Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Ack!

I went to clean some nasty brown crud off my (black) truss rod cover while I was tweaking the rods a little (which proved fruitless because I have tail-lift) and when I was drying it off the "Made in USA" started streaking! It's still legible, but it's not nearly as clear as it used to be ...

Is there a remedy for this? It seems obvious to me that it was screen-printed, but it there a template or something for "repairing" the print on a truss rod cover? Any repair has got to be cheaper than what the black ones go for on eBay. I am considering sending the thing to Paul W. for a full refinish, so maybe he could swing something?

I can't help but feel that I have devalued the poor thing...

If you're talking about a molded TRC with raised letters, the "MADE IN USA" is hot-stamped. I wonder what solvent you used that streaked it--many common solvents will do this...

Photo, perhaps?

I may be mistaken, but I think you can buy one from RIC as long as you send them your old one.

I would call them during business hours and inquire.


If I am wrong, someone please correct me.

I had the same thing happen to the black writing on my 2011 4003 TRC. I was advised by Mr. Hall to use a black paint pen. I used a Forney black paint marker... It worked perfectly!

( By the way jingle jangle, the paint came off of mine just using a polishing cloth, no solvents or cleaner at all.)

jingle_jangle wrote:If you're talking about a molded TRC with raised letters, the "MADE IN USA" is hot-stamped. I wonder what solvent you used that streaked it--many common solvents will do this...

That's the thing, Paul: I didn't use solvent at all; I was using tap water and a paper towel; if I had used solvent I wouldn't have bothered to flaunt my idiocy to the world. No, there's none of this "duh, I used acetone on my guitar and can't figure out why the paint is gone" business, but I guess it's better not to assume competency with newbies. I figured a little warm water and some elbow grease was the safest thing...

Maybe the brown crud had something in it which mixed with the water?

It is indeed moulded with raised letters, but the "Made in U.S.A." doesn't seem to be indented as I would expect a hot stamp to be. If the letters were indented I would just use this white Sharpie paint pen and be done with it...

Lemme get a photo up here in a minute...

The macro lens makes me think it's not as bad as I thought; you can still make out "Made in U.S.A." where the paint has come off, and maybe I can follow those lines with the fine-point paint pen and a steady hand. Also, upon viewing in intense lighting, it appears it's not the first time it's been cleaned, and it seems an abrasive was used between the screw holes before. (The spot which I cleaned was between "Made in U.S.A." and the "R")

Any thoughts?

rickyfricky wrote:I may be mistaken, but I think you can buy one from RIC as long as you send them your old one.

I remember reading this somewhere as well, but I sent an e-mail to confirm.
However, I also heard the same thing about getting a replacement jack-plate -- which allegedly had the same requirement where you had to send them one to receive a replacement -- but when RIC wrote back to me about a week ago they said they are not currently doing jack-plate replacements. The same might be true for black TRCs, as they are not currently stock on anything offerred by RIC; there are no black pick-guards in the boutique.

I guess we'll find out soon; they've been pretty good about getting back to me.

Im sorry Sean,.. I misread your post.... Dont use the black paint pen I recomended

I think they are stock on the 4004 series.

My 4004cii in Ruby (!) that's on order will have one.

tinman 1967 wrote:Im sorry Sean,.. I misread your post.... Dont use the black paint pen I recomended

Ha! I do have a pretty excellent white paint pen that might do the trick.

rickyfricky wrote:I think they are stock on the 4004 series.
My 4004cii in Ruby (!) that's on order will have one.

Thanks for pointing that out, Matt; it gives me hope that RIC will say that I can get a factory replacement.

I bet the mysterious brown goop is the culprit, softening the paint/ink so that it came off with friction and water alone. I'd try the pen touch-up idea before putting out fifty bucks for a new one (if that's even possible these days). Even as is it is legible, it is original, and now it has mojo.

Thanks for the positive words Kira; the more I think about it the less it bothers me.
$50 for a piece of plastic?! That's crazy...

You will not be successful in touching this up with a pen.

What makes me believe this is hot-stamped is my experience with hot-stamping. It can be done without indenting the surface. I have examined my own TRCs with a loupe and can find no evidence of silk screen printing.

Silk-screening is ten times thicker than hot stamping. Hot stamping is crisper if done correctly. Hot stamping does not wear as well as silk screening. Any sort of abrasive will remove hot stamping--wax, rubbing compound, Scratch-X and even a coarse cloth.

Anybody who removes the color from the raised letters with a plain cloth or even a damp cloth, is just rubbing too damned hard and fast...

I typically clean these with a toothbrush and Windex, btw. The brown crud that folks describe is usually a fine, vintage blend of tobacco tar, booze, sweat and barf. Even an overnight soaking in a weak dish soap solution should soften it enough so that a quick toothbrush scrub will clean things up.

Sean, you are not buying a piece pf plastic. You are buying a trademarked item, and it's important to control access and distribution in an effort to minimize use on non-RIC, knockoff instruments. That's an exchange price, and it also buys the time required to process the order and for JH to personally inspect the exchanged item for authenticity. If these things were five bucks, you'd see them on every cheap POS knockoff on Ebay, worldwide, along with the claim that the POS was a genuine Rick.

Not common, best quality, manufacturer "looks out" for its customers = pricey. A fair trade, IMO!

jingle_jangle wrote:You will not be successful in touching this up with a pen.

I have a pretty steady hand, but you're likely right that it won't look like the original; the "crisp" quality of the factory stamp is probably not something I can replicate with a pen; there will always be a raised bead of paint.

jingle_jangle wrote:Anybody who removes the color from the raised letters with a plain cloth or even a damp cloth, is just rubbing too damned hard and fast...

At least I wasn't the only one. There wasn't really a lot of space to build up speed; maybe something had been done to it before which compromised the integrity of the paint...

jingle_jangle wrote:I typically clean these with a toothbrush and Windex, btw. The brown crud that folks describe is usually a fine, vintage blend of tobacco tar, booze, sweat and barf. Even an overnight soaking in a weak dish soap solution should soften it enough so that a quick toothbrush scrub will clean things up.

I had assumed windex and a toothbrush would have taken the white lettering right off. I did soak it a bit in the warm water, but maybe not long enough to loosen the "vintage blend." (There needs to be a special name for this concoction if anyone cares to coin it.) Thanks for the insight. I guess the lesson here is to ask on the forum first, and then proceed, as opposed to: proceeding, failing, and then asking. We all know what they say about assumptions...

jingle_jangle wrote:Sean, you are not buying a piece pf plastic. You are buying a trademarked item ... Not common, best quality, manufacturer "looks out" for its customers = pricey. A fair trade, IMO!

I definitely understand the need to control these. I guess $50 really is the point where counterfeiters would be dissuaded from making the effort to submit a fake/copy TRC for an original replacement. However, it could still be viable for them to offer replacements at a lesser cost to legitimate owners by requiring serial numbers, photos, or some combination of verification credentials. All things considered though: I don't believe I've done $50 worth of damage to this instrument.

Thanks, Paul; I appreciate your time and experience. I'm saving for that refinish as we speak...

In the world of classic car restoration it´s quite common to fabricate impossible to find plastic badges, ornaments etc. by yourself. I´m wondering when those counterfeit artists start to use the same method. It relatively easy, cheap and it´s quite hard to see any difference between original and reproduction. So be aware.