Rick AzureGlo = Finish colour shift under lights?

[slave]

Hi everyone,

So I have an '83 Ricky 4003. I think it may be Azure Glo.
The bass has been my #1 for almost a decade now, always wearing flats like a champ.

Question is,
My bass seems to shift colours, and my band mates over the years have noticed it too.
Under strong stage lights (mainly blue/green lighting, but happens under black lights too) the normally blue finish doesn't look blue, but rather a beige/tan kind of colour. Under black lights it's a noticeable effect as the tan/beige colour gently glows, making the bass pop on a dark stage, but in a significantly less obvious way than a white shirt.

I assumed this was an intentional paint choice by Rickenbacker, but I've never seen anyone ever mention this online.
Ricks are pretty rare here in Australia, regardless I've not seen other Ricks behave like this on stage.

Has anyone else noticed Azure Glo behaving like this? Or have I got a Unicorn?
I'm curious, because if I was to ever refinish it .... it's had a rough life.

Thanks in advance.

[bassduke49]

Color, as most of us see it, is all about reflected light. All color wavelengths are in "white" light, and the colors we see are certain wavelengths of light that are reflected from certain surfaces. We can use filters to take out colors like red and green from "white" light and make the light look blue. Some pigments reflect blue light wavelengths and as a result, we call the painted object "blue: blue pigments absorb red, green, or yellow wavelengths. If your main lighting is blue, you'll see everything as blue. Your eyes (actually your brain) will get used to it and after a while it will all look pretty gray.

I don't know what goes into a paint pigment to make it look blue, but paints are a mix of chemicals. Pigments are a complex mixture of compounds that will absorb or reflect certain wavelengths. Then you add binders (the stuff that holds the mixture together), vehicle (the stuff that makes it liquid), stabilizers, dryers, catalysts, reducers, and who knows what all.

Supposedly, Rickenbacker used a mixture that simulated a Volkswagen color of the '60s to make Azureglo. But the factory wasn't consistent; I've seen Azureglo Ricks that were light and bright, some a bit greener, and one 4005 that was a deep Navy blue. Don't know if this helps any.

[doctorwho]

I recently took some more pictures of my 1982 4080 JG and one of the flash shots showed how the clear coat had yellowed, giving a greenish tint to it:

Regular daylight (outdoor) pics don't show that, so it was a combination of light source and angle that brought it out. I think that the phenomena that you are observing with your bass is similar - the right lighting with the right angle gives a reflected color different from what is expected.

[teeder]

Right. It's the clearcoat, not the blue.
Same as "blacklighting" a vintage instrument to check for an original finish.

[collin]

Yep echoing what others here said.

It's simply an ambered clear coat, it should give that vaguely tan color under blacklight. That's normal.

If it's early 80s and it's blue, the guitar is Azureglo, no question about it.