Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Anyone, I'm thinking of buying a J bass that has been stored in it's case for the last 20 years.
The owner said the finish had a reaction to the guitar polish he used, and after the bass sat in the case for many years it created a hazing on the finish.

Will this come out, and how?

Looks like a refin to me.

I can't tell much from the photo, unfortunately. If it is just a powdery sort of residue, it might be able to be buffed out.

If, on the other hand, there is an actual texture to this spider-webbing (if it feels rough to the touch), and if it seems to actually penetrate into or through the clearcoat, this is a good deal more serious, and would probably require at least a partial refinish.

I've never seen a wax product react with a finish to this extent, frankly.

An extreme closeup photo of an affected area would help.

Paul, is pic any better?
I have contascted the seller to ask if this damaged a entered the clearcoat, and if it feels rough.
Thanks for your help.

Looks like clearcoat checking, for lack of a better term. This is a very fine checking, not like we are used to on our varnished Ricks, which tends to be in the form of small squarish facets.

This looks like a chemical burn, like some sort of solvent attacked it. If I were to leave a solvent rag on a countertop and set a guitar on top of it for a few hours, this is what it could look like.

I suspect a solvent-based furniture (not guitar) wax, like Johnson's Pride or some similar formulation.

This will take some major work, I'm afraid.

Thanks Paul. Your the man!

Thats really unfortunate, as it is a really beautiful color and burst.

Yes it's clear that somebody laid that guitar on a rag soaked in 'something' - you can see where the folds were in the cloth. I can't imagine what kind of solvent would eat into a finish like that though...

All might not be lost though - those '70's Fender finishes are so thick that it might be possible to sand that clearcoat smooth and polish it out to look almost new, albeit thinner. Or sand it smooth and add on a respray coat of clear. Just saying I'd bet you could sand that smooth without ever getting close to the color coats.

It's a shame that happened, but use that as a major price bargaining point. Is the front OK?

This finish defect will have gone entirely through the clearcoat, as the only way it would exhibit the surface quality it shows, would be if the clearcoat separated from the colorcoats beneath. The microscopic air gap between clearcoat and colorcoat, which manifests itself as a silvery, almost reflective, aspect, is a result of this separation.

I could not conceive of a reliable way of restoring this finish.

On the other hand, it seems that vintage Fenders sell pretty high even with significant finish damage, sort of the "Jaco" effect. Jaco's modified Fender Jazz looked like s**t, and battle scars seem to add to the mojo. About the opposite with Ricks, where collectors seem to want them pristine.

It's strange, I really don't think new Fenders look right. Never have. I'd much sooner have one like Jaco's...

A few years back, I bought a brand new dining room table and chairs for big $$$$, the day they delivered it, my wife's best friend was helping my daughter paint her fingernails.

I noticed what was going on just as she spilled a little fingernail polish remover on the tabletop. As fast as I could, I tried to wipe it off,,(we'ere talking seconds here folks), but it marred an area about the size of a handprint just like the pictures of the above Jbass.

My daughter was only about 7 when it happened, it went down pretty bad at the time, but now we just look at it and smile.

And my wife's best friend is still alive by the way.

Scott:

"Solvent (acetone) attacks varnish...film at eleven, folks."

Or should I say "Varnish film attacked...acetone at eleven."

Shaun, you have Relic-itis.

I had this very thing happen to me this week. I opened a molded Fender case for the first time in years and the bass was full of an oily substance, it looked very much like those pictures. I used furniture polish and a rag to try to get it off. I put it back (in a different case.) One of these days I'll check it again to see if it came back.

If that old Fender has nitrocellulose parts (pickguard, etc.), it could be the plastic breaking down and outgassing. If it is, remove the offending parts and get rid of them, quick! It will eat into the chrome plating of other parts. There's an article in Vintage Guitar on this very subject.