Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I just purchased a beautiful 370/12 MG 1992 and I see that there is some finish checking in the laq. is this normal for the early 90's finish..I was going to have it stripped and re-laq. but I was told that it would kill the vintage value of it..the bindings have slightly yellowed and the guitar has a nice look to it,,,I'll post pics of it when I finish changeing out the pick guard and cleaning it up..but I was concerned about the checking...Beatlefreak what do you think...? Larry

Don't worry about finish checking too much Larry. Whilst it's not as common on Rics, it's almost mandatory on vintage models of some other makes. However, I wouldn't think a refin would impact too much on the value of a '92 Ric. A '72 or earlier would be a different story!

antipodean wrote: I wouldn't think a refin would impact too much on the value of a '92 Ric. A '72 or earlier would be a different story!

Not necessarily. Depends upon the instrument and the refinish job. An amateur (or "paid amateur") refin on most anything will substantially lower, if not destroy, the market value. Ricks are different: there is a narrower collector, and wider player base, and a really nice refinish on an otherwise mediocre instrument, or a clean refinish on a badly-beat-up vintage Rick will help the resale value.

I'd never refinish a Rick with nice original patina, or with a celebrity provenance, even though the celebrity provenance might still carry. But you'd want Townshend's cigarette burns on the headstock, wouldn't you?

Additionally, it's not lacquer, but catalyzing conversion varnish; more difficult to apply and requiring a substantial amount of post-application work and detailing before the job's completed. 99.9% of the luthiers out there will give you a nitrocellulose refinish, which will definitely affect the value on any post-'59 Rickenbacker.

jingle_jangle wrote: Not necessarily. Depends upon the instrument and the refinish job.

Sorry, I should have qualified my comment as " I wouldn't think a quality refin would impact too much on the value of a standard '92 Ric"

I always assume that refin folk are as good as you Paul.... and I keep forgetting about all the exciting "limited editions", "SPCs", rare colours and COYs that have been produced. Now I know why my son calls me a doofus.....

Checking and ambering on guitars make my mouth water like those chocolate drizzles and lemon sauce on cheesecake. Please don't refinish

Kira, don't talk about cheesecakes...remember, I can't eat dairy products anymore

This thread brings up a great question...can you feel the checking in the clearcoat?

JakeK wrote:Kira, don't talk about cheesecakes...remember, I can't eat dairy products anymore

This thread brings up a great question...can you feel the checking in the clearcoat?

From my experience, yes Jake.

antipodean wrote:

JakeK wrote:Kira, don't talk about cheesecakes...remember, I can't eat dairy products anymore

This thread brings up a great question...can you feel the checking in the clearcoat?

From my experience, yes Jake.

Me, too. Yes, you can feel them, just barely. Checking cracks on my instruments are so fine that you can't catch a fingernail on them. They just feel like a very fine texturing. They are not the least bit ominous looking. They look nothing like stress cracks. They are and appear to be simple ornament.

I think for now,,I will now have it refinished,,the yellowing is beautiful..but if I were to change my mine who do you folks recommend?...thanks all

there are few cv finish specialists right here in the forum....if you look through the archives you'll find them .....but only if you if you change your mine

There are folks who believe that a fine patina ("craquelure" in parlance, in this case) adds to the charm of an instrument. I am one of those.

However, something should be considered here:

If you think you will ever plan to refinish the instrument at any time in the future, there's a factor that needs to be weighed into your decision to refinish--spiderwebbing.

On Ricks, finish checking means that the conversion varnish separates from itself, leaving cracks which, in fact, are slender gaps through the finish which expose bare maple at their bottoms. Dirt, moisture, and contaminants will enter the cracks and penetrate the maple.

On instruments where crazing has been left for a longish time, when the instrument is stripped, these areas will show as grey or black lines in the maple, which have to be sanded and bleached in an effort to eradicate them before a new finish goes on.

A couple of refins I've done had these spiderwebs in spades...one bleached and sanded out; the other would not due to age and neglect, but that bass got an opaque refinish anyway.

Of course, this is more a consideration with MG and transparent colors (bursts, BG) than opaques like JG or AZ.

I had an old 76 Jazz that was so spiderwebbed it looked like a fishing net. What causes cracking to such an extreme degree?

Generally thermal shock, when the wood is thoroughly chilled and suddenly subjected to warm temperatures. The wood quickly expands, due to its open structure, whereas the finish can't. Something's got to give, and the thin finish coat does.

Granted, checking is not always a pretty thing. You wouldn't want it to occur all at one from some drastic shock. But the checking that occurs naturally and gently over time simply expresses the deepening character of that instrument like the gray hairs that number the experiences of life in our own maturing countenance.