Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

As my Azure '72 is away having a little work done I used my Fireglo '72 at a gig last night, which I haven't done in a while; it's been pretty much casebound. The weather here has been really hot, but even so the neck felt awful. It was as sticky as anything, something my basses don't normally suffer from. What I found strange was the last time I'd had it out I'd given it a bit of a Zymol treatment, so I wouldn't have thought it was dirt or sweat. I'll admit I'm in no way a finish guy - the only finish I know anything about is at the end of a racetrack - so what's best to clean the gunk? More Zymol? Naptha? Any thoughts from those who know about such things would be gratefully received.

No, don't Zymol a dirty guitar! I imagine that would make it worse. Zymol is the wax that builds up and makes the clear shiny again. But you have to clean it first - like "old" Scratch-X (which what you want now is called Swirl X, IIRC) which is a safe abrasive to get **** off first. But I think for thick gunk, I'd just try a damp cotton cloth and elbow grease. See where that gets you. Once you've got the **** off you can apply your Zymol.

There is a discussion about sticky/gummy finish here:

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=411536

Note that leaving instruments in their cases may contribute to the sticky finish issue.

Wow, who knew? I always used to leave my guitars out but now it's kind of frowned upon, if you get my drift. I'll try a damp cloth and then try leaving it out. Thanks guys.

At one point JH recommended some kind of extremely fine sand paper (#0000 or something) to get the neck smooth and fast without taking off clear coat, I have done this to my 4003FL and really like it. It can be polished back to the original finish with, you guessed it, Zymol (or Turtle Wax I think).