Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

This is potentially a VERY silly question.

I acquired a Blue Boy bass, and it is the truly epitome of the "Green Boy" shade. It's a minty shade of green. It's okay looking, but of course, I'd rather a true Blue Boy. I've heard that a non-yellowing CV exists, and that'd be perfect for a Blue Boy.

So, can JUST the varnish be stripped, leaving the baby blue dye underneath, and then a new, non-yellowing varnish be sprayed in it's place?

Opaque Rickenbacker colors (DCM, AZ, BB, JG, Ruby, Silver, SG, White, Red, Mid-Blue, and I know I'm leaving something out here...) are not dyes but paints, with opaque pigments.

There, now that I've got that out of the way, the following applies to all Rick finishes, whether they be transparent/translucent dyes (as FG, MB, BG, BBR, etc.) or the ones mentioned above:

Although I have been able to occasionally peel the varnish from a Rickenbacker, leaving the finish underneath more or less intact, it is not a method I could do with any sort of predictability. The operative words here are "more or less".

If I were to change the varnish on this one, it would involve a total strip and refin.

That having been said, there is another method--scuffing the existing, yellowed varnish, applying a coat of BB over it, and then varnishing over that, sand, buff, etc.

The problem with this method lies in film thickness, which would undoubtedly be too thick. leading to cracking, checking and peeling down the line.

Plus, there may be some microscopic things in the original factory application that only become a factor when you scuff the original finish and then try to reapply new CV. We've learned that the hard way, haven't we Paul? I wanted to "amber" my Montezuma Brown 370/12, but we're now going the full refinish route after some small bubbles appeared in the new CV. It's more complicated than we originally counted on, but it should be much, much more fun in the long run. If the Greenboy bugs you enough to want to take the plunge, John, go for a complete refinish, don't just mess around with the CV.

Amber Monty, eh? Sounds fun!

My 660/12 BB has, inexplicably, stayed "true blue", and is a full year older than the bass I have just acquired. I am going to be doing a fairly extensive mod to this bass anyway, so maybe it'd be best to leave that work AND the refinish to a professional.

PW, how's yer backlog these days?

Is it a 4003 or 4004 BB John?

It is a 4004 Laredo, Steve.

This isn't why you're looking for Darkstars, is it John?

John, it's about ten months, so I'm sorry to say that I can't help you scratch your itch until November or so, and then there's the Yokohama Guitar Show...

This isn't why you're looking for Darkstars, is it John?

Umm...

Busted!
I've also been thinking about a Darkstar project after seeing this on the pit...

sorry to say that I can't help you scratch your itch until November or so

Paul, any plans in the works regarding taking on an apprentice?

Yo John I got the green boy brother to yours and while it looks kinda cool with black hardware, it's got an appointment with Paul W. for a bright white refin sometime during the summer. You've probably noticed that he is very much in demand and his schedule reflects that. His work is so good that it's definitely worth the wait, and it's probably a shorter wait than ordering a new rick.

Richard, no plans for apprentices. To train one at this stage would slow things down to an unacceptable pace.

I just keep rolling on and things go out at a regular pace...My time is pretty well-organized.