Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

OK, here's what's happened so far this week.

The entire bass has been sanded smooth up to #320, dry. Special attention has been paid to the inside corners where the neck joins the wings, and to the fretboard and every inch of binding. No red or rough spots permitted!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/jingle_jangle/1985%204003/DSC00438.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/jingle_jangle/1985%204003/DSC00439.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/jingle_jangle/1985%204003/DSC00440.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/jingle_jangle/1985%204003/DSC00441.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/jingle_jangle/1985%204003/DSC00444.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/jingle_jangle/1985%204003/DSC00446.jpg

Next, the bass is moved to the spray booth for the sealer coats, prior to masking. Following this I will be applying the tint and finally the CV and sanding, buffing, reassembly, setup.

When I paint a guitar, I start by holding the guitar or bass by the neck, around the 12th fret. On basses this is tough, because of the weight of the body, which really tests the forearm muscles and produces torque on my wrist. Lighter hollowbody guitars are much easier.

In this position, the guitar body, front, back, and edges, are sealed. Occasionally the guitar will be "tossed" while spinning it so that it may be rotated without setting the gun down. It's an acquired skill that would give the owner a fit to watch.

Next, the headstock and neck up to about the third fret are sealed. Then the bass is hung with a stiff wire inserted into a tuning peg hole, so that the middle portion of the neck and the entire fretboard may be sealed.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/jingle_jangle/1985%204003/DSC00447.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/jingle_jangle/1985%204003/DSC00448.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/jingle_jangle/1985%204003/DSC00449.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/jingle_jangle/1985%204003/DSC00450.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/jingle_jangle/1985%204003/DSC00451.jpg

The same technique and routine is used when the guitar or bass is tinted or painted, regardless of color, but a different scheme is used to apply the clearcoat varnish.

DSC00450.jpg shows the one thing I really liked about this bass when I got it; that swirly grain thing at the 6th fret carrying through to the 8th.

And I can see why this one got a solid color finish originally; the wood grain is nothing to write home about, BUT the finish we have in mind will definitely improve the looks of this somewhat unattractive duckling.

My mantra this week: Good things come to those who wait. Good things come to those who wait. Good things come to those who wait.

Gaaaaaaaaggggghhhhhh!

Alan, I understand completely!

This whole process is amazing to me.....

Better have a mantra this month, Alan...

Paul, what are you using for the sealer coat?

I use an acrylic clear which is formulated for durability and resistance to checking and peeling. It's much more stable than either a vinyl sealer or any nitrocellulose product that I am aware of. Every guitar I do gets two coats of this stuff. This forms a strong and flexible film.

The dyes which I use to create my transparent or burst finishes (clue!) are also acrylic-based, so that they solvent-bond with the sealer coats without the need for any scuffing or sanding. I will, however, check the sealer coats once dry and lightly sand them in order to flatten any dust nibs or surface imperfections.

I need to exhale at some point soon - I'm turning blue.

Please exhale, Alan! And take another breath...there you go...feel better???

I'll be spraying color next week, following the complete refret.


Watch for pictures!!!

I feel... dizzy...

Must be the paint fumes...

Paul if you did not have any other things to do, about how long would it take to to complete a project like this?

I can give it to you in hours: A strip and refinish, including buffing and touchup, takes about 20-30 hours. This includes chemical and abrasive stripping, matching color and spraying sealer, color and conversion varnish, all sanding and masking, and anywhere from 3 to 10 hours buffing by hand and with a machine. (The Rickenbacker factory takes about an hour to an hour and a half per guitar, and that's a lot for a production operation.)

Alan is also getting a refret. This is a daylong commitment, because the old frets must be pulled, the fretboard resurfaced, new frets pressed in, ends bevelled and dressed, and fretboard levelled. Bound necks require careful fret notching as well as fitting to the binding.

Older guitars are always risky, as they are unpredictable.

So, if we're talking 30-40 hours for a "job like this" (and no two "jobs" are alike), we can safely say a bit less than a workweek, if I had only one project and if I quit my day job.

These numbers do not take into account any time that it takes for a repair to settle in, or time for a finish to shrink before final buffing and polishing.In some cases, this can demand weeks with the guitar resting in its case, while I work on other customers' work.

as a former "car painter" It's like doing a restoration on a vintage automobile or a custom show car, I've tried rushing things because of customers and it always turned out to bite me in the butt in some way. Particularly shrinkage, end up re-color sanding and polishing, hoping I've got enough material on the car. I can appreciate the work you do. I'm sure you have folks stacked up waiting to have their prized guitars re worked.

You understand, Brian. Now imagine those old cars made of wood--which is like jello compared to steel or fiberglass, from a painter's standpoint--always shifting, never 100% stable.

In my younger years, I made the same mistake as you--tried to rush things to satisfy the occasional impatient customer. But I was not happy with the results, although the customers usually were. So, I am happy now to have customers who are more mature and patient, and the results satisfy everybody.

I do have a waiting list. So does Dale Fortune, who has been doing Ricks a lot longer than me. It seems like happy customers are the best advertising!

Amen Paul. I've had a 325 since May that has been the most demanding refinish/refret in my life. 1st refin ended with a seperation of the back glue join after I had the color on. Strip and start over. Repair the seperation and start again. 2nd refin, the black on the neck and peg head turned to alligator wrinkles under the clear C.V. Strip and start over. 3rd refin I F-ed
up and burnt thru the edge of the ramp to the sealer coat. This is because I did the unthinkable and got in a hurry. Now I've got to make a decision, touch up or sand off C.V. and shoot it black again, then respray with C.V. Life has it's ups and downs.