Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Has anyone ever tried "micromeshing" a Rickenbacker neck (to achieve a non-glossy/tacky feeling neck)? There's a detailed thread on TGP with many positive reviews for other guitars with glossy finished necks.

Works like a charm on Rick conversion varnish finishes; I've done it a couple of times prior to polishing in the case of touch-ups to neck finishes. Really slick, and can be buffed back to glossy without much effort.

Two things to be aware of:

1. Stay away from edges!

2. The whole process takes a lot of time and is very tedious.

I've found that you can get rid of the "sticky" gloss feeling by using Dr. Stringfellow's Lem-Oil on neck and fretboard and buffing with a clean cotton cloth afterwards.

1. Stay away from edges!

Thanks Paul.

My apologies for being rather dim, but, by "edges" in this context, do you mean (a) where the fretboard meets the neck; (b) some other edges; or (c) both of the above? And, if the answer is (b) or (c), could you provide more enlightenment?

Any abrasive (including rubbing and polishing compounds) will cut through edges--all edges--much faster than they cut or dull flat or slightly crowned surfaces. There are two reasons for this: an edge concentrates force applied to a surface, and edges resist paint and clearcoats--they tend to flow to either side, so the paint or clearcoat finish on an edge is thinner than anywhere else on an object.

Thinner paint + force concentration + abrasive material = Proceed with caution.

I will sometimes mask off an edge if it's adjacent to an area that is going to require a lot of rubbing, to avoid rubbing through the edge while devoting most of my attention to the surface next to it!

In any event, I do edges last when sanding, rubbing out, or waxing a guitar, car, or coffee maker...the edges need the least attention.

so can this be done to a fingerboard alone to make it less slick?

Paul, what's the best way to remove the glossy feel of the fingerboard, the Lem oil or micromesh? Or is there a better method? I never liked the slick feel of a finished fingerboard, so that is why I favor my capris which have an unfinished board...