Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Anatomy of A Rickenbacker Bass – Part 4 The Finishes



One of the most striking and enduring aspects of modern Rickenbackers are their consistently beautiful finishes. What makes them so special starts with the bare wood and is built up layer by layer to the mirror-like surface we all know and love. I have to say up front that finishes are not my area of expertise so the text of this post will be fairly thin. I am really only aware of the broad strokes of how they are achieved. The practical aspects of doing finishes properly are complex and impossible to outline in a single volume of text. Given that, I am sure I will leave much out so please feel free to fill in any missing pieces if you know them.

For much of the modern era (1952 to the present) Rickenbacker has used some kind of catalyzed varnish (sometimes called conversion varnish). I say “some kind” because constantly changing polymer technology and tough California VOC emissions laws have prompted frequent reformulations. The actual composition of the finish material is something of a moving target. Conversion varnish in general is a blend of polymer resins and a chemical hardener. The two parts are combined just before they are applied and react chemically releasing heat and causing the polymers to harden (cross link). What makes them special is that CVs tend to harden from the inside out as opposed to air-dried polys which tend to harden from the outside in. CVs are typically used in applications where durability and moisture resistance are important such as on burial caskets and upscale cabinetry. Conversion varnish is well suited to layering and can be used to build up more durable finishes than can be done with conventional poly.


Preparation
The wooden surfaces are carefully cleaned then sanded with progressively finer abrasives until there are no visible scratches or machine marks. This is a labor intensive but necessary start. Only after each section of the instrument has been properly sanded can the finishing process begin.


Sealer Coats
The first sprayed coats of finish are the sealer. The sealer sets up a dull, matte-looking surface that fills in and levels grain inclusions and gives the subsequent coats something to grab. If you recall from part 1 of this series, Rickenbacker uses mostly closed grained woods. Closed grain woods require a lot less sealer than do open grain woods. By the way, sealer is what is found as the finish on the natural 4001C64S and on the bare-looking fingerboards of Cheyennes and Laredos.

Color Coats
Whether solid color or burst the next step is when the color goes on. Solid colors are generally easier to apply than bursts - but not always. Apparently the metallic finishes like Ruby, Desert Gold, and Midnight Blue require some extra care that is not necessary for the opaque solids like Jetglo. The basic idea is to apply even coats of color to each section of the instrument until the desired coverage is achieved. Once each coat is dry it is carefully sanded smooth before the next coat is applied.

There has traditionally been a lot of variation in Rickenbacker bursts. That was the case anyway until a few years ago when they suddenly became very consistent. The bursts on older instruments can vary quite a bit with some being smooth and gradual from the center out while others are more abrupt. I prefer the gradual ones. Shooting bursts is an art form. It takes time and practice to develop a good technique. No two painters do it alike.
The Autumglo finish on my '80 4001 is a bit too abrupt for me. The burst starts out nicely but then gets far too dark. This one is mighty nice.
After the color is applied and set, the binding (if any) is scraped clean of paint. There is some final sanding and cleanup before the next step. At this point, the finished color coat is dull in appearance because it is the foundation of the glossy layers to follow.

Gloss Coats
This is when the final look of the instrument begins to emerge. A layer of CV is applied and sanded leaving it smooth and thin. It is then covered by another layer that is rubbed the same way. The layering process is repeated until the desired thickness is achieved. I don't know how many layers there are in the finished product but it takes most of two weeks to complete. Finally, progressively finer abrasives are used to put a shine on the top layer of CV.


Buffing
Once the CV has been polished, the final step is buffing. The factory uses a Turtle Wax product (I don't remember which) for the buffing. This stage is critical and difficult because too much pressure too long on the buffing wheel can burn through the finish. A skilled and delicate touch is required for this operation. Once the buffing is complete the instrument is ready for assembly.



Colors
Over the last 5 decades Rickenbacker has offered many different color options. The single most identifiable finish of them all has to be Fireglo. This burst has been available for more than 50 years and the most amazing thing about it is how little it has changed since the beginning. Yellowing varnish over time has made many Fireglo instruments appear darker or more orange but the scarlet pigments used to make the color coat have remained essentially the same.

Four decades of Fireglo 1963, 1975, 1980, 1998 Fireglo, Mapleglo (called “natural” early on) and Jetglo are the core colors from the early 60's and remain to this day. Other colors have come and gone with some like Azureglo, Burgandy, Autumnglo, and Walnut becoming quite sought after. Walnut and Autumglo are in fact the same color. The difference being that Autumnglo has a matte finish and Walnut is full gloss. Burgandy was originally made by cutting Fireglo with black.

During the 80's it became fashionable for guitar makers to black-out chrome and and use opaque colors. Rickenbacker followed suit in 1985 with Red.

Later on the first metallic colors appeared with Midnight Blue, Ruby, Turquoise, and Silver being added to the mix. These colors feature a metallic silver undercoat that shows through the top color coat.

The lovely Jeff Thomas shows off his lovelier Turquoise 4003S.
Later on, the Color Of The Year option added several highly desirable colors to the RIC spectrum. The rarest being Seafoam Green. The most common is first truly good-looking brown finish Rickenbacker produced, Montezuma Brown. Burgandy, Blueboy, Blue Burst, Desert Gold, and Amber Fireglo were all COY options.


