Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi,
I've finally bought Rickenbacker! I got a great deal on a 2003 330 fireglo. It's a great looking guitar but when playing it, it gets hard to slide and move around because it starts rubbing against your hands creating resistance. Can anyone recommend anything to put on the neck to make it a little more "slipperier." I've read on another form that car polish will do the trick. Is that true? Any suggestions? Please help!




RIP Tom Petty.

Lightly sand/scuff the finish, that will do the trick and can be rebuffed to a high gloss down the road if needed.

Lots of oil will do the trick.
You'll never see an artist perfom with a rick, without having a massive supply of oil on stage.
They're not sweaty, no. It's the oil that spreads what you see.

Or the thing jps said.

Dumb question, but have you cleaned it well? and your hands?

Yes I have cleaned the neck and my hands!

jps wrote:Lightly sand/scuff the finish, that will do the trick and can be rebuffed to a high gloss down the road if needed.

JPS thank you for the information. Is there specific sand paper to use? I'm not a handy person so would you recommend bringing it to my local guitar shop to get it done?

A green Scotch-Brite pad should turn, er, do the trick.

jps wrote:A green Scotch-Brite pad should turn, er, do the trick.

Your regular hardware store Scotch-Brite Pad?

Yes.

wim wrote: without having a massive supply of oil on stage.

and/or in the green room

Yup, the green scotch pad really works!! Tried it on my new 620, and the difference is dramatic.

Why damage the finish on the neck of your guitar? I use a little Gibson pump polish and problem solved. I reapply it every week or two depending on how much I play the guitar. Any guitar polish will work.

gruffydd3 wrote:Why damage the finish on the neck of your guitar? I use a little Gibson pump polish and problem solved. I reapply it every week or two depending on how much I play the guitar. Any guitar polish will work.

It didn't damage the finish. It can still be buffed back to it's original look...

I disagree. Sure, you can buff it back to a gloss again. For that matter, you could repaint it. Nevertheless, you're removing the original finish. To me, that's damage.

Anyway, like I said, why do that when a little polish will do the job. It takes all of 15 seconds.

gruffydd3 wrote:I disagree. Sure, you can buff it back to a gloss again. For that matter, you could repaint it. Nevertheless, you're removing the original finish. To me, that's damage.

Anyway, like I said, why do that when a little polish will do the job. It takes all of 15 seconds.

Here's John Hall, president of Rickenbacker:

"The drag from playing is almost entirely on the back of the neck. What I do on my instruments is tape the neck off at the heel and the back of the head in the volute region, then burnish the entire back of the neck with 1500 or 1800 grit sandpaper or a very fine Scotch-brite pad. The tape is just to provide a nice line between gloss and matte areas after you remove it. It can be easily buffed back up to a gloss later if a future owner wishes to do so.

I'd stay away from steel wool as the residue always ends up sticking to the pickups and some fine flakes can lodge in the finish permanently.

An unfinished bass fingerboard is dry and takes up most of the perspiration and oils from your fingers. A gloss board keeps these on the surface and does the same thing that string lube does, making it easier to play."