I have a 4003 that's about 2 years old now and the back of the neck has become extremely slow and drags to the point that its hard to play. I have to rum my Ric "polishing cloth" over the neck after each song just to make it playable. I've used the Turtle Wax as recommended elsewhere on the website but that doesn't improve it markedly or for any length of time.

Is there anyway to return the neck to the "factory finish" and give me that smooth, gliding surface again?

I don't have very many painted neck basses in my collection so I"m also considering having my luthier strip the paint off the back of the next to give it a natural finish. Other than the re-sale considerations are there any dangers in doing so?

Thanks!

I don't know why you would experience a change in the feel of the neck other than some possible plasticizing of the finish caused by hand sanitizers or similar compounds. However, you could do what I do to all of my instruments- lightly burnish the neck. Just tape it off at the heel and throat, then lightly sand the finish with 1500 grit paper or micro mesh. (Avoid steel wool, as it will collect on the pickups.) Do it until the whole area looks uniformly dull.

You can restore the finish to gloss at any time by rebuffing it.

Rebuffing with wax or some other compound? If I sand it will that yield a "satin" finish or does that then need to be re-finished/waxed?

You're just going to lightly sand the finish enough just to dull it, not remove it with the 1500 grit sand paper as John Hall instructed. Then leave it alone. If you you ever decide you want the gloss back again, you'll be able to if you buff it out.

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Throw that piece of firewood where it belongs and get yourself a Rickenbacker!

Have you ever felt 1500 grit? Barely sand paper. So no worries about ruining the finish. BTW, John Hall is the President of Rickenbacker, so to get his personal reply is certainly worth paying heed to.

Thanks everyone (especially Mr. Hall). I'll take all the recommendations and report back on the result. Maybe it's just my greasy meat-hooks causing the problem!

It's nice to see executive leadership engaged with the consumer base. And of all my basses (Warwick, G&L, Spector and Dean) Ric stands above all.

I just thought I might make a suggestion for solving your draggy neck problem. I wax my basses, including my 2011 4003 with Mothers Pure Carnauba wax. It makes them slippery as an eel . Also all grease and fingerprints wipe right off very easily with the RIC cloth or a microfibre cloth. Works for me. Good Luck.

Does anyone know what the "micro mesh" is Mr. Hall mentions above? I went to the local hardware store and NAPA and none of the guys could tell me what it was. Their only guess was some kind of steel wool, which Mr. Hall recommended against.

Also, can you substitute a regular "jewelry" polishing cloth for the Ric one? Do they contain similar compounds?

Yes, it's a series of very fine abrasive sheets, similar to sand paper but much finer coming in grit sizes between 1500 and 12000.

You can get it at woodworking supply places such as Rockler, or even on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss? ... sh&x=0&y=0

Tried this method on my fretless and it feels great now. You don't notice how "grabby" it is until after you do something like this. Smooth and extremely fast.