Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I just bought a flawless '80s 330 about a month ago. And I dinged it on the interior section of the lower horn. A black Sharpie would almost make it go away, but you guys might know a better way.

Anybody? I know, I can't make it stay new forever, but...

Doug, you might want to cross-post this under The Vibrola section where the luthiers-in-house will be sure to see it. Also, did you do a search? I think that this subject has been covered (no pun intended) before.

Ah, the Mensa sensa humor!

I definitely woudn't put a Sharpie to a Ric. An Epi, sure, but in your case I recommend sitting tight, enjoying the pride a true battle scar provides, and a suitable solution will present itself.

Gotta laugh...not only did I use a sharpie to cover all the nicks on my first Rick in 1979, Ken Smith installed a block of wood so he could put a badassII bridge there. I filled that in with Sharpie too.

Sharpies work great to touch up a nicked pole on hi-gains.

I'd say, live with it...the cure for one small nick is a bit complex:

You an load the nick with either gap-filling cyanoacrylate (Zap-A-Gap is the best; Stew Mac sells a brushable type, with a brush in the cap like nail polish) or clear nail polish, which is nitro. Either way, fill it in thin coats, allowing the previous coats to harden fully before proceeding.

The result you want to achieve, is to over-fill the nick with the material until it presents a small bump.

Next, you must use a small, hard-rubber sanding block (I have one that's 1/2" X 1/2" X 1/4", which I cut out of a larger one on the bandsaw) and fresh 1000 grit wet-or-dry sandpaper. Use it wet, with Windex as a lubricant. Carefully sand flush with surrounding varnish area. Repeat, using #2000 wet-or-dry this time.

Next, rub the sanding scratches out using a soft cotton cloth (diaper or t-shirt) and a good very fine compound. I recently switched to Meguiar's SOLO. This will, with enough patience and elbow grease, restore the gloss. Finally, you can do the Scratch-X and Zymol treatment. From your description, the guitar is Jetglo, and so I'd say do the whole darned guitar with Scratch-X and Zymol, while you're at it! The results will amaze you.

Besides taking a bit of experience to get this process down pat, there's expense involved for one tiny nick:

Scratch-X $7.00
Zymol $12.00
Larger sanding Block (Dura-Block) $8.00
SOLO (smallest it comes in is 32 ounces) $22.00
Sandpaper (2 sheets) $3.00
Cyanoacrylate glue or nail polish $4.00

That's nearly $60.00 worth of stuff and at least an hour of fussin' to get rid of the nick. If it's through to the wood, add another $4.00 for some black Goth nail polish.

Super glue is harder than Rick conversion varnish, so there will always be a tiny halo around the repaired area; clear nail polish is softer, so ditto. But the nail polish halo is less obvious.

A lotta work and expense, dontcha know? Hence my first advice: Let It Be.

Getting back to the sharpie - $1.79, and a quick dab...always good to do right before you put it on Ebay...then use the line "To the best of my knowledge".

One little ding? Jeez...just let it go. If you're gonna play the guitar, it's gonna get a bruise every now and then. I played a gig once with an anal retentive guitarist named Steve. He had a pristine 50 watt Marshall and two guitars, both of which were spotless; a Strat and an Explorer. Before the first set, he spent fifteen minutes polishing both guitars. After the first set, he spent his entire break polishing both guitars again. He was dressed immaculately head to toe in black to match his guitars, and he reeked of cologne. I think it's great to have nice instruments and look good onstage, but this was too much.

In any event, don't sweat one ding. Personally, I like a relic Stratocaster with wear, dings, dents, the finish worn off, etc.

I think Ed Roman sells black boot polish for situations like this. Just slather it on, have another strong cider, buff it off with a dirty tea towel, and bob's your uncle!

"and bob's your uncle!"

Nope, my uncle's name was Albert....

Mine was ERNIE!!!

"Nope, my uncle's name was Albert.... "

We were always apologizing to him. We were so sorry, Uncle Albert.

Nasty!