Hello There,

Just wondering if the Tech guys at Rickenbacker can advise on the following:

I have recently purchased and imported into AUS a Rickenbacker 4003 Walnut satin finish bass guitar. I tend to sweat a bit from my hands particularly when playing. Can you please advise me of the best way to clean these marks off the body and neck finish.

I have tried the RIC cleaning cloth supplied which did not work. Also a damp cloth and a guitar/bass cleaning spray specific for guitars and bass.

This would also be applicable to the Guitar series in the Walnut as well. I have only seen one prototype Walnut bass that was released in the full gloss finish which in my opinion would be the easiest finish to keep sweat marks etc. to clean.

Thanks in advance scottfender - Australia

Hello,

Could someone at RIC please advise back about my post, need to resolve.

Thanks scottfender.

The owners manual has a section on hand oiled finishes and they recommend Tung oil and a 3M Scotch-Brite™ Ultra Fine Hand Pad (#7448. Personally, the thought of putting sandpaper to my 4003W terrifies me so I wipe down my 4003 with a clean dry rag frequently - but that's just me -I baby my basses like you would not believe.

Look on page 7 of the Rickenbacker manual for "oil finish maintenance."

http://www.rickenbacker.com/pdfs/manual.pdf

Hi JonnyG and clifton thanks for the advice, the user manual way would be fine to perhaps do once or twice a year for the maintaining side of things.

Was more after a product or ideas to help clean off the sweat marks, have heard of an alcahol based treatment to help remove? Does anyone know about this?

I currently use a dry rag after playing, but the sweat marks are leaving a film or going into the oil layer making it harder to remove. Also tried a damp cloth to no avail, any other suggestions??

Hmm, hopefully others with walnut guitars will chime in with some ideas!

Wow, that's a tough one. Is the stain a dark stain? There is a product called "Barkeeper's Friend" which is used to remove water stains from wood. More information is found at this link: http://www.thomaspenrose.com/diy_stains01.htm. I would check with the wood finishing guys at Rickenbacker before you do anything. I'm not an expert in this area but I can sympathize because I have a 4003W and have wondered how to clean my instrument because standard guitar polishes and cleaners won't work with oiled walnut.

I have done a couple oiled finishes on RIC guitar/basses, After I oil them with Watco's Danish oil and let it sit overnight, I wax the instrument a couple times. As a result, I don't get sweat stains on the 4003 I still have finished in this way. Other that sand paper, I don't know how you'd remove a discoloration. Whatever you do, wax the bass after you've done it, or even do the Watco's too.

Hello, Thanks for the ideas fellow bassists, it would be nice if someone from Rickenbacker Corporation could actually chim in on the conversation with some advice???

The sweat marks tend to look cloudy on the finish surface, have tried a few things without any success. The finish is Tung Oil Matte/Satin as I understand. Warwick Basses use a beeswax for their Timber finished basses perhaps this might work as well on the Ricky Walnut??

With the above method does this change the walnut colour by using the Danish Oil and wax afterwards?? Do you have to repeat this method more regular. The guys at Rick Corp did release a prototype Walnut Gloss as a one off which in my opinion would have been better to do this over the entire release. Better protection and wear long term and a lot easier to clean and maintain. All we need is something that simply removes any sweat marks simply from the finish without compromising the Walnut finish, I really like this bass and its playability overall. Regards scottfender

I personally find a satin finish to have a MUCH faster finish on the back of a neck, and I like the feel of wood in an instrument that you don't get under several coats of paint. Watco's comes in different colors, so clear is what you'd use. It will darken just a bit, but maybe not at all considering the fact it already has an oiled finish.