Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I picked it up this afternoon. Saw it on Craigslist earlier this month, submitted it as a collected item, then decided today to look at it. I've now got a Rickenbacker electric "triad" - a 4-string, a 6-string, and a 12-string.

Congrats, Ernie!

One of the cool things about the 650D is the ease of cleaning the finish. If you don't know how, read the "Oil Finish Maintenance" section of the RIC manual (available on-line at the RIC factory site). The oiled finish also makes touching-up small imperfections in the finish super easy.

Thanks! Do you have a preferred brand of tung oil and a personalized technique for applying it? I just read the RIC manual (from my 4003) and it seems simple enough. I'm used to treating teak furniture, but this 650D is a new animal to me.

Ernie, any good brand of tung oil should work just fine. When I had my 650S (which I no longer have), I got tung oil from The Real Milk Paint Company:

http://www.realmilkpaint.com/oil.html

They take PayPal, so ordering and paying for it was easy. I don't think that I have any of that tung oil left (I'll check to be sure), else I'd offer to send you some.

As far as technique, I followed more-or-less what the RIC manual says to do. My 650S was pretty dirty when I got it, so the Scotch-Brite pad worked nicely to lift the grime off. I started with some tung oil added to the Scotch-Brite pad (a little oil goes a long way) and worked on a small area (circular and back-and-forth motion), applying gentle pressure to the pad. I then wiped the area with a clean white rag and could see the grime that was removed. I repeated the process in that area until the rag came up clean, then I moved to another area. After getting all the grime up on the entire guitar (including the neck and fretboard), I did a penultimate wipe-down with a little oil added to a clean rag, then did a final wipe-down with a clean dry rag.

Ernie,

Beautiful guitar! I've never seen one quite like it. Congratulations and welcome aboard!

Robert