Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Dear Curmudgeon,

Not sure if anyone else has reported the problem that I'm experiencing. I took delivery of a brand new Rick 1996 AFG from North Coast Music in December, 2006. The guitar arrived in a silver vintage-style Rick case. After checking the guitar out and carefully checking the finish for flaws, I put it back in the case. It's my habit to always keep my Ricks in their cases because I have found that many of them react with the various types of guitar stands I use. All of my Gibsons react with stands, but my Fenders, Epiphones, Gretsches, Hofners, and Phantoms do not react with stands.

Last week a fellow Forumite came over to see my collection, so I got the 1996 out of the case. I was horrified to see that the finish was "etched" by the case lining material. It basically has markings in the pattern of the liner any place where the liner contacted the guitar (i.e. back of the neck, back of the body, top and bottom edge of the body). I'm thinking that I can probably hand buff these markings out, but I'm wondering if other people have experienced this problem.

I suspect that although the finish is smooth and shiny, it never properly cured and is therefore softer than it should be. I also have an '89 1997VB FG that seems prone to stand problems, while my '91 1997 JG and '99 1997 FG don't react with stands. I've got a number of Ricks from '79 and '80 in various finishes that don't react at all. I've never put my '90 360/12v64 FG or my '93 360v64 FG in stands because I didn't want to risk damage.

Why do some Ricks react and others don't? My guitars never leave my climate controlled house and usually stay in their cases in rooms with no direct sunlight.

Any suggestions?

Some react and others don't because in a minority of cases, the finish is remaining reactive. There could be a number of causes for this, but rather than speculate, I will leave this open and ask for Eric B. to respond, since he's in charge of this at the factory.

I do know that in my shop, depending upon temperature and humidity, some finishes are slower to cure than others, regardless of the varnish/catalyst mix. I have been told that a freshly-varnished Rickenbacker instrument is allowed to cure and harden "a minimum of 3 days" before it is flatted and buffed out.

I'm also going to say that you are correct--you can hand-buff these minor imperfections out, though I would agree that it's a hassle. But I hand-buff all my new and used Ricks out with Scratch-X and Zymol, anyway. I just picked up a BG 425V63 in lovely shape, except for 8 years of hazing in the varnish from eager owners dry-wiping it with the RIC polishing cloth. Ten minutes to disassemble it and reassemble it, and a twenty-minute beauty treatment in between, and it was looking like new!

Bumpity, bump, bump...

My 2 Ricks have marks from the stands they sit in, but so do some of my Gretsches.

I use Stagg stands ,they're really cheap.
I play all my guitars and don't really mind it much though.

I've gigged my 360/12V64 and 1964 Gretsch 6120 for over twenty years,
and they're not in bad shape for all that time!