Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Paul:

Since this is a finish/refin question, I hope you don't mind me posting in this area, rather than in the non-Rick specific threads.

There's a Hamer Chaparrel 12-string for sale on eBay this week (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 3DWatching). The price is very reasonable (a brand-new Chaparrel will run about $625-650 from most online retailers, and the new ones are made of Basswood in Indonesia - this is one of the older Mahogony models, made in Korea, which are supposed to be of better quality, according to what I've read at the 12-string sites). My concern is those stickers (some background as to why he did this, and what they are, can be found at the two links below). Any chance that I could get them off without ruining the finish? If so, what kind of product would I need to use to get rid of the residue?

Thanks -
Mark

Background on the "custom" job done to this guitar:
http://12stringbass.net/SteveCooper.htm
http://12stringbass.net/CH12.htm (about two thirds of the way down the page, under "Customizations", it explains that these stars were designed to stick to the walls in a kids room).

Sorry - wrong link to the auction. Here's the correct link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0247246201

I think the stars look cool-I'd just leave them on.

If the stickers are of the "removeable" type, then they should peel off with a bit of patience. If not, then it will be a bit more tricky, but it's still doable, though it would require a lot more patience! Guitar finishes are pretty tough, so I think there's probably a finish-safe solvent that will remove whatever residual adhesive remains after the stickers have been removed, and you'd be able to polish the bass up nicely afterwards with the usual waxes and polishes often discussed on this forum.

I have an identical mahogany bass, Mark, except without the stickers, of course.

Tom P. has since jumped from Hamer to Waterstone Guitars, and I have one of his TP12 Waterstones in a cherry burst finish. I'm also currently designing a special touring bass for Tom to use this summer.

Back to the topic: This bass has a polyester finish, which should be quite bulletproof. Those stickers are mylar and very tenacious. I would use a hairdryer to heat them up, but go slowly and carefully. Although polyester is quite durable and resistant to blistering from heat, use just enough heat to make the sticker easy to peel. This is going to be a several-hour job, no doubting that. I would not use solvents; they could etch the finish and won't penetrate anything but paper stickers, and these are mylar, which is quite non-porous.

You'll probably have to clean and wax the finish after the stickers come off as there will be some "shadowing" (a difference in gloss, nothing more) in the paint.

For info on how to make that bass look unbelievably glossy and BLACK, search this forum for threads on "Scratch-X and Zymol".

[Dubl-post®)

Thanks to both Pauls for the advice. I'm leaning towards it - we'll see what the Mrs. thinks.

The other 12ver that I've thought about is the current TP import model from Waterstone that you mention - there's been both a Cherry Sunburst and an Orange Target model floating around on eBay for the past couple of weeks, but both have gone unsold after several auctions. I'm assuming that the slow economy (or at least the perception of a slowdown) has more to do with this than the quality of the instruments. Or, it could just be that 12vers are still thought of as too "experimental" to most players, so they're loathe to take the plunge.

Oh shoot, this is Steve Cooper's bass! (a forumite)

Beat me to it, John. Yup, that bass belongs to the Atomic Punk!

That's Steve's bass, ask him if the stickers are removable.

jingle_jangle wrote:I have an identical mahogany bass, Mark, except without the stickers, of course.

Tom P. has since jumped from Hamer to Waterstone Guitars, and I have one of his TP12 Waterstones in a cherry burst finish. I'm also currently designing a special touring bass for Tom to use this summer..

A special touring bass? you mean tom will be using something that is not a waterstone?
Whats the specs on the special touring bass? Lighter perhaps?
emac.

It will be Waterstone-branded. He'll start using it in Denver, July 6. Beyond that, my lips are necessarily sealed.

jingle_jangle wrote:It will be Waterstone-branded. He'll start using it in Denver, July 6. Beyond that, my lips are necessarily sealed.

Err Paul, are you by chance one of the guys who make the working prototypes for Waterstone?

jingle_jangle wrote: Beyond that, my lips are necessarily sealed.

Are you allowed to talk sometime after July 6?

Yep, that is mine. Those stars have been on there for a while but yes, I think they will come off. I should try and take one off and see for sure.
I really hate having to sell that one, it's been one of my mainstays for a long time, but "changes in my cashflow" have forced me to make a lot of hard decisions of late.
Other than the stars, it's a monster bass. (I like them but I know it's not for everyone). Any ?'s, I'll be happy to answer.
And no, those were not designed to be stuck on a kid's wall. It's part of a guitar customizing thing made by a guy who was selling them on Ebay a long time back. Allegedly, he made a similar guitar (an Ibanez Iceman) for Paul Stanley of Kiss.

Wow, that article on me is really old! Either that or I change my mind a lot, I don't play the Thunderbirds or the Hamer 5 anymore. (see avatar)

weemac wrote:

jingle_jangle wrote:It will be Waterstone-branded. He'll start using it in Denver, July 6. Beyond that, my lips are necessarily sealed.

Err Paul, are you by chance one of the guys who make the working prototypes for Waterstone?

Well, sort of. Waterstone's prototypes are built in Asia, by the same factories that make the guitars, for cost reasons. But I have recently built one prototype for them (not this bass).

This particular bass I would term a one-off, rather than a prototype, as it probably will never go into production.