Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Can anyone please tell me what kind of finish is used on Rick basses fingerboards? Thanks.

Sherwin Williams Water White Clear Conversion Varnish which requires a catalyst to make it dry(harden) this is the modern day finish..In the late 50's nothing was used. By 1960 a finish known as Fuller-Plast was used thru the 70's(don't know the exact date) up until Conversion Varnish by Sherwin Williams started being used. It requires a vinyl sealer before laying the coats on the fingerboard. On the instruments with no fingerboard finish you can use a Danish Oil.

Sherwin Williams Water White Clear Conversion Varnish is a similar finish to ours but not what we use. However, it would be a good choice for an independent luthier since it's an off-the-shelf product, whereas our is proprietary.

Thank You John The smallest quantity one can buy off the shelf is: 1 gallon of CV and 1 quart of catalyst, cost for both, about $75.00. You will need special equipment to spray this type of finish, a compressor and HVLP spray gun, and a respirator filter mask of high quality, you don't want to breathe any of the overspray/fumes. I wouldn't advise brushing this on although I suppose it could be done, very labor intensive though.

You don't HAVE to have an HVLP to shoot CV- but it's the law in most parts of the country. But once you use a gun with CV, you really can't use it with anything else effectively due to the etching of the interior surfaces. The respirator needs to have an "organic materials" rating to be of any use and you really don't want to breathe this stuff.

The varnish that I use is a bit different...it is a VOC-compliant catalyzing urethane clear; doesn't etch the gun surfaces like a furniture CV does (it's made for automotive use), doesn't yellow; has UV inhibitors. It's a bit tougher to sand compared to CV, though. And it's three times the cost of the S-W CV.

Same procedure; same respiratory protection, too.

Nice to hear about your conversion details, fellas.

I stay with tung oil and mineral spirits ... no gun needed, no respirator needed, and very easy to sand ... but conversion varnish looks a lot better and protects the wood better

Just out of curiosity, how well do you guys think off-the-shelf nitrocellulose lacquer would hold up on a fingerboard? I've read that Fender used it on their maple fingerboards back in the day.

I still use nitro when I do a Fender maple neck. Not as durable as CV, but works fine.

And, it's easy to relic, LOL...

Hey Kirk I thought you might live in Portland..The Nitro Lacquer I use is Sherwin Williams, I get it from the Beaverton store,it works well on Rosewood to as long as you wash it with Acetone 1st. You ever heard the Buckles, we should meet up and hear them Saturday night at Duffs Garage on S.E.7th..If you like the Beatles and Buck Owens you'll like this band... Drop me an Email.

Thanks for the info guys, that is something I was curious to know for a while.

Hi Dale, I've been trying to email you but I fear my idiot box may have a bug. If you get a chance could you try emailing me an address to contact you?

Thank you sir!

J Gary try this one: [email protected]

Dale, you should come out to the blues jam down there at Duff's on Wednesday nights. Suburban Slim from the Strangetones hosts the jam and theres always a great group of players there. I'm there every wednesday and brought out my 350v63 BBR there last night with my AC30.

On the finish end of things, I followed Paul's advice and used the same CV setup that he uses, and got all the PPG stuff at Quality Paints in Hillsboro. It worked well and looks nice. Should have my refinished in Blue Boy 230 done soon as a result.