FrankenUke finally in progress

Skrik

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The ukulele in my signature is finally going to happen. My black sparkly dolphin ukulele is the test subject. It's really quite shiny, so to get the white and red paint to stick for more than a week, the gloss has to come off.

First, I took the strings off.
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Then took off the tuners.
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Then covered the fingerboard and bridge with masking tape. I will replace it with blue tape that sticks better when I get around to painting it.
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I should have sanded the gloss off with 320 grit, but only had 220. I couldn't be bothered to wait for the shops to open on Monday, so I used it anyway.
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The original finish is quite thin, and sanded through to the primer around the edges.
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Looks like I'm going to have to begin the refinish by repainting it black. I'd hoped to use the original finish, but there you go.
 
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Once the sanding looked done, I wiped it down with a damp cloth, looked for shiny patches, and had another go.
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Here's where things stand as of this evening.
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Now I have to wait until next weekend, when I will have time to go shopping for paint.
 
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If you're trying to do the red/white/black pattern in your sig, I see the body being painted white first, followed by some tape and a spray coat of red and finishing with black stripes painted over the other two colors.

Come to think of it, black first, adding tape and spraying white, then more tape and spraying red would work too. What did you have in mind?
 
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Sorry about my lateness in updating this thread. That crazy little thing called love reared its beautiful head, and I fell (and am still falling) like a ton of bricks. I hope you understand that for the moment I prefer to spend my time doing things other than painting a ukulele.

I am alone this weekend, though, which should give me time to finish this project.

The sanding was a little too heavy-handed, so I have to start by repainting the instrument black. Then I will tape some stripes and paint it white, followed by more taped stripes and a finishing coat of red. Then I will remove the tape, and I hope I will have an instrument worthy of Eddie Van Halen.

Here is the paint and painter's tape:
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I remask the bridge and fingerboard, and mask the sound hole with a plastic bag. Perhaps I should have used something absorbent, but time will tell.
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Then I shake the paint for a couple of minutes, and give it the once over:
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It will be dry in another hour or so. From what I can tell, I have been able to avoid runs and puddles. I'm still holding my breath, though. I don't want to jinx this.
 
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A few hours later, the paint is a little tacky, but it may be handled. I mask up some stripes that will remain black.
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Then I paint white:
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Now I have to wait until tomorrow for the white stripes and red coat.

(I don't seem to be able to get rid of the extra pics I uploaded by mistake.)
 

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Looks great! I hope you waited long enough before masking over the fresh black paint. It'd be a shame to see the paint come away with the tape....
 
That would suck for sure.. As much as I do like Van Halen, you would have to be a hopeless Eddie fan to go through that much work.. lol.. I thought about it a year or so ago to paint an old Uke like that, but just kept thinking, "Do I really want to go through all that?". Needless to say, it never happened. But, Kudos to you for going at it. I hope it turns out well, and can't wait to see the final pics..
 
I've never been much of a VH fan, but that is going to be one cool-looking uke when you're done. I have long admired your signature.
 
can't wait to see it done + I want one!
 
Thanks guys.

No, I'm not a hopeless VH fan, I just like the idea of a ukulele that is recognisable, but different. I am surprised at how little work is actually involved. Just some sanding, painting, taping, painting, taping, painting.

Some more progress today:

I checked this morning, and discovered that there were areas where the black was showing through the white.
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I sprayed a light second coat of white.
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When it was dry, I taped the white stripes. I think that if I do this again, I will work from a pattern. I have a sneaking suspicion that this ukulele is not going to look as striking as EVH's guitar, on account of the random nature of the striping.
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Then I sprayed red: a good wet coat, so that I don't have to respray. I think it started to run down the headstock, so it may be that I will have to clearcoat the finished item.
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The tape comes off later today. Fingers crossed!
 

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I agree. Paint work on them isn't too bad. A few months ago, I painted "Skie". Not near as intricate than what you are doing with "Frank", but cool to make unique creations with such a fun instrument.

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Well, it dried enough to allow me to remove the tape.
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It looked pretty bound up, but I took my time, pulling the tape along itself to remove it, and removing layer by layer.
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Until at last, it looked like this:
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And this:
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There are a few places the tape has pulled the paint up, especially the black. I guess next time I'll have to leave it a few hours more.
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There are another few places the paint has crept underneath the tape, giving a couple of unclear lines. This is all part of the charm, however: I will call it relicked.

The paint lines are very obvious, to sight and to touch, so I will be clear-coating it in a few days. The beautiful lady I mentioned above is coming home tomorrow, but going away again in a week, so I should have time to completely finish it then.

All in all, I'm quite pleased for a first attempt. I will just have to be patient before clearcoating it and stringing it back up.
 
Well... I think it looks pretty cool. You should see EVH's after he beat the hell out of it for several years. I think it came out just fine. For future reference if you want finer lines, ya might try a modeler's paint masking tape. I also model very small trains (N Scale), and use for intricate paint jobs a painting masking tape made by "Tamiya". It leaves very laser clean lines. You can buy it on line at towerhobbies.com . Just look up "Tamiya masking tape".

But at any rate, it's looking good..
 
great job so far, it will look better when the clear coat goes over it. if its any consolation, i decided i needed a resonator uke on the weekend and made a massive hole in the bridge of my dolphin, if it works i will show you, if not i will have to put a solid wood top on it, then i will publish:)

the main problem so far is that the resonator is beetroot tin and a dog dish:)

Cliff
 
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