Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hello!

I just bought a beatup 4001, from 76. It's been treated pretty rough, the neck and the lower body wing was broken off at some point, but it's been put quite well back together. Also the finish (fireglo or burgundy I'd guess) has been stripped off at some point, I want an artist friend of mine to make a painting on it. To be honest I've been thinking about that for years, and it was one of the reasons I went for this one.

So what I need to know is

1) It's been without finish for a while, I would guess the wood as absorbed lots of dirt during that time. Should I do something to clean it before it get's painted?

2) What kind of paint will be best to use? The artist is trained, so he will have no problem adjusting to whatever paint that's best for the bass.

3) It will need some clearfinish afterwards. I have a luthier ready to do the work, but he's mainly been doing fender style guitars. I want it to be as much rick as possible, so what kind of varnish shall I tell him to use?

Thank you! Jon

http://www.thisismusicinc.com/diversen/rick/4.jpg
http://www.thisismusicinc.com/diversen/rick/5.jpg
http://www.thisismusicinc.com/diversen/rick/6.jpg

As you can see, it has a few other issues as well, but I'll try to get it fixed up properly in time.

Unless you're completely averse to having a natural or "Mapleglo" finish, I would have a luthier put some maple caps over the dowels used to repair the neck(or leave them as is, then have the bass refinished in natural mapleglo. Rickenbackers use a two part conversion varnish (CV) finish that two of our forum members Dale Fortune or Paul W (Jingle Jangle) could tell you about. Fender uses either nitrocellulose or poly lacquer for the finishes on its guitars.

Thnak you for the suggestion. I really like mapleglo also, and like the colours where you can see the woodgrain better than the solid ones. But honestly I think this one is one of the few ricks that will be better off with a solid finish.

Jon: It will be exciting to bring this bass back to life again. I would consult with The Curmudgeon, Paul Wilczynski.

First, you'll have to do something about that crack by the output jacks...It's a weak spot and could lose a chunk if bumped in just the right (wrong) spot. I'd do a fill with a piece of maple after opening it up a bit. Use epoxy glue to hold this small piece in place; make it a tight fit. Make it a bit oversized,and smooth it off after the epoxy sets hard.

Paint? Well, Liquitex artists' acrylics are the best. I'd spray on a ground coat of white. Are you going to paint the whole bass including the neck, or just the front? Undercoat whatever area you plan to paint. I'd spray a thin coating of urethane base white, smooth and opaque.

Clearcoat? A two-pack automotive urethane is the best and universally available. I recommend PPG or Glasurit. Clear nitro (used on Fenders) has no real body and doesn't protect as well as the urethane. In the furniture/architectural woodwork biz, it's called "conversion varnish", and it's what RIC uses to coat their guitars and bases (except the non-maple ones, which are oiled). RIC uses a varnish made by Sherwin-Williams.

Brand doesn't matter a whole lot, I've found, as long as it's a 12-hour cure two-pack urethane. I advise very strongly against nitro or acrylic clear. If your luthier has never sprayed two-pack, educate him or find another who has.

Thank you, Paul!
I will forward the information, I'm sure they'll manage to get it right. I think I will have the whole bass painted, including the neck. I'll keep you posted on the progress, but may take a while before things start to happen.

btw. It's a 78, not a 76 as I wrote in the first post.

thisismusicinc wrote:... may take a while before things start to happen.

This stuff can't be rushed, if the results are not to be disappointing!

So, take your time...