body (player) salt and whiteness on the uke body

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valde002

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Hi. I have noticed that whenever I play, there is a spot where my arm has been and sometimes chest if I am shirtless. It is probably from sweat and salt. This happens even if I am not sweaty.

After using my uke I wipe it down with my chamois cloth (I believe that is the most gentle on the finish). I have to breathe on it to add moisture to get it clean. When I feel the chamois cloth stop 'pulling' on the affected area, I believe it is clean enough to put back.

I wrote another post about possibly putting wax on it, to further protect my uke from this. Any thoughts on this? I almost don't want to play my nicer ukes because I don't want to add scratches, wear down the finish, or risk having salt damage on it. Thanks!
 
You must play some very salty songs, LOL :) Anyway, my ukes do get "polished" by my arm. I used to like matte finish ukes. Now I like glossy! Don't have many of those though. (I've been able to curb my UAS and haven't bought a uke in quite some time now.) You could put an arm rest on the uke. Not sure about the chest, um, I wonder what a little sweater, wait, that's funny.....sweat-er!! Sorry, brain is a bit squirrely...a little cover with elastic sewn around the edge that just goes around the back and hugs just a tiny portion of the soundboard?? Don't know how much it would affect sound though. Good luck.
 
I had a similar problem with my forearm leaving behind some organic residue on the bass side of the lower bout.

After getting tired of the extra cleanings my solution was to get an old sock, tube or dress sock does not matter, and cut the 'toes' area off, and then put that on my arm as a sleeve. Doing so prevented the salty/organic stuff completely.

This not a new or my own idea. Arm sleeves are used by classical and flamenco guitar players, and for basically the same thing as my sock, but made of spandex or neoprene, I've seen them selling at a starting price of like $30 or so.

I would not pay $30 for a sleeve, when I have a couple of old, orphaned socks that I could use.

Maybe try a sock and see what happens?

I eventually re-homed that uke, and the new owner is very happy with it, and I have no regrets. :)
 
Instruments are made to play, scratches and such just prove that you are doing so. I stopped worrying about keeping mine pristine, allows me to relax and have fun.
 
bonesigh said:
You must play some very salty songs, LOL :) Anyway, my ukes do get "polished" by my arm. I used to like matte finish ukes. Now I like glossy! Don't have many of those though. (I've been able to curb my UAS and haven't bought a uke in quite some time now.) You could put an arm rest on the uke. Not sure about the chest, um, I wonder what a little sweater, wait, that's funny.....sweat-er!! Sorry, brain is a bit squirrely...a little cover with elastic sewn around the edge that just goes around the back and hugs just a tiny portion of the soundboard?? Don't know how much it would affect sound though. Good luck.
Click to expand...

haha, thanks for the humerous reply! I sometimes use a rubber kitchen non-slip mat that I cut for that when I remember, to put on my chest. Honestly, I usually pick up my uke in between chores and stuff at home, for minutes at a time, and then move on to my chores. So sometimes I laze or forget to use it...
 
kohanmike said:
Instruments are made to play, scratches and such just prove that you are doing so. I stopped worrying about keeping mine pristine, allows me to relax and have fun.
Click to expand...

In my case, it has nothing to do with play wear, but instead having a layer of a slime-like material all over 1/4 of the top of the uke that was almost like a coating of 'hardened' vaseline. Apparently there was some interaction with the super-gloss finish and the natural oils in my skin.

IIRC, the OP was not referring to play wear, but a problem similar to my own.
 
kohanmike said:
Instruments are made to play, scratches and such just prove that you are doing so. I stopped worrying about keeping mine pristine, allows me to relax and have fun.
Click to expand...

thanks for the consolation about it! I just want to be sure they don't turn into white spots or ruin the finish if there is something I can do to prevent it.
 
Booli said:
I had a similar problem with my forearm leaving behind some organic residue on the bass side of the lower bout.

After getting tired of the extra cleanings my solution was to get an old sock, tube or dress sock does not matter, and cut the 'toes' area off, and then put that on my arm as a sleeve. Doing so prevented the salty/organic stuff completely.

This not a new or my own idea. Arm sleeves are used by classical and flamenco guitar players, and for basically the same thing as my sock, but made of spandex or neoprene, I've seen them selling at a starting price of like $30 or so.

I would not pay $30 for a sleeve, when I have a couple of old, orphaned socks that I could use.

Maybe try a sock and see what happens?

I eventually re-homed that uke, and the new owner is very happy with it, and I have no regrets. :)
Click to expand...

thanks booli! Will look around for a sock, probably a dress sock that is nice and soft...
 
valde002 said:
haha, thanks for the humerous reply! I sometimes use a rubber kitchen non-slip mat that I cut for that when I remember, to put on my chest. Honestly, I usually pick up my uke in between chores and stuff at home, for minutes at a time, and then move on to my chores. So sometimes I laze or forget to use it...
Click to expand...

Humor is a good starting point, thank you. Booli (Hi) I don't know how I forgot this but your right about the sock. I used to use a sweat wristband (very comfortable) because when I first started playing uke my arm rubbing on the edge got more sore than my fingers!
 
We humans are such disgusting bags of fluids and oils are we not? I invariably leave residue on my phone, tablet, and just about every surface I touch. Awful really. The same is true of our fretboards and other parts of our instruments. StewMac preservation polish is my recommendation here. Accept no substitute.
 
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