Now you see it now you don't
Since not every piece of wood is aesthetically pleasing, a supervisor in the factory evaluates each bare instrument then decides which color it will receive. Color options like Jetglo, Azureglo, and White are practical when it comes to covering less attractive grain. Likewise, the transparent colors show off the better grains.

2000 4004Cii
Finish Care
It is generally pretty easy to take care of your Rickenbacker finish. The favorite method of most forumites is to use ScratchX and Zymol applied per Paul Wilczynski's instructions. There is a thread over on the Curmudgeon section that explains the process in detail. Basically, you use ScratchX to removed fine scratches and swirls and the Zymol to build up a layer of shine and protection. The results are amazing. If you don't use those two products it is best to not use anything containing silicones on your guitar. Silicones are very bad because they will leach into the wood and make it very difficult if not impossible for the wood to ever take a finish again.

Finish Problems
Rickenbacker finishes are pretty durable but there are some necessary precautions you should take to keep your bass looking good. Items containing chlorine are known to soften the CV and make the instrument feel sticky. Prolonged contact with vinyl (like many guitar straps) can do this. It is very difficult to fix this problem. The best I have been able to do is to wipe the affected area down with naptha until it is no longer sticky then apply a few coats of Zymol once dry. This controls the problem for a long while but it always seems to come back to some degree.

Scratches that don't go too deep into the CV can often be buffed out or filled. I refer you again to the Curmudgeon section for tips on scratch removal.


Refinishing
The conventional wisdom regarding refinishing is that it will reduce the value of the instrument. Yes and no. Yes, if the finish did not need to be replaced or if the new finish is not done correctly. No, if refinishing is an improvement and if the finish is correctly applied. It is a judgment call really. There are two good options open to those seeking to refinish a Rickenbacker in the persons of Paul Wilczynski and Dale Fortune. Dale uses techniques similar to those employed by the factory. His finishes are outstanding and are quite difficult if not impossible to tell from factory finish work. I have seen several examples of Dale's work and am impressed by the consistency of the finish and the attention to detail he shows on each project. Anyone seeking a new finish would do well to contact Dale.

Head and neck refinish on a 2004 4003

Paul's work is beyond outstanding. He takes attention to detail to another level. In the factory, finishes are a science. The finishing department has to produce consistently high quality day in and day out in an assembly line fashion in order to meet demand – and they do. Eric and company do a terrific job. With Paul, finishes are more of an art. He makes minute adjustments to different parts of the process depending on the instrument's needs or other external factors. He refuses to compromise on any detail and he always does what it takes to get it right. The results are always amazing. For some reason I cannot find any pictures of Paul's work in my photo archive. Perhaps someone will post examples of his truly fine work here in this thread.

Another great read, Ted. Thanks again.

I've been waiting for this thread...awesome work!

rickfan60 wrote:The two parts are combined just before they are applied and react chemically releasing heat and causing the polymers to harden (cross link).

A non-uniformly electronegative cross link I'd guess (as opposed to carbon-carbon), do you know what sort of bond forms? (Does anyone here?) If there are a variety of polymers and the amount and type changed over the years it may be hard to say and there are a lot of different things that could be happening to create this stability. My gut tells me it has to do with carboxyl groups if they are present in the polymers (seems likely). Very interesting either way.

rickfan60 wrote:A layer of CV is applied and sanded leaving it smooth and thin. It is then covered by another layer that is rubbed the same way. The layering process is repeated until the desired thickness is achieved. I don't know how many layers there are in the finished product but it takes most of two weeks to complete.

Is it fair to say that this process eats up most of the build time? If so, I find that very interesting. It would mean that finish, above everything else, is the rate-limiting step determining the backlog.

Great reading as always, Ted. Thanks for your hard work.

Ted, some "clarifications" if I could. I know your comments on colors is not meant to be all inclusive, but here are some additional observations: Autumnglo and Walnut. It appears that when both colors were available concurrently (1976-80 on the price lists), then Autumnglo was described as being "matte brown." But the famous chart on the Rickenbacker Page (http://www.the-music-connection.com/ricinfo.htm) also shows an Autumnglo being available from 1956 to 1970, though this color isn't mentioned on the few price lists I have from this period. The chart also shows Walnut being available from 1973 to 1985, and the price lists seem to agree. Walnut also had a couple of different applications; most are bursts, but some are overall transparent brown as seen in this example.

On the question of metallics; It appears that Ruby certainly did have a silver undercoat with a transparent red overcoat - at least at first. Midnight Blue may also have been done that way for a time. However, today, Midnight Blue is a single color (metallic mixed with color), and I suspect that the other metallics - Turquoise, Dark Cherry Metallic, Silver, and Desert Gold - are also single colors.

Black trim has long been an option (at extra charge), but was standard on White, Silver, Red, and for a time, Midnight Blue and even Mapleglo! The price lists state the "standard" black trim on these colors starting in 1986, with white (and chrome) trim on Ruby, Fireglo, and Jetglo. This continues until 1993 when Mapleglo regains the white/chrome trim as standard. But all during this time, one could opt for "reversal" of the trim (at extra charge), so that is why you see the occasional Red with white trim or Ruby with black trim.

