I bought a used Kamaka Tenor with pickup in Hawaii off Craigslist. I almost didn't buy it when I saw it in person due to a large number of scratches, smudges (that I could not rub out with my thumb) and pin head nicks. There were also some minor dings on the lower edges of the top and side. The piece was owned by a woman so there were heavy strum scratches from her long nails.
It was a good price and it had some nice curliness to it so I bought it anyways. I came back to Los Angeles and went to the Guitar Center and purchased a "Fender Instrument Care Kit" for $25.00.
It consists of three bottles of cleaner, "Mist and Wipe," "Swirl and Haze Remover" and "Polish and Conditioner."
You start with the Mist to clean off dust and other residue that could scratch the surface. Then the Swirl remover is used (this is made by Meguirar's the company that makes car care products) and this removes the majority of scratches. It probably has some cutting agents like rubbing compound for a car. You finish with the Polish.
I have to admit this was the best $25.00 I've ever spent on my ukulele supplies. The Kamaka has a showroom shine and I have to angle the uke in direct sunlight to see any of the scratches. Of course the small nicks are still there but those cannot be taken out.
I was going to take pics of the uke before the process but I was too excited to apply the process and forgot to take them. I haven't figured out how to post photos on this site (I can only get the thumbnails to show up and then the slideshow that follows only shows about a 3 x 3 image. Not enough to show the detail I'm talking about.)
I'm going to take the kit to my daughters halau on Tuesday to clean her Kumu's Kamaka Tenor. Her uke has decades of wear on it and I'm going to be interested to see what the results are.
Any help on the image posting would be appreciated. I thought I followed the instructions in the FAQ page but I've noticed most posts have photos that exceed the max. files sizes shown on the "manage attachments" pop up.
A close up of the strum area that had a large amount of scratches on the top and bottom from the previous owner's nails.
This area had some scratches and a half dollar sized smudge that I was trying to rub out with just my thumb to no avail. It came right out with the Haze and Swirl remover. The bottom near the pickup shows the reflection from the stone. The Kamaka shines like it came from the factory!
It was a good price and it had some nice curliness to it so I bought it anyways. I came back to Los Angeles and went to the Guitar Center and purchased a "Fender Instrument Care Kit" for $25.00.
It consists of three bottles of cleaner, "Mist and Wipe," "Swirl and Haze Remover" and "Polish and Conditioner."
You start with the Mist to clean off dust and other residue that could scratch the surface. Then the Swirl remover is used (this is made by Meguirar's the company that makes car care products) and this removes the majority of scratches. It probably has some cutting agents like rubbing compound for a car. You finish with the Polish.
I have to admit this was the best $25.00 I've ever spent on my ukulele supplies. The Kamaka has a showroom shine and I have to angle the uke in direct sunlight to see any of the scratches. Of course the small nicks are still there but those cannot be taken out.
I was going to take pics of the uke before the process but I was too excited to apply the process and forgot to take them. I haven't figured out how to post photos on this site (I can only get the thumbnails to show up and then the slideshow that follows only shows about a 3 x 3 image. Not enough to show the detail I'm talking about.)
I'm going to take the kit to my daughters halau on Tuesday to clean her Kumu's Kamaka Tenor. Her uke has decades of wear on it and I'm going to be interested to see what the results are.
Any help on the image posting would be appreciated. I thought I followed the instructions in the FAQ page but I've noticed most posts have photos that exceed the max. files sizes shown on the "manage attachments" pop up.
A close up of the strum area that had a large amount of scratches on the top and bottom from the previous owner's nails.
This area had some scratches and a half dollar sized smudge that I was trying to rub out with just my thumb to no avail. It came right out with the Haze and Swirl remover. The bottom near the pickup shows the reflection from the stone. The Kamaka shines like it came from the factory!
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