Searcy Posted April 7, 2013 Author Share Posted April 7, 2013 Lack of fresh air, got unhealthy inside case Cool thread btw In a manner of speaking.. yes... that's it! These basses with the fake tortoiseshell guards suffered from "Nitro Rot". Any fans of vintage Gretsch guitars has seen this. Here is what a vintage arch-top expert has to say on the subject. http://www.archtop.com/ac_tips.html The unpredictability of vintage nitrocellulose plastic can cause deterioration of original pickguards and bindings. Symptoms of "nitro rot" include crystallization, flaking, shrinkage, warping, even weeping of moist droplets. It is utterly unpredictable which old guards may suffer: many guards from the '20 are in perfect shape, and we have found corrosive outgas from some guards less than 20 years old. (Susceptibility to rot is most likely due to the specific chemical composition of the original batch of plastic, and the long-term storage history of the instrument.) The outgas emitted from this process will cause serious damage to guitar finishes, metal plating, and case linings, and pickguards need not show any visible signs of deterioration to be producing these corrosive fumes. At the very first signs of plating or fret corrosion (often manifested as a green patina), the guard must be removed from the guitar immediately. Storing an instrument on a hanger or stand may reduce the concentration of nitro outgas, but even mildly rotting guards can be so corrosive that even instruments stored outside the case can experience plating damage from simple proximity to a rotting guard. (If a rotting guard is to be stored, it must be secured in an airtight container and kept well outside the guitar case.) So the first order of business is to get the owner to pick a new pick guard color. Either a black one or modern look tortoise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 Damn.. now that's what you call brittle.. Was it mouldy damp then heat? And yeah.. I will watch your re-build :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted April 7, 2013 Author Share Posted April 7, 2013 Nope, weather conditions don't seem to effect nitro rot much. It's just a matter of the plastic gassing out. If it does it while the guitar is locked away in its case it usually worse. It can even eat the frets up. The guy was originally wanting me to refinish it but the old nitro really isn't in bad shape. People pay good money to have a finish worn in like this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 Imagine letting a guitar get into that state! Was that the same problem which could afflict the early 3-ply 'mint-green' Nitro-cellulose Fender Strat guards from 1960- on? I remember reading that they weren't always considered 'stable' as well. Looking forward to the 'new' rebuild, Searcy! P. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted April 7, 2013 Author Share Posted April 7, 2013 A quick run down of all I'll be doing on this. .Sort the controls and pickups. .Buff out the finish. .Fix a bent tuners. .Replace the rusted bridge bushings. .Replace the pick guard. .Put it all back together. The goal is to try to not fix what ain't broke and stay as original as possible. I'm going to try to salvage those pots. Should be fun to watch... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted April 7, 2013 Author Share Posted April 7, 2013 Imagine letting a guitar get into that state! Was that the same problem which could afflict the early 3-ply 'mint-green' Nitro-cellulose Fender Strat guards from 1960- on? I remember reading that they weren't always considered 'stable' as well. Looking forward to the 'new' rebuild, Searcy! P. Same "sort" of problem. They used to shrink bad. These things actually rot. Looks like this a lot of the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 A quick run down of all I'll be doing on this. .Sort the controls and pickups. .Buff out the finish. .Fix a bent tuners. .Replace the rusted bridge bushings. .Replace the pick guard. .Put it all back together. The goal is to try to not fix what ain't broke and stay as original as possible. I'm going to try to salvage those pots. Should be fun to watch... What about those frets? Will it be playable with those so corroded? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted April 7, 2013 Author Share Posted April 7, 2013 What about those frets? Will it be playable with those so corroded? I think so. For the price we agreed on I told him I wasn't touching the frets and if he was going to pay good money for a refret there are better guys around town then me to do it. We'll see. Before I give it back I'll got a little jam video with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveinspain Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 It was in it's case buried in a time capsule that was recently dug up? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted April 7, 2013 Author Share Posted April 7, 2013 This is what these sorta looked like new. Cool color... to bad they are EVIL! This was a bit of a shock. I guess I know now when they switched from green to copper colored wire. And the damage goes on. All four coils are dead. Killed by the gas. As are the choke coils... And the chrome on the bridge... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted April 7, 2013 Author Share Posted April 7, 2013 According to my meter I might be able to save these pots. Good... The more original parts I can keep with the bass the better. The switch is a goner. Bent tuner shouldn't be too much trouble to fix. I'm trying to make a list of the parts I need to order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 I can believe you got the pots looking like that and that they actually work. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted April 8, 2013 Author Share Posted April 8, 2013 Thhhhats better... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted April 8, 2013 Share Posted April 8, 2013 Thhhhats better... Wow.. that's great work man.. I bow to your luthieryness :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krock Posted April 8, 2013 Share Posted April 8, 2013 Cant believe I forgot about this thread. You've made great progress since I last checked. Kudos to you, and it's good to see you're making others here want to pick up a saw and go to work on their guitars 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted April 10, 2013 Author Share Posted April 10, 2013 Ok... did a few little odd jobs on the 75 Ripper today. First I took the pickups apart and started buffing out the covers. Still got a ways to go on them but not a bad start. It also had this bent tuner that was digging a hold in the side of the head stock when you tried to tune it. I bent that back out and smacked the rivet a bit to tighten up the key. Here's a shot of the two different pickup routs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted April 13, 2013 Author Share Posted April 13, 2013 I spent a little time buffing out the nitro on this bass to see how it would clean up. Here's what it looked like when the owned opened the case after 28 years. And after a little time with the buffer. ^This is a 20 sec video^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 Amazing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted April 13, 2013 Author Share Posted April 13, 2013 Before. After. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted April 27, 2013 Author Share Posted April 27, 2013 Ok.... I know I said I wasn't going to do any fret work but it turns out that the 15th fret is a bit high. Other than that it's playable. So I decided to knock down that high fret and see what we have. First you find the high fret... Then you knock it down.... Then you crown it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted April 27, 2013 Share Posted April 27, 2013 Looks sweet man ... Good job (as always :)) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted April 27, 2013 Author Share Posted April 27, 2013 Thanks! It's coming along. After getting the high fret down I tweaked the truss rod a bit to put just a bit of relief in the neck and the action is now about where I like it. Now it's time to do a little custom work. How to convert a post 1976 Ripper pickup cover into a pre 1976 Ripper pickup cover. First cut off the three mounting ears with some heavy dikes... Then file the nubs down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted May 7, 2013 Author Share Posted May 7, 2013 So I have been waiting for the new pick guard to get here and it's finally arrived. The original plan from the customer was to install a black 5 ply guard like the one I used on my own bass. But then I stumbled upon this company called PickGuardian.com that makes a tortoiseshell like replacement guard for Rippers. After talking it over with the customer we went with the tortoise. Man.... it really was the right choice! Here's a shot of the test fit. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 Such great work there.. Impressive sir :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted May 8, 2013 Author Share Posted May 8, 2013 I wish I could take credit for that pick guard. That things a stunner. Only thing left to do is wire it up. Going with a slight mod to the original spec this time. I'll show you all later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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