stripping / refinishing advice needed

strumsilly

Well-known member
Joined
May 23, 2010
Messages
3,985
Reaction score
62
Location
Saint Andrews Bay, FL
I just purchased a 40- '50's ?Favilla baritone. and undisclosed to me this instrument has been badly refinished.lots of runs, dust, and it's thick and soft. I don't know what it is, but I wish they left it alone. There is a stunning one piece mahogany back and top screaming to be released.. I'd like to go to a satiny oil [tru-oil?] finish. advice? I have refinished furniture, but never a ukulele. should I get the belt sander out. just kidding. what is the safest way to get this stuff off. I am thinking of starting with a mild stripper in an inconspicuous spot . I would leave it alone if it wasn't such an amateurish job.
 
Is there any binding on the instrument, and if so, does it look plastic? If it looks like plastic, I would strip the uke entirely with sandpaper. If it looks like wood or there is no binding, I would use a chemical stripper on the instrument, and then sand carefully starting at something like 120 grit through 220 or 300. Tru-oil sounds good and simple.
 
I'd try a very sharp scraper before sandpaper, it often removes finish a lot more cleanly than the grit of sandpaper. Keep it very flat and very sharp though...
 
Is there any binding on the instrument, and if so, does it look plastic? If it looks like plastic, I would strip the uke entirely with sandpaper. If it looks like wood or there is no binding, I would use a chemical stripper on the instrument, and then sand carefully starting at something like 120 grit through 220 or 300. Tru-oil sounds good and simple.
no binding, solid mahogany.
 
I'd try a very sharp scraper before sandpaper, it often removes finish a lot more cleanly than the grit of sandpaper. Keep it very flat and very sharp though...
no harm in trying it. but I also need to remove the finish on the neck and bridge, that would be challenging with a scraper.
 
I'd try a very sharp scraper before sandpaper, it often removes finish a lot more cleanly than the grit of sandpaper. Keep it very flat and very sharp though...

I'd use a chemical stripper, and then sand smooth. That's what I meant to say, in case I didn't. If the old soft finish is nitro, acetone and lots of clean rags will take it off in a hurry.
 
I'd use a chemical stripper, and then sand smooth. That's what I meant to say, in case I didn't. If the old soft finish is nitro, acetone and lots of clean rags will take it off in a hurry.
thanks. I might try some solvents , acetone, mineral spirits. maybe I don't need a real powerful stripper. I can almpst crape it off with my fingernail in spots.
 
If it's coming off that easily, then one of the quickest ways to strip a finish back is with a single edge razor blade. You use it like a scraper. That is holding it firmly between thumb and forefingers at 90 degrees or there a bouts to the surface. The small size makes it ideal for getting into tighter spots than a conventional card scraper will.

4895895_0280_0260.jpg
 
Not rocket science for certain.

~peace~
 
+1 to what Allen said.. or, the longer 'breakaway' razor knife blades. They make great scraper blades.


And no, not 'rocket science' as Al says..

more like voodoo....



good luck
 
if you have gloves, a mask and acetone, i have used an old towel and splashed acetone and pulled and wiped finish off.

or sand/scrape
 
I swear I didnt let my 3 year old finish that poor thing. If you were going to use a stripper on that would it be waterbase like Back To Nature or more solvent based like Jasco?
I don't know yet. I thought if I used stripper, I'd start with the mildest and work from there.
 
Something you may run into in refinishing this thing... If you sand back down into bare wood, and the bridge is still on, the fretboard still attached, it will be quite difficult to 'cut' evenly through the patina of the old Mahogany, and you will likely forever after see the differences in the wood color where the old patina still kind of exists, and where the fresh wood was exposed. It will mellow somewhat, but likely you will see this for a long time. It is hard to tell exactly what you are up against from that small pic, but, I think that even color in the wood will be the biggest challenge in getting a really nice finish if you strip it completely, or sand / scrape into bare wood. This will be most evident in the places where it is difficult to cut back into fresh wood, like around the bridge, fretboard end, neck body join, etc..

Alternately, maybe you could carefully sand the finish, starting with maybe 320, very carefully on a rubber block, sanding the bubbles and junk out of it. It will require a lot of care to not sand too thin on the corners, and also possible that there is some color in the finish. If you can manage to sand out most of the imperfection in the existing finish, without going into bare wood, and cutting no deeper than necessary (anywhere) that might be the best route to go. For the first coat, a coat of Bullseye Sealcoat, just to ensure good adhesion, and protection from any contaminants which could possibvly have entered the old finish, or deeper. Old contaminants can cause fisheyes in a subsequent re-finish, or poor adhesion. The shellac based Sealcoat is a cure all for that sort of thing.

If it were my project, I would be thinking in terms of minimal invasiveness, of repairing instead of replacing.

Beware of starting with too coarse a grit of abrasive, and use a block on the flats, a soft block on the curves. A block will prevent the abrasive from following the irregular surface you are trying to repair. 320 might be a good place to start. I would definitely not start cutting into that finish with intent to repair it with anything coarser than 220, and I think that is a little too coarse anyway. At 400, a little water with soap added may help, wet sanding style. If you could get that finish to where the color is still consistent, and all the runs/ drips/ irregularities are sanded out, and it is smoothly sanded to at least 320, put a coat of Sealcoat on it, then maybe a couple or three coats of very thin varnish, you could have a nice finish, and that nice color that the instrument already has, at least the part in that pic. If you sand through into bare wood, unevenly, you might make something that looks just as bad as it already does, just different.

To sand out the imperfection to a place where repair might be an option is an advanced project, so take it slow and careful. Whether scraping or sanding, every stroke/ pull/ push, is a 'cut. Watch the color closely. Watch everything often and carefully. It looks like it might be possible to end up with a nice finish.




Just guessing,,, I would probably start with a rubber block, 3m 400 grit, and a bit of water. Careful not to let ANY water get inside, or into raw wood.


And if you use a stripper.... barefoot!! no heels ...
 
Last edited:
thanks Chris. It wouldn't hurt to go that route, the light sanding. I might be able to live with it if I could get all the runs and bumps out.
 
Runs are most easily scraped out, if the finish scrapes without chattering or shattering. Sanding out a run without a block will thin the adjacent finish as much as it will take down the run, and getting that last little line around the run will be very difficult without a block. Many people will use a razor blade with tape wrapped around both edges of the cutting blade, with a gap just wide enough to scrape the run down, and the tape giving at least some protection to the surrounding finish.
 
I'm going the sanding route, and started wet sanding the back with 400 grit, it was taking forever so I went down to 320. It's looking really nice. I went through the finish in one small spot and it lightened up there so I learned to be more careful. I'm not going to be able to get all the imperfections out, but it already is looking and feeling much better.
 
I'd be tempted to part dismantle the uke before re finishing it....remove bridge and fretboard and neck, then scrape, sand, blowlamp, paint stripper, whatever works best...But thats me ;)
 
Top Bottom