How do I clean my uke?

Preacher

Preacher

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I have a Mainland Mahogany Concert Glossy and there seems to be some sort of sticky spot on the front. Not sure where it came from. Maybe one of my children with sticky hands.

Can I just use Pledge Furniture Polish? Water? I don't want to damage it, obviously, but it's really irritating to play with my hand constantly rubbing against that spot.

Thanks for the help.
 
Preacher said:
I have a Mainland Mahogany Concert Glossy and there seems to be some sort of sticky spot on the front. Not sure where it came from. Maybe one of my children with sticky hands.

Can I just use Pledge Furniture Polish? Water? I don't want to damage it, obviously, but it's really irritating to play with my hand constantly rubbing against that spot.

Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...

A damp cloth should be all you need.
 
Preacher said:
I have a Mainland Mahogany Concert Glossy and there seems to be some sort of sticky spot on the front. Not sure where it came from. Maybe one of my children with sticky hands.

Can I just use Pledge Furniture Polish? Water? I don't want to damage it, obviously, but it's really irritating to play with my hand constantly rubbing against that spot.

Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...
I've used pledge on my Mainland. I'll admit that I don't clean it regularly, but if it gets nasty I do. I don't spray it directly on the uke, I spray it on a cloth and then wipe it down. Nothing bad has happened, so I guess it is OK.
 
ubulele said:
Do not use regular furniture polish. If you're going to polish a gloss finish with something more penetrating than water, use a guitar polish, such as Dunlop Formula 65 Polish and Cleaner. Use lemon oil on the fingerboard and bridge (removing the saddle first).

For matte/satin finishes, a light coat of lemon oil all over does nicely. Again, lemon oil for instruments is best, but a lot of folks (including myself sometimes) use Old English Lemon Oil for furniture.
Click to expand...
...Why not?
 
I'm sure I'm gonna get blasted for this idea but ... I too have a Mainland Mahogany gloss concert and it came to me kind of dirty so I researched. I don't know where I read this but I tried it, and it worked, and I'm gonna do it every time I want my gloss to be clean. okay here goes .. sounds wrong but it works. Spray some window cleaner (like windex) on a damp cloth and wipe the the uke clean. Then wipe with a dry cloth. You can even buff it a bit with the dry cloth. Do NOT apply spray directly to the instrument but just a dab on a warm wet cloth. I used a thin wash cloth. I wouldn't use furniture polish because the chemicals can too easily penetrate the wood and you want the wood to be resonate. Here's to a shiny Mainland :cool:
 
ubulele;172549a8 said:
Do not use regular furniture polish. If you're going to polish a gloss finish with something more penetrating than water, use a guitar polish, such as Dunlop Formula 65 Polish and Cleaner. Use lemon oil on the fingerboard and bridge (removing the saddle first).

For matte/satin finishes, a light coat of lemon oil all over does nicely. Again, lemon oil for instruments is best, but a lot of folks (including myself sometimes) use Old English Lemon Oil for furniture.
Click to expand...

Always start with spit or water. Never furniture wax or cleaner. Ubulele has some good solutions. ( pun intended )
 
Some of the common furniture polishes contain sillcone. If you ever need to repair the finish it may not be possible if the silicone has penetrated the wood. Silicone displaces moisture - including paint and other liquid finishes.

There are car polishes recommended by some hereabout and I'd be prepared to try a clear car polish on a gloss surface. The advice I got for cleaning my satin finished instruments was just to use a damp cloth. The fretboards get an annual lemon oil treatment.
 
If it's grungy, I also use a little window cleaner on a Bounty paper towel (only bounty)
 
A cloth damp with water will do the trick and is as safe as you can get. I also use a damp cloth to wipe down my strings from time to time. Even florocarbon can be affected by the oils and crud from your fingers, wound strings even more so.

Maybe if I stopped eating glacied donuts while I was playing I won't have this problem :drool:
 
DownUpDave said:
A cloth damp with water will do the trick and is as safe as you can get. I also use a damp cloth to wipe down my strings from time to time. Even florocarbon can be affected by the oils and crud from your fingers, wound strings even more so.
Click to expand...

Water is the safest to try first, preferably with a cloth instead of paper towel, as paper towel will leave white dust.

ubulele said:
Do not use regular furniture polish. If you're going to polish a gloss finish with something more penetrating than water, use a guitar polish, such as Dunlop Formula 65 Polish and Cleaner. Use lemon oil on the fingerboard and bridge (removing the saddle first).
Click to expand...

^THIS.

Dunlop 65 Lemon Oil is the ONLY other thing I will use to clean a uke, 'polish it', or oil the fretboard. Smells nice too.
 
Martin Professional Guitar Polish/Cleaner Kit is the best. It is not just a glorified furniture polish like most/all other "guitar polishes." The others leave a residue just like furniture polish. If you buy it from Musician's Friend you don't pay any shipping.
 
My only instruments that get rather filthy are the circa-1920 banjo-uke and banjo-mando with original sweat-infused hide heads and that soaked-in grime probably gives them their authentic tones, right? Seriously, I don't think I've ever used anything but a dry cloth to wipe-down my guitars, mandos, 'ukes, dulcimers, banjos, o'uds, et al, no matter the finish. Of course I tend not to slop stuff on my axes. And unlike (Mountain) Leslie West, I don't use the soundhole as an ashtray. G'z, his guitars must stink. :(
 
I will only use a micro fiber cloth on my ukes, especially the shiny one. No paper towels. No furniture polish, I use lemon oil or guitar cleaners and polishes. I lemon oil my fretboard and brigde every string change, too.
 
Why should you use lemon oil for Christs sake?! :eek:
But yes, if it stinks heavily and do remember that lemon oil is allergic.
I go for pure paraffin oil or, eventually almond oil if you can find a fresh smell free one, on the fretboard. Wipe off after a few minutes
For a non glossy lacquer I am still looking for a suitable polish or alternative to it.
 
I like how these old threads pop up and I see what I was saying then and compare it to now.
 
Last edited:
I use the Planet Waves lemon oil on satin ukes and the Music Nomad One on glossy ukes. I only use them when I restring my instruments otherwise I just use a microfiber cloth daily
 
Whatever any chooses to use, be sure you go with a trusted brand, because the issue is about chemicals that are added in some brands that are not beneficial to the wood, or clear coat types of finish...
 
My Old Uncle Ernest used to take some 0000 steel wool and soak it with white vinegar and use that to clean all of his old banjos, geetars, dulcimers and mandos...

not sure what happened to him as we lost touch when he kept trying to talk about his abductions by 'dem alien peoples'...so I dunno what else can be said on this thread, but maybe stay away from the windows on a full moon, fer ya never know wot's out dere....

...cue up the theremin music - Wooo EEEEE oooooh!!!!
 
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