LaminX to Protect Uke?

Has anyone ever considered or tried putting a layer of LaminX on the lower portion of the top to protect from strum scratches? This is the clear adhesive used as protection from minor scratches on cars.

the.ronin said:

Has anyone ever considered or tried putting a layer of LaminX on the lower portion of the top to protect from strum scratches? This is the clear adhesive used as protection from minor scratches on cars.

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Don't put LaminX on your ukulele. It's actually thicker than you probably imagine (8-40 mil). Ask a guitar shop if they have thin transfer adhesive. I would have someone install it who has done it before, but you can do it yourself with a sharp knife if you're careful. http://www.lmii.com/ sells it in the pickguard or adhesive materials section and they're much thinner (3-5 mil) and cheaper than LaminX; although, the shipping cost is pretty outrageous, so I'd suggest a shop that already supplies the stuff.

Try the non-adhesive, static cling screen protectors for PDAs, GPSs, etc. There was a thread that discussed it sometime in the last month or two.

--Mark

Don't use static cling protectors on nitro cellulose finishes though. You could damage it.

Thanks for the advice folks!

Only reason I asked about LaminX is that you can email them for samples and they'll send you sheets of the stuff at different thicknesses more than enough for uke purposes.

People spend all kinds of big bucks to get a nice thin topped wood Uke to get the optimal sound-- why cover that up with plastic that could deaden it?
I'm a lefty and wear my watch on my right wrist, so I take that off when I play. Other than that, what's really gonna scratch up the top of your Uke very much?
Fingernails? It just may be a matter of adjusting your strumming technique.

The plastic is very thin. It hardly deadens the sound considiering the thickness of the wood top. Fingernails can scratch during aggressive playing. Others say scratches add character. It all depends on the player.

you will deaden the sound (or at the very least "change" the sound).

In my view, as with all my instruments - why worry - I personally like the "played" look to my guitars, and dont want them showroom perfect.

When I buy instruments, I rarely sell them, and each ding and scuff I get on my guitars (usually when gigging) tends to carry a story behind it - nice memories.

My main acoustic 6 string is worn as hell on the top, possibly likely to wear through soon, but I love it so much.

I take the same view with Ukes

Dont mis-treat them, but wear and tear from playing is surely a mark of your love for the instrument?