Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I have just got a really nice '70s lefty 4001 case which is in really nice condition - apart from a bands unpleasant name badly sprayed across the top. I have tried Isopropyl Alcohol, petrol (eek) and vinyl cleaner without much success. I haven't tried T-cut or paint stripper. Any ideas anybody???

Peter, I've got a solution but as usual, it comes with a loooong explanation...

Alcohol is useless to remove most dried paints. Forget the petrol, as you've discovered it's ineffective and the fumes are deadly in a couple of ways.

Vinyl cleaner is just another soap, so it won't work against dried enamel or lacquer.

T-cut (coarse rubbing compound to us Yanks) would work with a lot of rubbing, but it will leave glossy spots that are almost as unsightly as the name was. And it's a bear to work it into the rough Tolex, too.

Paint stripper will DESTROY Tolex! Don't use it!

The best success I've had on this front is with Castrol Super Clean ("Purple Stuff"), which does a nice job of removing the paint but because it's water-based, it is a bit gentler on vinyl.

There is also a product called "Simple Green", which has the same chemistry as Castrol Super Clean, just a different colorant.

Both of these products are available at auto parts places here in the USA, and at most larger hardware stores and DIY centers, too.

The trick is to first lay the case flat, wet a cloth with this stuff--really wet--and lay it on top of the lettering nice and wet. Cover the cloth with a plastic trash bag so the stuff stays wet and doesn't evaporate. Let it sit overnight in a cool place--the idea is to prevent evaporation until the stuff has time to work, which takes several hours.

Check to see if you can scrape the paint off with a fingernail. When it's soft enough for this to work, remove the cloth and bag and get a nice stiff scrub brush (NOT a wire brush, though!) and a bucket of water, and scrub the lettering away.

When you're done, apply some Armor-All vinyl protectant or similar product to make the Tolex shine like new.

Just keep the Armor-All off the handle! You don't want butter fingers when carrying your Rickenbacker. What is in Armor-All Paul that gives it that slippery quality.

Oh, yes. The handle...Reminds me of the motorcycle guy who Armor-Alled his bike's black vinyl seat. You can imagine what happened the first time he opened up the throttle and then hit the brakes...

Sorry to disappoint on the formula issue, but I do know a bit o' history:

Armor-All's formula is secret, of course, but it was invented by a young polymer chemist named Joe Palcher, in 1962. He called it "Tridon" ("no dirt" spelled backwards). The name was changed later to "RT-10", and fellow Polander (Al Rypinski), who used to live in my neighborhood in Newport Beach bought the rights in the late '70s and renamed it "Armor-All".

All I know about it is that it's a water-reduced polymer. Sorry. Perhaps the good Doctor Clauson has something to enlighten us?

No disappointment here Paul. Your comments on this case have been another slick presentation in my books! Thanks for the vinyl word.

I guess you could call Armor All a vinyl solution for this case study.

Thanks for your help Paul (& Peter), I will be going to the car shop first thing tomorrow for some purple Castrol "Super Clean" - I will let you know the outcome.

Wow talk about "case closed."

We could also talk about how to get the furry linings looking brand-new again.

That would re-open the case...

I'm all ears on that one Paul. Let's re-open the case and discuss furry linings and how to make them look brand new again.

I have tried a number of ways to re-new them but light and I stress, light steam cleaning them seems to work best. What solution do you propose?

This is providing that the lining is not torn--just kind of matted and grubby...

Compressed air at 50PSI. Steam cleaning is good if you've spilled something on them, but the air works like magic in most cases...

Hey, Peter Leftyguitars...sorry, but it makes me anxious when I feel that a crucial bit of information has been left out of a thread like this...

What the heck was the band's unpleasant name?

Yeah.... don't hold back on all the gory details, Peter!

I don't know Armor-All's magic ingrdient, but I think I remember reading somewhere that it is silicone-based. If I had access to an FTIR I could check some for the tell-tale O-Si-O absorption band.

I propose a contest to guess what FTIR stands for...here's my entry: 'Full Throttle In Reverse'.

As for those of you who know what FTIR means, stay out of it for a bit and let the rest of us have our fun...