Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

lumgimfong wrote: Sat Jul 09, 2022 10:45 pm Forgot to mention this is for 2016 finish. Not nitro.

Dumb question:
After cleaning, the rags must be disposed of in trash? Not laundered like guitar cloths can be after using regular guitar polish?

Ricks have not been nitrocellulose lacquer since 1958.

Naphtha is safe on any finish type (it will NOT soften or strip any finish type). Every guitar tech on earth uses this stuff for general cleaning, because it flashes and evaporates almost instantly.

If Ronsonol is a mix of something else, you wouldn’t know it by using it, it reacts and behaves exactly like naphtha.

There is lots of well-intended advice in this thread that seems to miss the point. Naphtha is a very gentle solvent that removes dirt and grime, leaving you with a clean finish. Only at that point do you start using mildly abrasive compounds like Scratch-X, or topcoat cleaner waxes like Zymöl. If you don’t clean the grime off the finish first, you are basically polishing dirt INTO the finish.

Oops…Scratch x has silicone in it. Bad for guitars.

lumgimfong wrote: Sun Jul 10, 2022 11:08 am Then there is VM&P Naphtha. But that stuff is desribed like it can strip paint.

VM&P Naphtha is what I use. I won't strip paint.

You lost me at "Cleaning".

I don’t clean if it’s my grunge. But just got this back from tech and there’s grunge and greasy prints everywhere that won’t come off with water or guitar polish or Ric cloth. It’s like he ate rotisserie chicken with bare hands while working on the bass.

Thanks jps!!!
VM&P Naphtha coming right up.

lumgimfong wrote: Mon Jul 11, 2022 10:47 am I don’t clean if it’s my grunge. But just got this back from tech and there’s grunge and greasy prints everywhere that won’t come off with water or guitar polish or Ric cloth. It’s like he ate rotisserie chicken with bare hands while working on the bass.

So, someone actually took Jaco's advice to heart, eh?

jps wrote: Mon Jul 11, 2022 2:10 am

lumgimfong wrote: Sun Jul 10, 2022 11:08 am Then there is VM&P Naphtha. But that stuff is desribed like it can strip paint.

VM&P Naphtha is what I use. I won't strip paint.

It won't strip paint.

collin wrote: Sun Jul 10, 2022 8:50 pm Every guitar tech on earth uses this stuff for general cleaning, because it flashes and evaporates almost instantly.

If Ronsonol is a mix of something else, you wouldn’t know it by using it, it reacts and behaves exactly like naphtha.

Yeah, I don't understand the original poster's obstinance. Who cares if that Ronsonol is a mixture. Many here have used it and say it is safe and say it works.

I have used Ronsonol to clean a guitar neck and I have used it also to remove a serial number sticker inside a Casino of mine. You think that was easy? Well, it was because of Ronsonol.

It occurs to me that using Ronsonol to clean your Fireglo models could bring new meaning to the finish. Please, if you smoke, don’t smoke while cleaning your instruments.

I’m not saying I won’t use Ronsonal. If it’s cheaper and comes in a smaller package than naphtha I’ll definitely give it a try as I don’t need a big can of naphtha like they sell at the hardware store probably. So whichever I can get my hands on I will give it a try. Thanks for letting me know the new formula ronsonal works too!

Tommy wrote: Mon Jul 11, 2022 11:24 amI have used Ronsonol to clean a guitar neck and I have used it also to remove a serial number sticker inside a Casino of mine. You think that was easy? Well, it was because of Ronsonol.

Why would you want to remove a serial number sticker?

Isaac wrote: Mon Jul 11, 2022 10:57 pm

Tommy wrote: Mon Jul 11, 2022 11:24 amI have used Ronsonol to clean a guitar neck and I have used it also to remove a serial number sticker inside a Casino of mine. You think that was easy? Well, it was because of Ronsonol.

Why would you want to remove a serial number sticker?

I wondered the same thing…kinda like grinding the serial number off a gun…or the VIN off a car…

FWIW, I picked up a 5oz container of Ronsonol yesterday. Plan on doing some work to my 4001 today and will give the body and fingerboard a good cleaning. I’m assuming I should take a microfiber type cloth, squirt a bit into it and scrub away? Does it evaporate real quickly or will the rag stay damp for a bit? I am secretly hoping that my 40 year old aged bindings go from creamish-yellow to white.

Isaac wrote: Mon Jul 11, 2022 10:57 pm Why would you want to remove a serial number sticker?

I wanted to "Lennon-ize" my Epiphone Casino. In other words, turning a modern Casino into one that looks like John's from the '60s. That involves a few things and one of them being the removal of the orange serial number sticker and replacing it with the blue one that was present in John's Casino.

It wasn't easy to do. However, using the Ronsonol made the process easier.