I could have passed on this, but then I would have been quoting that old commercial - "I could've had a B8!"
Terrible puns aside, I just received this today. I knew it had some very minor issues - missing panel, changed pots & cap, unusable original case, but otherwise minor wear and perfect working order. I already have a replacement case and a set of panels on order from GeorgeBoards. I got the whole set of panels, so I have some spares to experiment on with artificial aging techniques.
The one thing I'm not sure about is the dot markers. The loose ones I can glue back in place, but what should I use to replace the lost ones?
Here's a random factoid: correction fluid (whiteout) was invented by Mike Nesmith's (The Monkees) mother in 1951. She sold her company, Liquid Paper, in 1979 for $47.5 million. She died the following year and left the bulk of her estate to her son Mike.
couldnt you use silicone caulk like they use in bathrooms or painters use to cover nail holes? i would think that would be better than white out. i've used white out A LOT and it will crack if applied too thick (and may chalk up if exposed to sun/uv) - it was meant to cover up mistakes on paper, not built up 1/8"...but no damage to try.
at least the tuners look ok on this - i'd be FAR more worried about that than the rest of the missing parts. put some repro Koa panels on there and your set.
Jerry Byrd splooged white out in two pukas on my B8 and there's no need to worry about building it up flush with the fretboard, it's clearly seen (even in low light) if only coating the sides and has lasted fine, plus any overgloop wipes clean easily.
I'd leave those original 'panels' just as they are, the plastic replacements I've seen are far from exact molded repros these steels deserve but merely flat cutouts and replacing just the one will make it look equally odd. You'll find an original soon enuf, save your money.
I had similar issues with one of my Ricks, and I tried the whiteout. It worked OK, but I also tried a little model paint (enamel) and that seems to be a little more permanent. It was also easy to blend in a little yellow to match the original dots. Plus it cures a little glossy, which also matches the originals.
Either way you go, these are great great little guitars.
Ron Whitfield wrote:I'd leave those original 'panels' just as they are, the plastic replacements I've seen are far from exact molded repros these steels deserve but merely flat cutouts and replacing just the one will make it look equally odd. You'll find an original soon enuf, save your money.
I'm only replacing the missing one; the others I'm going to leave alone. The replacements I ordered come rounded like the originals.
Noah Miller wrote:The replacements I ordered come rounded like the originals.
I believe just the edges are rounded, and rather crudely from what I've seen. Overall they look flat and cheap instead of formed to mimic the cool look of the original and quite noticeable in their appearance, both in style and color contrast. Originals in nicely aged creaminess as your others are not too difficult to get.
I've seen them occasionally on ebay and here, or the steel community in general, not by the droves for sure, but they are out there. Put the word out and you'll probably snag a nice one soon.
Those are the ones we've been discussing. Looks like I'm going to have to steal one from another old B.
On the upside, I managed to fill the dot markers with white-out. It took a few coats, but they're now roughly flush. You can tell them apart from the originals at close range, but from a few feet away they don't stand out. I might top them with a little off-white enamel paint to get a better match, but they're pretty good right now.
You can always replace them with new ones from Stewart-McDonald. I replaced the whole set on my 7-string bakelite with the pearl/white dots, which seem better than flat white.
I'd rather keep the originals and have the new ones match; Stew-Mac doesn't have the right material at the right size. I stole a panel from a B6 and painted it to match:
I've made it perfectly clear in my descriptions and in previous forum discussions that --
We offer SUBSTITUE Panels that are not -- Replacements - replicas - vacuformed - die cast or in any way an attempt to Violate Rickenbackers Patent's or intellectual property in any manner what so ever.
These Substitute Panels will help some one in this exact situation save their originals - or make an already compromised original be able to live again.
Yes They are Flat White Acrylic, the same material used in the Originals , can I say the colors formula is exactly the same after 50 some odd years -- No.
I hand round these for folks who do not want to do it them selves, I prefer to sell the only Laser cut to the best we could get with the few broken and distorted panels offered as samples when this idea was first brought into discussion by Denny Turner a few years back.
The Rickey community really needed to support their own selves, as not one person offered to send a panda here so that I could do any level of engineering to get a more close product to help repairmen out. We do this simply to help you folks -- not to make some big time money scheme.
I suggest some one in the Rickey panda community take the initiative to start a salvage yard , it seems to be a good opportunity to supply parts to folks who want to restore in original parts.
Hopefully this response will clarify some of the misconceived expectations and in-descriptions of a simple product I produce to help some folks.
I made a couple of the white panels for a friend, the one with the control knobs, and the little square on in the center, from aluminum. Made a concave form to tap them to shape. A bit labor intensive though.
I bought a small English Wheel for my new "Tuckelite" Hawaiian steel's plates ...
Here they are just sitting on the "Foamelite" polystyrene pattern ... Going to "full mold" sand cast this prototype this weekend ... Fair warning to my neighbors and livestock
The English Wheel is cool ... But I've far from mastered it ... These took me a real long time to do ...
I might just sand cast the plates in the future ... ... Won't my wife be pleased
... Won't my wife be pleased 
