Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I thought that you might find the following information and photo regarding the aging of a 10 Year Rickenbacker White Finish to be of interest.

Amazing what the Sun will do and the effects of ultraviolet light.

I have had pretty good luck with Catalyzed Lacquer and Catalyzed Urethanes.
But even they will yellow.

But that looks like a refinish is in it's future perhaps.

Sun schmun. That looks like nicotine to me. Are you a smoker?

Mark: Do we have any reason to believe that cigarette smoke would contribute significantly to the yellowing process of this instrument or is it the ultraviolet light that is the culprit?

Ciggies add a second layer of the yellowing ,this is tooooooooo even for ciggies.

ciggies builds up around objects ,notice there is no bar scum around the nameplate edge.

This could be a church instrument.Not a Shriners !
or Elks club.

Nope ...UV it the bandit here or exposure to fumes on one kind or another.
If ammonia is used in the area that it lives ...this will cause it to 'fume' and do this as well .

I have, or had, a nice white Ric 8 String bass (1988). Shortly after I bought it, when I was remodeling the house it went back in its case. A few months later when I took it back out again it was that nice cream/yellow shade. I really liked the white, but I've gotten used to the cream yellow, and now I think it's rather distinctive. But it yellowed while in the case while it saw no sunlight. Prior to that I'd kept it in its case and only took it out when I played it, which wasn't all that often. In any event I guess I got the Cream-Yellow time-release option. But I still love the bass, the finish looks good offset with the white pickguard and chrome H/W.

JMP: So what do you think is the culprit in terms of the yellowing. I think that we can rule out sunlight in your case (no pun intended). Is it just the gradual breakdown of the finish or is there some sort of reaction with the case lining perhaps?

I work in a used book and cd store and some of the cds that people bring in you would think the cd case was a tinted yellow case from the nicotine and theyre gummy, with a nasty film..think what it does to the lungs....I have to wash my hands alot.....

I like those yeller geetars though...
we wouldnt have that cool Chris Squire 4001cs, creme colored bass reissue it would be stark white....tom

haha! I have no idea. The case is an Anvil type flight case lined with a foam type of stuff. I was a little bummed because when I took it out the lining left a slight black residue on the edges of the bass where it was a snug fit. I keep it in another case now and put my black 76 Ric 4001 in the flight case where any black rub off won't be noticed. Anyway, you can imagine the surprise I got though putting a pure white bass in and taking an off-white cream bass out. It has since gotten more yellow as the years have gone on until now it's just about the same shade as the Squire model. But I knew that going in, the guy from Ric told me that it might yellow when I ordered it. It's funny though, I've seen old Fenders that are still white, so I don't know.

could it be the glue/fake fur in the case reacting to the guitars finish???

It's the foam in the case! Certain type of foams, which are good only for shipping and not long term storage, give off sulfur. It's that sulfur which is slowly destroying your finish. This happens a lot when people toss a little packing foam they received in with their guitar for extra shock protection. A padded strap with such foam will also cause the same problem.

The older whites tended to yellow in the sun, but the modern stuff hardly changes at all.

ohhhhh do you have to say destorying????
thats a scarey word....
how bout pitina or something less abrasive...
is there anything you guys are doing to see that the case companies use non-sulfur foam???
is there anything we can do?

What about the foam used in the newer Rickenbacker cases? My older 330-12 case is tolex covered plywood, with acrylic pile lining, but my newer 620-12 case appears to be fitted foam covered with the same pile lining. Is there any danger from the foam used in the newer (SKB type)Rickenbacker cases?

We've never, ever permitted this type of foam to be used in the manufacture of our cases. Furthermose, for years we've used "memory" foam which bounces back after being compressed.

Shipping grade foam is absolutely DESTRUCTIVE to the finish and it is unlikely the effects can be stopped. It's basically like Ebola and very quickly spreads through the entire finish of the guitar.

Certain other types of foam and tubing, more typically used on guitar stands, contain Chlorine which goes a step further by plasticizing the finish, i.e. making it sticky to the touch.

Most offending cases, stands, or bags are produced in Asia, although anyone cutting costs anywhere can make this mistake. Most often though it is the end user that adds a bit of foam that they received in shipping for "just a little extra padding".

If the foam is covered with the same style of lining as in the cases will it still cause a problem (to a Jetglo finish)?