Keep the mojo vs. Restoration

pebbleInDaPacific

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So I accidentally dropped my sheet holder while holding my uke and it caught the edge of my uke on the soundboard, chipping it a little on the corner of the front where the top meets the sides.

I e-mailed Kamaka asking them if they could repair it and they said that what they could do is put lacquer over it. My question now is whether I should get the whole thing refinished when I send it in, or could they repair it and refinish just the area without it deteriorating the sound of the uke or making the finish look uneven.

I just want some opinions and thoughts on how the community feels as far as keeping the mojo or preserving the uke. I don't ever plan on selling it and hopefully will pass it on to my children. I figure that since my uke is going back to it's birthplace they would know best, but what would you do? Thanks for any advice/feedback and thoughts on keeping the mojo vs. preserving it. It already has some love wear on it.
 
Is the wood dented or chipped, or is it just a bit of finish? Lacquer melts lacquer, by which I mean the new lacquer won't just sit on top of the other lacquer or leave a line. The new lacquer will melt the edges of the chipped finish and blend together naturally. In shorthand, the spot repair should look fine.
 
Good luck with the repair. Could you take before and after photos?

I have a Kamaka with some knicks along the binding area of the body and would consider having it smoothed out too by the factory.
 
Is the wood dented or chipped, or is it just a bit of finish? Lacquer melts lacquer, by which I mean the new lacquer won't just sit on top of the other lacquer or leave a line. The new lacquer will melt the edges of the chipped finish and blend together naturally. In shorthand, the spot repair should look fine.

Yes, it is definitely a chip. I even kept the little bits that chipped out as much as I could. :( It didn't affect the sound one bit thank goodness. Is that really the case? Lacquer won't show unevenness and will blend in? If that is the case, then that would be great. :eek:
 
Good luck with the repair. Could you take before and after photos?

I have a Kamaka with some knicks along the binding area of the body and would consider having it smoothed out too by the factory.

I definitely will take pix if I go through with it and post them for you all. I am still debating on keeping the mojo or doing a whole refinish.
 
I say you just keep the ukulele chipped if it does not have any affect on the sound. A little wear and tear just shows some love, and you won't be out of an ukulele! Also, I am cheap.
 
While the folks at Kamaka would probably be the most knowledgable about this, I'll offer my two cents.

If it were mine I'd go for the repair rather than a total refinish.

That having been said, what I would really do is let the Kamaka folks decide what's best.... If they suggested rubbing it out with peanut butter and then wiping it clean with ten-dollar bills, then that's what I'd do!
 
That having been said, what I would really do is let the Kamaka folks decide what's best

:agree:
I would even send the chipped-off bits in with the uke. They might be able to superglue 'em into place prior to the repair and make the whole thing nearly invisible.
 
I guess it boils down to what you can live with. If the damage does not effect the sound or playability, me personally, I would leave it alone.

I look at it like buying a new pickup truck. The truck was made to haul stuff but I don't want to put that first scratch in the bed. Once that first scratch is there though, I can use the truck for what it was meant for.

My uke is part of my life and like me, will get bumps and scratches along the way. Hope I'm not sounding too deep on this...:rolleyes:...
 
I can see the tension though. He wants to keep it as an heirloom-quality instrument, so I can see the desire for a professional repair. At the same time, each ding tells a story and the best heirlooms have stories to tell.
 
thanks everyone, :D it seems that you all get a sense of what I mean, so I guess you can understand my issue. I've read everywhere, especially with guitars, that every ding, scratch, chip, whatever imperfection, gives the ukulele it's soul and shows that it's actually being loved and played.

I still haven't heard anyone as a proponent of getting the whole thing refinished and looking pristine, of course, as long as it doesn't affect the sound quality. I think It's funny because we love to admire our ukes and show how beautiful they are in the many pictures on the forum and elsewhere, but can anyone preserve that pristine look and still have given it years of love from playing?
 
How long did they quote on the repair. Food for thought, their repair time is, at minimum, one year. Yours is a small repair so they might slide it in. I have two sopranos in and one will take a year and the other could take 1.5 years. Of course, those were 40 year old ukes that required reattaching of the backs, one also required reattaching of the top, some nut work, etc.
 
How long did they quote on the repair. Food for thought, their repair time is, at minimum, one year. Yours is a small repair so they might slide it in. I have two sopranos in and one will take a year and the other could take 1.5 years. Of course, those were 40 year old ukes that required reattaching of the backs, one also required reattaching of the top, some nut work, etc.

yeah bro, when I talked to them on the phone, they told me that if it is a minor repair, such as mine, it would take about a couple of weeks. They said that they have a separate room for minor repairs that don't take the average 1 - 1.5 years for others.

Now I don't know to what extent they define "minor". But I was going to bring it in when I go to Hawaii to get married next year, and they suggested I mail it to them a month before so that they can have it ready by the time I get there.

Really helpful and friendly people there, I e-mailed them and got a call in half an hour here in Seattle! :D
 
Congrats on your upcoming wedding.

Invite the UU staff and maybe they'll play at the reception! OR you and your bride might get matching UU t-shirts and UU hats. You will be honeymooning on Kaua'i correct?

Seriously, I like what the Rev said about heirlooms having stories. Most of my ukes do NOT have story-telling dings per se. Mostly wear and tear on the top bout from strumming and wear in the first 5 or so frets from fingering. Yours now has a story for you to tell.
 
The only "stories" to my dings are that the prior owner put them in! It did actually cross my mind to send in mine for refinishing too. Hmm, maybe I'll try and get a quote.
 
If it is deep enough that it drives you crazy looking at it, then you can fill the dent with sawdust mixed with white glue and lacquer over that when it is dry. I used to repair gun stocks and musical instruments and that was a nice little trick I once picked up from somewhere.
 
Without pictures it's really hard to give advice, but I would not refinish the instrument. I would fairly quickly either get the repair done with whatever kind of fill is reasonable (I wouldn't do glue and sawdust...), and/or get the damage sealed with shellac.

The traditional "filler" for dings is stick shellac, but you have to know what you're doing with that.

My repair advice tends toward the traditional and tried and true methods favored by real restoration experts. Sometimes modern materials are fine, but all too often they make quality future repair and restoration nearly impossible.
 
yeah bro, when I talked to them on the phone, they told me that if it is a minor repair, such as mine, it would take about a couple of weeks. They said that they have a separate room for minor repairs that don't take the average 1 - 1.5 years for others.

Now I don't know to what extent they define "minor". But I was going to bring it in when I go to Hawaii to get married next year, and they suggested I mail it to them a month before so that they can have it ready by the time I get there.

Really helpful and friendly people there, I e-mailed them and got a call in half an hour here in Seattle! :D

I'd opt for the minor repair. And I'd send it in ahead like they suggested, that way you won't have to pay for shipping each way. If you don't mind my asking, how much did they say it would cost to fix? I have two chips on the front of my Kamaka and they aren't super noticeable but they drive me crazy - just knowing they are there is enough to make me want to do the same thing with mine. Though I'm not sure that I could stand to be apart from it for two weeks, let alone a year! I'm not even crazy about leaving it for a few days or a week to get a pickup installed!
 
Turn around time?

What's Kamaka's turn around time on repairs just now? At times, it's been as much as 18 months.

Any repair will take a moderate amount of time. Can you stand it?

John
 
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