On Color of the Year, Sea Green (not Seafoam) was the first and the poorest selling of the COY program. Although Montezuma Brown was extended for two years (even longer to complete orders, though), Amber Fireglo was the most popular of the COYs (according to John Hall).

Unfortunately, I am not familiar with the chemistry of the finishes and how they crosslink. So I can't help you there. The finish and the fretwork are said to be the largest time components of the build. Some things can't be rushed.

bassduke49 wrote:Ted, some "clarifications" if I could. I know your comments on colors is not meant to be all inclusive, but here are some additional observations: Autumnglo and Walnut. It appears that when both colors were available concurrently (1976-80 on the price lists), then Autumnglo was described as being "matte brown." But the famous chart on the Rickenbacker Page (http://www.the-music-connection.com/ricinfo.htm) also shows an Autumnglo being available from 1956 to 1970, though this color isn't mentioned on the few price lists I have from this period. The chart also shows Walnut being available from 1973 to 1985, and the price lists seem to agree. Walnut also had a couple of different applications; most are bursts, but some are overall transparent brown as seen in this example.

On the question of metallics; It appears that Ruby certainly did have a silver undercoat with a transparent red overcoat - at least at first. Midnight Blue may also have been done that way for a time. However, today, Midnight Blue is a single color (metallic mixed with color), and I suspect that the other metallics - Turquoise, Dark Cherry Metallic, Silver, and Desert Gold - are also single colors.

Black trim has long been an option (at extra charge), but was standard on White, Silver, Red, and for a time, Midnight Blue and even Mapleglo! The price lists state the "standard" black trim on these colors starting in 1986, with white (and chrome) trim on Ruby, Fireglo, and Jetglo. This continues until 1993 when Mapleglo regains the white/chrome trim as standard. But all during this time, one could opt for "reversal" of the trim (at extra charge), so that is why you see the occasional Red with white trim or Ruby with black trim.

On Color of the Year, Sea Green (not Seafoam) was the first and the poorest selling of the COY program. Although Montezuma Brown was extended for two years (even longer to complete orders, though), Amber Fireglo was the most popular of the COYs (according to John Hall).

The first Autumnglo (rare) is not the same color as the 70's Autumnglo. It was more red - closer to Fireglo in appearance. Midnight Blue did change over time. That is certainly true and I should have mentioned it. Thanks for the corrections on the others. ...and the Sea Green I have gone and confused it with another manufacturers color naming.


As for DCM, mine has some distinct red overspray in the control cavity suggesting it is a compound color. Either that or mine was FG first.

rickfan60 wrote: Paul's work is beyond outstanding. He takes attention to detail to another level. In the factory, finishes are a science. The finishing department has to produce consistently high quality day in and day out in an assembly line fashion in order to meet demand – and they do. Eric and company do a terrific job. With Paul, finishes are more of an art. He makes minute adjustments to different parts of the process depending on the instrument's needs or other external factors. He refuses to compromise on any detail and he always does what it takes to get it right. The results are always amazing. For some reason I cannot find any pictures of Paul's work in my photo archive. Perhaps someone will post examples of his truly fine work here in this thread.

Here you go. My '75 and '79 4001's Paul brought back from the dead.

I thought as of a few months ago, RIC is now using the UV cured CV that has really shortened the finishing times and facilitated the larger shipments of late. Ben has stated it has drastically reduced the wait-to-sand and wait-to-buff times. Isn't it the production process now?

johnallg wrote:I thought as of a few months ago, RIC is now using the UV cured CV that has really shortened the finishing times and facilitated the larger shipments of late. Ben has stated it has drastically reduced the wait-to-sand and wait-to-buff times. Isn't it the production process now?

Yeah, now that you mention it I do recall that being said. I don't read the RIC corporate forum very often so I have to admit the latest method changes get by me.

Here are a few corrections to the above info. There is a step before the sealer. The grain filler is distinct from the sealer but I incorrectly put them together as one step.

The matte finish on the 4001C64 is a matte CV. McCartney's 4001S received a sealer only finish once upon a time the matte CV mimics the look.

Also, it is true that the filler and sealer are now UV cured and have been for about 2 years.

rickfan60 wrote:Also, it is true that the finishes are now UV cured and have been for about 2 years.

Hmm, that's not completely supported by what John Hall has said. On Nov. 6, 2008 he mentioned that they haven't yet deployed the UV finish, just UV filler and sealer coats. He also said the UV clear coats would be happening in Dec. 2008.

See here for John's comment:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=385118&st=0&sk=t&sd ... or#p485693

I've also seen a few posts over on the RIC site that some guitars were shipped with UV finishes long before the dates mentioned above, but that may be referring to filler/sealer and not the clear coat.

To be more specific ( I should have done this in the first place) the filler and the sealer coats have been UV cured for about 2 years. There was no specific mention of the gloss coats being UV cured. Apparently the UV method applied to the filler and sealer saves about 3 days over the old method. which is a huge reduction is cycle time.