Cleaning, conditioning & new strings on dusty, dirty vintage uke bring it to life

Doc_J

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
Messages
4,707
Reaction score
317
Location
McDonough, GA
Finally found a vintage baritone at great price and in promising condition.

Removed the dirt, dust and grime on a old Favilla with a damp paper towel, then Howard's Feed N Wax and 0000 steel wool on the dirty fretboard. That and the steel wool got the tarnished frets looking like new. I put some Howard's Feed N Wax on the finish too.

And some beautiful mahogany and Brazilian rosewood were revealed.
Sorry I didn't take a 'before' shot. I'm amazed at the figure and coloring of the wood used to build it, especially the fret board. Howard's Feed N Wax works great.

New Martin strings finished bringing the old gal back to life. She really sings.
It's a real joy to see and hear the transformation.
https://app.box.com/s/0q7vz6z9zhc4xjvcnrorz6885zu5ffja

P1090237 by hejenkins, on Flickr
P1090241 by hejenkins, on Flickr
 
Last edited:
Good job, Hodge! :cheers:
 
Sounds great! I think it's a winner. Really nice full sound.

Any idea how old it is?
 
Great job Hodge, must have been very rewarding to rejuvenate the old girl to her former glory. Thanks for the info on Howard’s Feed and Wax, I had heard good things about it.

I have an old Gianini baritone with the same two tone fretboard. The shape is very similar and it has a yellow label. Makes you wonder???

20190914_051546.jpg20190914_051622.jpg
 
Last edited:
Good job, Hodge! :cheers:

Thanks, it’s always rewarding when some elbow grease works out well.

Sounds great! I think it's a winner. Really nice full sound.

Any idea how old it is?

I’d guess this one was built around ‘64, so she’s about 55 years old, well seasoned.

Great job Hodge, must have been very rewarding to rejuvenate the old girl to her former glory. Thanks for the info on Howard’s Feed and Wax, I had heard good things about it.

I have an old Gianini baritone with the same two tone fretboard. The shape is very similar and it has a yellow label. Makes you wonder???

View attachment 121324View attachment 121323

Looks like we have twins from different Builders! The two-tone BRW fretboards are cool!
 
Great sounding Uke and good job cleaning up. I’d never head of Howard’s Feed and Wax. So, you can it on fretboard and rest of Uke. Looks great. For body, is it only used on Matt finished body of Uke or can it go over other finishes. Must be rewarding to “find” a great p,Ayer and clean up to sound so good.
 
Great sounding Uke and good job cleaning up. I’d never head of Howard’s Feed and Wax. So, you can it on fretboard and rest of Uke. Looks great. For body, is it only used on Matt finished body of Uke or can it go over other finishes. Must be rewarding to “find” a great p,Ayer and clean up to sound so good.

Howard’s Feed N Wax works great on fretboards. It's fine for cleaning up the body too, but there are better polishes for lacquer finishes.

That old mahogany really sounds rich, and the look is fantastic. Great job.

It's interesting these old baritone top & backs were 1-piece! Surprising the fret ends are smooth and nice on the edges, after 55 years. I guess any fretboard shrinkage would have happened long ago.
 
Well done!
I find I bond a bit more with an instrument after putting a little bit of my own work into it...even if just minor setup things and polishing the frets up.
I hope you continue to enjoy it. :)
 
Well done!
I find I bond a bit more with an instrument after putting a little bit of my own work into it...even if just minor setup things and polishing the frets up.
I hope you continue to enjoy it. :)

Same here - first thing I do with a used instrument is clean up the fretboard, polish the frets, give the body a rub down. Makes it feel more my own somehow.
 
Same here - first thing I do with a used instrument is clean up the fretboard, polish the frets, give the body a rub down. Makes it feel more my own somehow.

I wonder if you could lightly sand the braces inside (I'm talking like 1-2 passes max), just to release that wood smell...
 
Same here - first thing I do with a used instrument is clean up the fretboard, polish the frets, give the body a rub down. Makes it feel more my own somehow.
Exactly. I do that with a new or used instrument.

I wonder if you could lightly sand the braces inside (I'm talking like 1-2 passes max), just to release that wood smell...
That is a really interesting idea. I've never heard of it being done...but it makes me wonder.
 
...there are better polishes for lacquer finishes.

I've had similar success with Howard's Feed N Wax. Doc_J, you sparked my interest...do tell. Better polishes for lacquer finishes?
 
Wow, it looks great! I love seeing old ukes cleaned up like that. I've cleaned up some old closet sitters and sold them. It's fun.
When UAS hits me, I take the strings off my Cocobolo and polish the heck out of it, and put on new strings, and it feels like new! And I save tons of cash!
 
I've had similar success with Howard's Feed N Wax. Doc_J, you sparked my interest...do tell. Better polishes for lacquer finishes?

I like Virtuoso polish better for vintage lacquer finishes. Howard's did a fine job on helping to clean-up this Favilla's body as well as the fretboard. Howard's is my go-to fretboard conditioner.
 
Top Bottom