Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi, ive just bought a rickenbacker from ebay today and absolutely cant wait for it to get here. The bass is in absolute mint condition apart from what i suspect to be a transfer from the stand to the bottom of the bass. I find similar issues tend to just rub off however i dont know if this will be the case until it gets here but to be honest i dont really care if it cant be removed as other than it th bass is spotless and ive being wanting a rickenbacker in this colour for so long now yet alone one in this condition. So in short im just wondering if anyone has any preliminary ideas of whether this will come off and if so how they would go about tackling it, obviously im not looking for any ideas that could be destructive in any way, just rub off, or solutions that might work.

Here is the bass and the area im talking about:





As you can see the marks on the bottom line up with how the bass sits on the stand which lead me to believe this is a transfer and should come off easily but as i say id love some input. Pardon the first picture, its purely to show off the bass

Gorgeous bass! congratulations.

That stain might be quite difficult to remove; CV clearcoat is a funny thing when it comes to that; seems to want to absorb those types of stains.

Ask Mr. Curmudgeon in his section, but my guess is it won't come off.

Still, a great bass in a cool color.

Congrats, and welcome to the forum!

Sean, great first post. Beautiful and still white! My guess is you will remove some, but it will not all come out. Paul W is the Curmudgeon and is the one to ask for sure. Welcome aboard.

welcome to the forum Sean. Sweet lookin bass, what year is it?

Welcome to the forum, Sean. Good luck with the stains.

Welcome Sean! Great bass.

I hate to be the bearer of less-than great news, but I suspect that the staining is not going to rub off. I had a similar problem with a Gretsch and a Martin and Paul' Wilczynski's diagnosis (at a distance) was that only a refin would remove the stains. Compounds from the stand have reacted with a change in humidity to permeate the finish.

I reasoned that, as the stains weren't in clear view, I could put up with them until such time as natural wear dictated that a refin was necessary. Also, as my guitars aren't white, the stains are only visible over the binding. In your case the stains are somewhat more obvious, but the location means they are still relatively unobtrusive. As a friend of mine used to say "you can't hear those marks on that guitar!".

Welcome, Sean.

Gorgeous bass, congratulations!

At least the strap can cover one of them when you play

A refin needn't be total, as I've heard Paul mention doing just a face or just a back, etc. Maybe one could do just an edge refin? Probably not. Might need to be edge and back. That's not as costly as you might fear.

Maybe you should mail it to me and I'll spare you the pain of looking at it No favor too big for a forum brother

Welcome to the forum! Beautiful bass!

Nice bass, looks just like mine.

The marks from the stand wont come off I'm afraid, the discoloration "bleeds" into the finish. However, if you have to live with a few small blems, you couldnt ask for a better spot to have them.

I wouldnt worry about them, enjoy the bass.

Sean, welcome to the forum and congrats on you new bass.
Even if you can't get those stains out, it' still looks great. At least the stains are where you won't notice them much.

Hi, thanks for all the help and very kind welcomes. The year of the bass is 1997, i didnt consider that one of the stains would be covered by the strap, personally it is far more than livable with the priority for me was a white rickenbacker and even with the stains i dont think i could ask for one in better condition. I may have a try with a little brasso when it arrives next week some time and let you all know just incase anyone has a similar question. Again thanks for all the replies and welcomes, it seems a very nice community here.

I would not use Brasso on the stains, as you might possibly damage the finish. Also - avoid any cleaners that contain chlorine.

I think Brasso could mar your finish will have no effect on the stains. They've migrated deep into the finish beyond the help of a surface polish. You don't seem adamant about their removal so I'd just forget it and go have fun with it

Seriously, ask Paul W. (jingle_jangle) in the "Reflections of a Curmudgeon" section. He's an expert Rickenbacker refinisher/restorer who knows just about everything about the finish materials used on Ricks. I know for removing various scratches, he recommends a type of rubbing/polishing compound (automotive, one kind is called T-cut, the other is by 3M I think), followed by Scratch-X then Zymol wax. There are numerous threads on this sort of procedure, scratch/haze removal that is.

I'm not sure if these will remove the stains you have, probably depends on how deep they go into the finish. But in any case, Paul W. will be able to give you expert advice on the subject.

Oh, and welcome to the forum! Nice looking bass!