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Preserving a Rickenbacker?
Posted: Wed Oct 25, 2000 10:17 am
by Gary_Cost
Short of either embalming or leaving one in it's case, what are some of your suggestions on how best to 'preserve' a Rickenbacker guitar? I am always careful about belt buckles etc. but when a guitar is played it is pretty difficult not to get little scratches and dings in the finish. I've often thought that Gretsch had a pretty good idea when the put the removable 'pad' on the back of the Country Gent. Is the trick to build up such a 'wax base' that if you do 'nick' it only the wax is touched?
Is there any credence to the thought of maybe every year or so, buffing the body down with fine steel wool and then re-waxing and buffing?
I know, you're thinking "Just play the darn thing!" I just want to be able to still have a nice looking instrument 10 years from now.
Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2000 8:53 am
by markthemd
wear rubber pants with a cloth belt that uses velcro to close it.
Just kidding.
Keep metal away from the back of it .
Waxing it won't keep the finish in any better shape than it is already in .Wax repels water ,nothing more.
Car polishes ...the same.
cracking of the finish is caused by heat/cold differences of great degrees and the expansion and contraction of the wood will crack the finish.You can minimize this but wood is a hydroscopic material and you can't stop that process.
Just take care of it ,you won't find a magic material to put onit to save it.
That part of it ,is up to how you take care of it .
Don't take it on a canoe trip ,skydiving,snorkling or tornado watching .
Be sensable with it ...don't store it in the trunk of your car .Think about humidity and temperatures when you travel with it.
as to ,what are the things you do when you 'store ' it?
Are you playing it right now?
Then it's in storage and you didn't do anything special did you .
The real trick is Heat/cold and humidity.
these will really do a number on a finish .Moderate them and all should be OK
Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2000 10:01 am
by Gary_Cost
Thanks Mark!
I wondered why my 'rubber pants' kept falling down! I was using 'duck-tape'! ha ha
Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2000 12:46 pm
by markthemd
try heating them and applying a paste of left over Halloween candy that has been microwaved for about 40 seconds.
spread this to the thigh area and they will definately stay put .
Do not make a pair of wings out of aluminum foil as they attract flies and you could end up ...who knows where.
Special thanks to Frank Zappa for this one.