Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi all,

I was considering refinishing my '88 330 from Mapleglo to Jetglo (or even translucent black so I can still see that lovely grain) - I am not worried about resale value (keeping this one for as long as I live, the guitar was already pretty beat up when I got it so it's definitely a player) and am not concerned about any finish damage, I just wanted to experiment with personalising my guitars - hey, even John Lennon painted his black

What's everyone's opinion on this refinishing? I do understand that some might not agree but am interested in what everyone else has to say.

Go for it. Are you doing the refinish yourself? Sticking with CV or some other type of finish. Black shoe polished worked wonders on an old friend's pre-WW II Martin nylon string guitar (he did the top, only. leaving the mahogany B&S with their original finish - he called the guitar Nightshade).

Yeah, do what you like to your stuff, its only stuff.
Having said that, is the guitar the one in your profile photo? If so, thats a really great aged honey color, which I personally love, so I would keep it that way.

FYI, there's a detailed thread about the mods I made to my 350 control layout, and pics of the refin. Skip to the end for the final results:
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=402990

I suppose it boils down to the question "Can you do pretty decent quality work?" I think I would lean toward, scuff-sanding the current varnish, touching up dings in it, and only then painting. Leaving the varnish as a base also makes it possible for you, or any future owner, to strip and refinish it without the huge task of trying to get old paint out of the wood grain. Stripping all the way down to bare wood and then building up a new finish from scratch is a lot more work and if you don't know what you're doing it can leave little more than an ugly mess.

Thanks for the replies guys!

Refinishing isn't really my forte at this point; not enough experience. I know a good luthier in my area though.

I probably won't do it for now but maybe it's something to consider somewhere along the line... and yes, the guitar is the one in my profile photo.

bdawson7 wrote:Yeah, do what you like to your stuff, its only stuff.
Having said that, is the guitar the one in your profile photo? If so, thats a really great aged honey color, which I personally love, so I would keep it that way.

My sentiment, also. I’d be more inclined to get another guitar.

If you are never going to sell it, then go for it. A refin that is uniquely you will be difficult to sell. So that’s a consideration - I’ve been there and done that! So I know... That said, I bought my first Rick in 1985 at 17 and will never sell it!