Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Over the years would a Jetglo finish retain it's lustre better than say a Fireglo finish? I was wondering if the Fireglo fades or gets darker or stays the same with age.

Newer guitars should not fade or change color very much at all, due to the composition of the finish.

Jetglo is great looking when clean, but shows every fingerprint and swirl. For this reason I am not a big fan of Jetglo.

I bought a jetglo 4003 new in 1994 and have used it quite a bit. The only change I've noticed is the binding is not quite as white as it was, just a tiny little bit darker. The black still looks nice. I like jetglo... always in style.

In the past, Fireglo has typically darkened with age. The center natural portion turns a nice amber color and the outer shading darkens. The color depends upon the age of the instrument.

Newer ones should change color less (better varnish formulations).

Nitro Cellulose of the old days faded really nicely, but they stopped using it cause when it faded it'd seep into your skin and could cause cancer

Huh? Where'd you get that nonsense?

Double Huh Paul..........Need to get some artificial sweetener for my coffee now...........bye...

I think it's all some kind of a conspiracy...

Graham: Given that there are new studies emerging everyday, are you able to provide a reference for the study that nitrocellulose was readily absorbed through the skin. I have not seen this comment before.

By the way, welcome to The Rickenbacker Forum.

I let out a big "HUH?" as well. It's certainly toxic and/or carcinogenic as a liquid during processing like most finish materials but I couldn't find any references to this on the web.

And, of course, it's still in widespread use, at least outside California, so if there's any truth to this, the government doesn't know about it yet.

Oh, great now you get some kind of worthless info out about nitrocellulose and guitars and the next thing you know class action lawyers will be running ads on TV asking if you've played a guitar recently you may be entitled to legal compensation. lol.

Nitrocellulose as a paint is a largely inert material once dried. The solvent and pigments would be the toxic components, but solvents evaporate and pigment is locked into the film. I do imagine that solids like old Fender custom colors have a certain amount of lead, zinc, cadmium, and other toxins in them, but tints like Fireglo should be minimally toxic, especially once dry, as they are locked under the conversion varnish film.

If anyone wonders why furniture manufacturing left California......... Think air quality boards and the State Of>>>> in General...........

As a general question, would it be true that the emission standards (in spite of the Kyoto agreement) are different in other countries or regions of the world outside of the United States?

That is, could one use more toxic substances in Indonesia instead of the United States, for example, allowing companies to retain the same manufacturing process that might not pass the test in North America?

Oh, yes. There are major differences between signing and local enforcement. There is a place near Sao Paulo, Brasil, which has earned the name "Valley of Death". It is a dumping ground for all sorts of toxins from the huge amount of industry operating in the area. On days of air inversion and high temperatures, an actual chemical fog can be seen hanging in the air. The water is undrinkable and incidences of all sorts of cancer and birth defects are many times the national average.

Over 100,000 people live in this valley in favelas (shantytowns).

This low compliance is one reason that China is able to manufacture nearly anything so competitively, although they are tightening up. Chinese labor in the Northeastern provinces, where so much manufacturing goes on, is paid $5.00/day, for a skilled craftsman. Still, better than on a farm, where it's $5.00 a week!