Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Holy blackness, Batman!
Don't try & find THAT one in the dark!

Interesting bit of trivia:

This JG bass wasn't black. When I sprayed a chip of pure black and compared the chip to the bass under a very strong, color-corrected light, the bass was actually a very, very dark charcoal with a bit of yellow and a bit of green in it. I'm sure that this was due to the conversion varnish being a bit yellowed, although this was a 2004 instrument.

So I mixed a special "shade" of black so the painted fretboard wouldn't look different from the rest of the instrument. It was an indistinguishable match, and the bass looks like a factory-done painted-fretboard job. Since I use a non-yellowing varnish over the whole shebang, the color shouldn't shift for a long time.

It's serial number is an '05 BTW.

When you say you used "a non-yellowing varnish over the whole shebang" you mean just the fretboard correct? Then what is to stop the fretboard and the body from aging differently since Ric's clear yellows? I'm not concerned but am curious.

This makes sense. In '05, RIC started using a clearcoat that had bit of yellow in it.

Now that is attention to detail!

WOW!

Abbbbsolutely stunning!

Congrats, Brian ..... and GREAT job as usual, Paul!!

Sorry about the date...I had it in my notes as an '04 for some reason, and of course it would be an '05 judging from the cast of the varnish.

My own (PPG) conversion varnish is non-yellowing. By making the paint match and using a non-yellowing clearcoat, the fretboard and body should "stay in synch" longer. I would not expect the body to shift much for a long time, and the color match will thus stay closer, longer. This is really a tiny thing, BTW; looking at the bass you say, "That's BLACK". Lacking RIC's '05 formula (which ran for a few months and has since been changed anyway), this is the best solution.

By "the whole shebang" I meant fretboard and back of neck, blending into the headstock. One's perspective narrows to include only that area upon which one is focusing...the fretboard and neck were my universe for a week or so...the board had to be blended into the neck; didn't want any lines showing up now or in the future. Result is that any scratches on the back of the neck, however small, are now gone.

OK...thanks for clearing that up....pun somewhat intended.

My coat may be clear, but my brain is (sometimes) foggy...

Paul, are you fond of a particular brand of cloth diapers???

I just picked up the "Scratch X" and "Zymol", and dont want to screw up and buy the wrong diapers.

My diapers are all different brands. Just be sure you wash them in very hot water, no fabric softener, extra rinse cycle, and tumble dry them with no :Bounce" or any of those dryer sheets.

All that stuff adds scratchiness.