Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Looking good! I would have removed the leather too - Good work so far!

rickyfricky wrote:Sans leather definitely the way to go.

Here's what I would do next:

Scratch X to remove scratches (although there is a better product since Scratch X changed their formula...?)

Zymol Wax applied with an organic cloth diaper*

Dr. Stringfellow's Lem-Oil fretboard conditioner

Install a 4001 treble bezel cover (from Frank on Ebay)

*If you search Zymol on this Forum, I think you will find specific instructions.

What would you use the lemon oil for? The fretboard is lacquered anyway, it wouldn't be able to penetrate (except in the parts where the finish is worn off…
Also, I'd love one of those treble bezels…what a great idea! I looked at the price+shipping on ebay though, and I'm going to attempt to make one out some scrap cherry wood I have.

So I spent the better part of Saturday removing the darned thing, and nearly screwed up my back in the process because I was hunched over it for hours on end. I ended up using a hairdryer to warm up an area at a time and then carefully peeling the glue off. It worked miraculously on some parts and then barely at all in other parts, but overall I'm pleased with the results. Some paint did come off in the process, and I would have had multiple heart attacks if the bass wasn't already so well-worn that the back seems to match the rest. I was able to clean it up some by wet sanding with fine sandpaper on a sanding block, and then moving in increments towards using a polishing compound. I actually had a bottle of Meguiar's PlastX (I'm not sure what the difference is between that and ScratchX. Is one finer than the other, maybe?) but had to give it a rest because my arm was about to fall off. I'll give 'er another go soon, but there's just no healing some of the damage. I'm not going to even try to match the colour and do a refin...

The way I look at is like this: a guy goes into the operating room because he has a metal rod coming out of his chest. After the operation, he is left with some scars, but is way better off without that rod in his chest! I'll post pics soon!

Slacker wrote:The way I look at is like this: a guy goes into the operating room because he has a metal rod coming out of his chest. After the operation, he is left with some scars, but is way better off without that rod in his chest! I'll post pics soon!

That sounds like a story Peter Gabriel would have told before a song back in the day.

A belated welcome to the Forum, Veronique.

If you try any solvents, just be careful. Something like naphtha (hydrocarbon) should be O.K. in small amounts, and I think that isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) woulfd be similar.

On some adhesives, I've used the masking tape technique. Apply a piece of masking tape to the adhesive and pull it off. A lot of times it will remove the sticky junk. On stubborn adhesives, you may have to use a lot of tape. Have patience with it. After you remove most of the goo, use polishing compound (I use Novus #2) to get the residue off. This may or may not work in your case, but it's better than using a razor blade.

A little late now but naphtha, as Gary already suggested, would not have harmed the finish and likely would have removed the glue.

Welcome aboard the RRF, Slacker, and we hope the clean-up of this Azure Glo model is successful ! !
As mentioned by others, if you hang around the RRF long enough, you will likely find that having only one Ric is insufficient

I've been real busy lately and will definitely post pics when I have time to take good ones, but in the meantime, here's the bass and the setup I've been using. I jam at a place that you rent by the hour, and it already has amps and a PA and drum kit, so it's a bit of a "you get what you get" scenario. I don't have a car, so I'm not about to lug some heavy tube amp over there (although my boyfriend has a sweet SoundCity 120 I'm dying to plug into that Ampeg 8x10 you see there. The GK is ok but it just doesn't "do it" for me, in terms of tone. No offense to anyone who uses them, as I know they're quite popular. There used to be an Ampeg B25-B in that room that I was in love with, but it died and they got rid of it

I've uploaded pics! I had a little photoshoot yesterday and took what I think are finally good pictures. You can see all the battle scars and such (some are actually quite surprising!), and I also have some others that I couldn't upload in the registry for lack of space. I've a few of the electronics cavity and the truss rod holes at the bottom of the neck. Let me know if these interest you and I'll post them here.

Meantime, you can see the pics in the registry: http://www.rickresource.com/register/vi ... 6order%3D7