Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Paul, I am going to replace the nut on my '93 360/12. But, I love the look of the old factory method of placing the nut before finishing.

What kind of procedure and materials would you recommend for replicating that? It seemed to me that the best approach would be to cut the new nut, remove it and spray it separately, masking the fingerboard end, then glue it in place and brush-touch, sand, and buff the small gap.

Thanks.

First, I'd knife-score the old nut through the old varnish to assist in a clean pop-off.

Fit the new nut carefully, then glue into place. It should be just a hair shy of flush on each side, like .005".

Glue the nut into place. Now, mix up some varnish and carefully apply it to each side of the nut. It's OK to get some over the joint and a little bit onto the fretboard or fretboard binding and the volute area. I mix up a small batch of CV myself, and if this is what you're doing, wait for it to flash off (5 minutes) and carefully apply a second, then a third coat. You've got to "flow" the varnish onto the surface, as opposed to aggressively brushing it. An alternative, of course, is clear nail polish, but again, two to three coats.

After the varnish hardens (two or three days in either case), sand with #2000 grit Wet or Dry to remove the joint line between old and new, restore gloss with polishing compound, then Scratch-X and Zymol for a perfect match.

Sounds like a plan. Thanks Paul.

What type of CV do you use?

I use PPG because it will not yellow. It is much more difficult to sand and polish than Sherwin-Williams, though.

So, one could say that you've reached "The Varnishing Point"?

No, Paul just gave me the varnished truth.

Well, as careful as I was, a bit of the finish chipped at the bass side, right under the flat bottom of the nut on the side of the neck. It chipped as I was scoring, so I think it was already maybe a bit weak there for some reason. It's tiny- but everything bothers me. I just hate when I nick anything.

Paul, you obviously could not stand for this either. What would you do to repair a small nick of this nature? It's fireglo and this part of the neck on Rosie is a very dark arterial red.

OK, find some red nail polish about the same color and use a nice artist's brush--not the one that comes in the cap. Only touch up the area of the chip; try not to go outside the lines. Hope your eyes are good, Bob. Me, I use my Opti-Visor. Good luck! You know, it ain't rocket science...

Thanks Paul. I didn't think that would be translucent...but you're the man. I'll do it. Thanks to a lifetime of bad nearsightedness, the presbyopia that sneaks up on us at 40 has been overcompensated for. Without my distance glasses (which I wear for such long distances as seeing the bedside clock) I can do up-close work very comfortably.

As long a it is a tiny chip and the nail polish is a good match, it will be virtually undetectable.

I found a nail polish that was an exact match, to my eye. Spotted it in and next is the fine sanding, then the nut, varnish, fine sanding, and buffing. This is fun.