Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Melissa B. sent in two of her Ricks for special refinishes (more about this in future posts...). The '82 330 was her first Rickenbacker guitar, and she has a great sentimental attachment to it. It has had a lot of use, and it came to me after a good deal of discussion on just what she wanted done to it--basically a complete "beauty shop" treatment; refinish, refret, custom-mixed color, and general cleanup and setup.

The 481 (forgot to note the year--oops!) is of course a rare "slant fret" model which she bought in an eBay auction a couple of years ago, and which she wants to make right, so she can play it and get inspired by it. When it arrived, it looked a bit rundown and dreary, so I can imagine what a lot of new sparkle will do to it. It also will get the full treatment, finishing up with a custom color and some new hardware.

Early last week, I began disassembling the 330, pulling frets, radiusing the fretboard, and then stripping the Fireglo finish.





You can see the fretwear the speaks of the place the guitar has in Melissa's heart:





It had a lot of old surface checking, no doubt from the severe climate in her neck of the North Woods.









Into each minute gap in the finish, moisture had seeped and mildew had taken hold, so that even after a good stripping and thorough sanding, the wood still seeped a bit of discoloration each night, which would show in the morning.



I let it do this for a few nights and then got out the wood bleach. One application, neutralization and sanding took care of the staining without changing the wood's grain or color.

You can see the stripes of mildew, which were bleached out, in this shot of the neck:



Here are some photos of the guitar after the sanding, pulling frets, resurfacing the fretboard, etc., were completed:









Next comes a refret, then sealer and the custom color which I mixed from a sample that she sent me.

Melissa: I forgot to ask: You want gold guards with that special color paint?

It just amazes me to watch these things unfold. How you can take the "before" guitar and turn it into basically a "brand new" piece of wood is just amazing to me. Can't wait to see the next installment!

Tuesday I started on the 481. These bolt-necks are Phlemmy's favorite 6ers, because of that classic shape derived from the 4000-series basses, and I have to admit that their exotic good looks win them a place in my heart, too.

This one is an original JG. Of all the JGs I've refinished, this one had the first knot I'd ever seen, but it is located in a very judicious place--right on the edge where the guitar's highlights would mask any imperfection of surface. Still, with the great care taken at the factory to finish this one, there was not a clue there was a knot there, after over a quarter century of use.

The poor guitar looked a bit sad and dingy, despite its classic shape and slant-fret and slant-pickup pedigree...I'll bet it was sharp when it was new!







As you can see from the above photo, there was one spot on the back where the varnish had flaked away, and there were numerous wear marks and defects in the finish, but nothing as serious as the 330's mildew.



The truss rod tips were bent and the threads were quite rusty, but they came out nice and springy, so I'll clean them up and lubricate the threads a bit, and we'll get them operating right again.





This guitar, being of mid-'70s vintage, still had celluloid binding (no ABS like the new ones), and special care was taken when stripping to be sure none of the chemical got onto the binding. It took four applications of stripping gel to get the finish down to maple, but it came quite clean.



Here it is after a couple of hours of very careful sanding, with its frets pulled and its binding and fretboard as bright as new again:









Notice the strange tenon neck joint, where the two bottom neck screws actually screw into only 1/8" of neck tenon thickness. Seems like the two top screws do all the work here.

Here are both guitars awaiting refretting. The 330 has a radius on the fretboard, whereas the 481's is flat--part of the slant-fret geometry and mystique. These boards will lose their dinginess and look as-new again in a few short days as the guitars are treated to brilliant new paint schemes. Stay tuned, as I've said before...

Fantastic pictures, Paul. You and Dale are incredible craftsmen.

Love your work (again, still, moreso, etc.), Curmudge!!

Great stuff, as always! That was quite a bit if fret wear on the 330! I was starting to wonder about my 4001, but it hasn't gotten that far yet.

Melissa's 330 is worn from too much love...

Kind of like my eldest daughter's teddy bear, whose fur she would pick in her sleep, and stuff in her nose.

She woke up every morning with a furry nose and eventually the bald teddy was unrestorable, but it's still around and she's about to turn 36...

The 481's wear is from the former owner. Love or neglect, we'll never know.

amazing, simply amazing. I don't post in the section very often, but know that I am always waiting updates. I must say, like Phlemmy, the 481 has a special place in my heart.

Really looking forward to the continuing episodes Paul - love this stuff!!!

Paul, I'm speechless! This whole process is simply amazing--my hubby and I were just sitting here in awe looking at these pictures.... kind of like seeing the image of our child on an ultrasound for the first time!

I wish I could say I really had something to do with the well-worn condition of the 330; it was my very first Rickenbacker and my husband had gotten a great deal on it because of its issues.... it had obviously been well-used and even perhaps abused by its previous owner, however it was also very well-loved by me, too! I still hear its sweet tones in my dreams, and I'm dreaming of what it's going to look like very soon!

Well Melissa every time I see this movie it gets better and better. I for one can't wait to read or perhaps just see your colour choice(s).

Soon, Brian, very soon!

It will be..... PERFECT.

BTW, Paul, yes, the gold guards are an absolute must for the 330! I can't stop dreaming about that one!

Paul Thanks for sharing the pix. It surely is a treat to see the work in progress. Melissa I like the ultra sound analogy. Looking forward to see more pix of the "gestation" of these fine guitars that are now safely ensconced in the "womb" of Paul's workshop.