To restore or not to restore?...That is the question

IamNoMan said:

Cleaning metal surfaces allow new corrosion to occur. A slightly corroded surface will inhibit new corrosion

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How can corrosion inhibit corrosion?

I found a clean and dab of grease will inhibit corrosion the best on my oldies.

You would have to ask that. Coatings like grease will inhibit oxidation, aka corrosion. Grease unfortunately easily transfers to other surfaces and can stain them or worse absorb gritty materials that chew up skin heads and nice wood finishes. Rust aka oxidation aka corrosion creates a coating as well. It is porous and friable, (the real problem), but it acts as a passivation agent that slows down the rate at which the anions aka oxidants aka oxides bond to cations aka metals and form metallic-oxides aka rust aka ..... The science of corrosion and the art of corrosion protection is an arcane and poorly understood engineering problem. Much of the information in Wikipedia on the subjects is/are wrong or simply BS and "needs additional citations for verification" I usually use beewax as a coating for metal and wood on instruments. It doesn't stain, its a plastic material that fills in porous materials and I think it is sterile, like honey, spider webs and urine; if that's any benefit.

I hope this satisfies your curiosity. Its been decades since I had to know this stuff and I'd just as soon learn a new song as research esoteric engineering issues.

ps: There is a phenomenon known as oxygen reduction corrosion that occurs in airless environments that causes iron and steel bands to rust to themself and another phenomenon known a "rouge-ing" that causes stainless steel to rust in distillation processes used in the pharmaceutical and electronics industries. I can give many examples of this stuff but cannot discuss it in a scholarly fashion.

chefuke said:

How can corrosion inhibit corrosion?

I found a clean and dab of grease will inhibit corrosion the best on my oldies.

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What you are asking about is patination. Patina. It is different (chemically speaking) from corrosion. That is to say, it is a layer that forms on the surface...its interaction with the metal is minimal, unlike rust. I know we're not talking about copper here, but as an easy example, think of the Statue of Liberty.. patination turned it green, and this green patina in turn "sealed" the surface against further corrosion and weathering. This is why there are 300 year old copper roofs that have not corroded away. It's just the nature of many metals.

I am probably not explaining this well. Search patina on Wikipedia or another source if you are really curious. It's an interesting question/concept.

Patination is a form of corrosion but the more noble the metal is the more likely the process is to fill in the pores in the metal. Silver turns black, gold then platinum show little evidence but the corrosion is there. Not to hijack the thread but Tobinsuke if you would like to discuss corrosion please PM me.

Time to discuss the pro's and con's of "sacrificial annodes" I think ....As previously posted on this banjo forum...I came across them on the oil rigs.
http://www.banjohangout.org/topic/289702

Guys, I'm sorry for bringing vintage guns into this discussion - I shouldn't have brought up something I don't know very much about.

My only point was that if I found an antique gun with scratches and dull metal, looking tired, I would just leave it be and not try to make it "better". The same with ukulele finishes

If I found an old black powder firearm I would clean the barrel out with warm soap and water and apply gun oil.

Then I would grab my GH&S Melody Banjolele. Hmm! Is that a varnish check or something more sinister on the back of the resonator. Looks like a crack. Rats! It I repair the crack it will mar the finish. It has some scratches and varnish or lacquer checks, but it looks pretty good. I'm not comfortable working with lacquer finishes.

The way I play I don't need the resonator for volume . I can compensate somewhat by Tuning up to aDF#B. Ah its a vintage instrument. I think I'll work on that Formsby Song I heard last night.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gb-pLBQ2D7k&list=RDYj4N0I7kby4&index=23

Wait what's this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbZ-xTCugs0&list=RDYj4N0I7kby4&index=26

Great insight you all! Thank you for feeding my curiosity even more.
Beeswax it is from now on.

If you are thinking about a light overspray of clear lacquer I don't think that is a bad thing . From what I have read when a guitar goes back to the Martin factory for a repair they give it an overspray . I look at it as maintenance , preservation . As long as it is done well and with the correct lacquer I think it makes the Uke better.

chefuke said:

Beeswax it is from now on.

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It is your ukulele to do with as you please. If I bought an old uke that had been covered in beeswax, I would send it back.

Pukulele Pete said:

If you are thinking about a light overspray of clear lacquer I don't think that is a bad thing . From what I have read when a guitar goes back to the Martin factory for a repair they give it an overspray . I look at it as maintenance , preservation . As long as it is done well and with the correct lacquer I think it makes the Uke better.

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It makes the finish thicker. And many old ukes were not finished with lacquer in the first place since it was not in use until around 1927. Have you ever tried to sell a vintage instrument that has been oversprayed? Very difficult, even if Martin did it, and buyers will want a big discount for an instrument that has been altered. Original, thin finish is what most people are after. These finishes are delicate and they do wear, so that is expected and not a problem (see picture below).

Covering a worn, original finish in beeswax or more lacquer is a problem

I'm referring to the ukulele in the original question . A 1960's Martin Style 1 .

Tigershark said:

It is your ukulele to do with as you please. If I bought an old uke that had been covered in beeswax, I would send it back.



It makes the finish thicker. And many old ukes were not finished with lacquer in the first place since it was not in use until around 1927. Have you ever tried to sell a vintage instrument that has been oversprayed? Very difficult, even if Martin did it, and buyers will want a big discount for an instrument that has been altered. Original, thin finish is what most people are after. These finishes are delicate and they do wear, so that is expected and not a problem (see picture below).

Covering a worn, original finish in beeswax or more lacquer is a problem

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The advise with the Beeswax was to contain the corrosion on the tuners as an alternative to grease -

When dealing with old finishes you really need to Know what original material material was used. MArtin probably has records of this but most vintage instruments come from companies that are gone. Experiment on a small area that is unobtrusive first

Tigershark said:

It makes the finish thicker.

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Not if it is a thin coat . If done correctly , you couldnt tell the difference. This is a 60's Martin not the Holy Grail .

a 60's Martin could be the Holy Grail for this guy, don't knock it, it's a very nice instrument.

Radio Flyer said:

a 60's Martin could be the Holy Grail for this guy, don't knock it, it's a very nice instrument.

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I wasn't knocking anything.

Pukulele Pete said:

I wasn't knocking anything.

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I'm sitting here shaking my head and wondering why do I bother to post . DUH ?

So, I guess the consensus is, it is probably not worth it to restore my crackled 1948 Style 3...