Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

RIC_FACTORY wrote:If you have totally lost heart, we can most definitely take care of it in a flash and have it back to you.

Keep at it for a while longer though, it will probably all come off.

This is awesome. Thanks for this attitude Ben--I really like that you're encouraging people to "learn to fish" in this case but obviously the warranty aspect is still wide open. I think this is the best CS policy that could have been adopted. Thank you for that.

Yeah, the foks at RIC have been great to deal with. In the end I opted to take advantage of the warranty work option, if only to make sure that the cause of the problem is appropriately addressed, and not just the symptom. Hopefully examining my guitar will get Ben, Kenny, et. al. that much closer to putting their fingers on what's causing this bit of superficial weirdness. So far everyone has been great--both the RIC folks and the good people here at the forum. Thanks to all!

fretbuzzard wrote: Hopefully examining my guitar will get Ben, Kenny, et. al. that much closer to putting their fingers on what's causing this bit of superficial weirdness.

Ummmm...didn't you read my post way back on page 4 of this thread? It's already been identified and methods to counteract defined:

I spoke to John Hall about this situation and his reply was, as usual, enlightening.

You know the so-called "new Rick" smell that you guys go nuts for? Well, it's a product of the offgassing of the adhesive used to glue the linings into the case moldings. This adhesive, incidentally and unfortunately, can support fungal growth, and a closed instrument case can be an ideal environment for this growth. What's been used until recently to prevent the growth is an additional chemical (dimethylfurane, or DMF) which was added to the silica gel dessicant packets which can be found in thousands of products in addition to Rickenbacker cases.

This has been the situation for decades, until recently, when complaints of skin rashes due to contact with DMF residue on some imported leather furniture ad other similar stuations, led to the removal of DMF from the dessicant packets.

So, the green stuff is the residue of fungal growth in the case lining.

Polishing compound, as the Perfect-It that I've recommended, followed by a good waxing, will clean up the green. In extreme cases, if the compound doesn't remove it, a gentle wet-sanding with #2000 paper will remove the green, and then can be followed by a polishing with Perfect-It and a clean cloth diaper.

Prevention? Find some older dessicant packs. Who the heck saves them, though? But--a light spray of the case with Lysol, followed by a stint in the sunlight and a wipe-down of the lining with a dry cloth or brushing of same, will keep things under control.

Rick isn't the only manufacturer that is affected by this problem, BTW.

I read it with interest, as you will see if you look at my comments on pages 4 and 5 where I directly reference your post. That information doesn't necessarily line up 100% with what I'm hearing from the RIC service dept., though. My latest conversation with RIC service (9/3) included a comment from their end that they had thought it was an issue with the case, but that appeared not to be the situation at this point. While that comment is not inconsistent with the mildew explanation (mildew growing IN the case is not necessarily a problem with the case ITSELF, I suppose) I walked away from that conversation with the feeling that a solution to the symptom seems to have been identified (buff out the green), but I do not get the feeling that the underlying cause of this symptom has been definitively pinned down. (All of this assuming, of course, that the issue with my guitar is the same as the issue with the instruments that J. Hall has examined is the same issue with the guitar that Kelly sent back is the same as ...) If the case is the culprit, great, RIC service will be able to deal with that easily enough by replacing or sanitizing the case. If the issue is not the case, great, RIC service will identify and address the problem with my guitar and any others that come back. In either situation I expect I will be pleased with the outcome!

jingle_jangle wrote:

fretbuzzard wrote: Hopefully examining my guitar will get Ben, Kenny, et. al. that much closer to putting their fingers on what's causing this bit of superficial weirdness.

Ummmm...didn't you read my post way back on page 4 of this thread? It's already been identified and methods to counteract defined:

I spoke to John Hall about this situation and his reply was, as usual, enlightening.

You know the so-called "new Rick" smell that you guys go nuts for? Well, it's a product of the offgassing of the adhesive used to glue the linings into the case moldings. This adhesive, incidentally and unfortunately, can support fungal growth, and a closed instrument case can be an ideal environment for this growth. What's been used until recently to prevent the growth is an additional chemical (dimethylfurane, or DMF) which was added to the silica gel dessicant packets which can be found in thousands of products in addition to Rickenbacker cases.

This has been the situation for decades, until recently, when complaints of skin rashes due to contact with DMF residue on some imported leather furniture ad other similar stuations, led to the removal of DMF from the dessicant packets.

So, the green stuff is the residue of fungal growth in the case lining.

Polishing compound, as the Perfect-It that I've recommended, followed by a good waxing, will clean up the green. In extreme cases, if the compound doesn't remove it, a gentle wet-sanding with #2000 paper will remove the green, and then can be followed by a polishing with Perfect-It and a clean cloth diaper.

Prevention? Find some older dessicant packs. Who the heck saves them, though? But--a light spray of the case with Lysol, followed by a stint in the sunlight and a wipe-down of the lining with a dry cloth or brushing of same, will keep things under control.

Rick isn't the only manufacturer that is affected by this problem, BTW.

OK, Chief.

jingle_jangle wrote:OK, Chief.

You're the Chief around these parts, I'm just a lowly scout!

I take it this is just happening with the molded (no pun intended) SKB cases. I haven't heard of it happening with the vintage cases.

I bought my 330 a couple months ago during the MF Blowout. I've got no green on my guitar, so am I out of the woods? Would it be wise of me to air out the case anyway?

Hit the case (guitar removed!) with a light spray of Lysol just to discourage any stuff from growing in there, let it dry, put the geetar back in.

Don't store it anyplace damp.

I took my 4003 MG to Colfax Guitars today and the green rash buffed out in under two minutes. Nice. Also free, although I guess you could say it's part of the cost of the basic setup I'm going ahead and having them do. Scott Baxendale seems like a very knowledgeable guy, and they were pleased to see another Ric--their sixth this week in for basic setup work, apparently a case of crazy timing on the part of the owners. I'm the only bassist though.

Scott was hard to convince that fungus was the issue, but he did admit after buffing that the finish damage was superficial, just like a fungal infestation. He also got some results on the smaller bits with Novus polish.

I think now that I'm out here in Denver, though, I won't need any lysol... the green rash basically stopped advancing long before I left MO and hasn't changed since. It's so dry out here!

FWIW, just got one in today and the green rubbed out in under one minute...

RIC_FACTORY wrote:FWIW, just got one in today and the green rubbed out in under one minute...

Has the factory definitively settled on the cause of the staining that you can share with us? Is this cause also being addressed with the instruments that you see under warranty, or is the focus just on removing the green?