Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

One of the previous owners of one of my basses decided to place a thumb rest on it. The finish is MG and it has two good sized screw holes. Any way to cover them up without painting or refinishing the bass?

A quickie fix, not recommended for vintage instruments...depending upon the size of the hole, you can insert a toothpick that's been dipped in gap-filling (thicker) super glue or Elmer's Glue. Wedge it into the hole nice and tight, and let the glue dry. Carefully trim it flush with the surrounding wood surface.

Next, using hobby enamels, mix up a yellow color that is a dead-nutz match for the MG finish (you can use yellow, white and a dab of brown for most--YMMV), and touch up just the tiniest area with the color on a small artist's brush.

This fix, cheap and carefully done, will look fine unless you look really crazy close.

Keep in mind that with a finish like MG, you will be able to see the repair.

Thanks Paul. I'm off to look for some gap filling glue.

I have the same dilemma with my '73 4001. A former owner installed a thumb rest on it and it just kills the look of this 4001 for me.. I'd hate to have to refinish this 4001, but I'd really love to get rid of this thumb rest without leaving a hole or an obvious mark were the hole used to be. I'd have to replace the pickguard also.

beatlefreak wrote:Keep in mind that with a finish like MG, you will be able to see the repair.

...which is why I put the qualifier in my last sentence, "unless you look crazy close".

Kris, in past topics, questions and posts in both this and other Forums, I've taken the time to go into detail on how a fix such as this could be done virtually undetectably by someone with experience and lots of cash for materials, but this time I wished to show a way to get 80% of these results with about 25% of the work and much less $$$ outlay.

MG is very, very difficult to repair undetectably, even for a pro refinisher, so for me to keep repeating a method that most inexperienced would grow discouraged trying to implement, would accomplish little. In this case, the results, done according to my instructions, would satisfy most people, and even possibly help improve an instrument for future sale. So it's a win-win situation.

The easiest Ricks to do spot repairs on are obviously the JG-finished ones, but even here we have to concern ourselves with the yellowing of the conversion varnish over time, which yields a black that is tinged with shades of olive green.

jingle_jangle wrote:The easiest Ricks to do spot repairs on are obviously the JG-finished ones, but even here we have to concern ourselves with the yellowing of the conversion varnish over time, which yields a black that is tinged with shades of olive green.

You are describing my 350 to a tee. It turns a strange olive green color under certain lighting conditions.

Joey - I have a 73 4001 in Jetglo that had several extra holes due to a badly shaped replacement pickguard. It also had two significant holes between the bridge pickup and the bridge where a previous owner had removed the bridge pickup cover and screwed it directly into the body (why do people do these things? ). I had someone local repair these holes and touch up the finish, and while it isn't perfect, you really have to to look carefully to see the repair. I'm sure if you had someone knowledgeable work on your thumbrest holes, you'd be quite happy with the results.

winston wrote:

jingle_jangle wrote:The easiest Ricks to do spot repairs on are obviously the JG-finished ones, but even here we have to concern ourselves with the yellowing of the conversion varnish over time, which yields a black that is tinged with shades of olive green.

You are describing my 350 to a tee. It turns a strange olive green color under certain lighting conditions.

And a quick fix like the above-described one, on a less-than-black JG guitar or bass, can be accomplished, again with hobby enamel, by carefully mixing the black enamel with small amounts of the bright yellow until the proper olive shade is achieved. This color, BTW, dries a half-shade darker, so be sure you allow your test sample (I use popsicle sticks to stir and mix and check color, all in one) to dry thoroughly before declaring it a match made in Rick heaven.

Thanks Paul,

Now I know how to touch up the battle scars inflicted on my 350 by the previous owner.

86kubicki wrote:I'm sure if you had someone knowledgeable work on your thumbrest holes, you'd be quite happy with the results.

Steve, that's probably what I will do eventually. I'd have to replace the pickguard also. I'd hate to take anything original off that bass, but that would be the only way to get what's not original off of it.