 10:48 am

I remember now Luis, the white one was for someone else.

So you got the red one ... do you have any pics of it ??

eb2 · Post by **eb2** » Thu Dec 02, 2004 7:16 pm

If your run into any trouble, check out the board at the Guitar ReRanch. Lots of helpful finishing and refinishing tips. Good Luck.

elgranluis · Post by **elgranluis** » Fri Dec 03, 2004 7:26 pm

Jim, not any pics yet. I owe a million pics to everyone already, but i'll try my best and see if i can get a hold of a digital camera soon.

And Jim D, ill check on that, thanks!

thx1955 · Post by **thx1955** » Sat Dec 04, 2004 8:50 pm

Luis,
You see what I mean about this forum, everyone here shares a common Love of Rickenbackers. I'm still amazed at the depth of knowledge here, and in all cases this knowledge is always willingly shared.