Any tips on painting a ukulele?

KevinTJH

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So my Richwood ukulele arrived today, workmanship isn't the best, but it's a pretty cheap uke so I couldn't ask for more!

I love the Satin finish, it just feels like it could be sanded down a lot better.

By the way, this will be my first painting project so I may need some advice.

Here's what I might do,

1) Sand off the whole ukulele except the bridge and fretboard

2) Tape all areas which are not being painted with normal tape (would the normal transparent tape do?)

3) Spray paint the whole body with the base colour

4) Use acrylic paint with a brush to paint the design

5) Wait for everything to dry, then spray a few layers of Clearcoat



Is that the correct procedure?



By the way, this is a slightly off-topic question, how do you adjust intonation on a uke? I'm not a uke player, but the intonation on this thing is pretty terrible!



Thanks in advance!
 
My husband is in the process of painting a uke for me.. This is about what he is doing somewhat making it up as he is going a long... I highly recommend using painters tape and if you are using a brush to paint around those areas to dry brush so the tape seals down and paint doesn't seep under the tape.
My husband didn't use any spray he is prefers a brush.. Here's a link to some photos if you didn't see the post already.. Good luck and be sure to share your results!

Photos:http://picasaweb.google.com/Fitncrafty/PaintedUkuleleProgress?feat=directlink
 
By the way, this is a slightly off-topic question, how do you adjust intonation on a uke? I'm not a uke player, but the intonation on this thing is pretty terrible!

We should start a thread about fixing intonation, unless someone knows of an existing thread. Maybe even a sticky. If no one links an existing thread or sticky I will start one, give it a day...
 
Kevin... I can help you with this one. Check out this link on my own website to see a couple of recent painted ukes I just completed and sold.

http://www.timross.com/site_pages/ukulele_page.html

First thing first... I highly recommend you first paint a base coat with what is known at "bonding primer." It's readily available at any and all hardware stores. After that dries (very quickly) it can then be sanded. ALL of the pores will be filled and the resulting design work will be much easier to paint. One other thing... the tape you want to use is called, Artist's Tape. Any good art supply store will have it. It is THEE best for masking. It's sticks well and will produce a very clean barrier from the painted area. It's white tape with a sort of thick paper feel on the surface. Works GREAT! Hope this helps!
 
Thank you so much for all the responses!

Just to provide a little bit more details, this ukulele feels very raw.
You can clearly see the mahogany grain, and FEEL the grain like as if it were just cut out of a tree. So painting it might be a pain because the surface is really rough, and it would almost feel like painting an un-sanded plank of wood.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI...95872&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT#ht_1435wt_1141

The ukulele really does feel as rough as it looks when you rub your finger on the body. So would some fine sanding, followed by "bonding primer" do the trick?
 
Kevin... Yaaa the bonding primer will REALLY help. I always paint rough finish ukes because they take the bonding primer in so completely. It's very smooth stuff but it's desgined to fills smalls holes... that's how it does what it does. And hesitate to used a second coat of primer... I AWLAYS do. It will fill in those little pourous places very well. You'll be good to go! Enjoy the process. You will soon have a one-of-a-kind custom uke! Aloha y'all!
 
Thanks again for the responses.

this is the book I used to get a good finish
http://www.paintyourownguitar.com/
Just got the ebook for that. It's very thorough with the procedures, I might try that out with my guitars.

But in this case it only partially applies for my uke, because I'll be using a brush to paint instead of just spray paint.

Kevin... Yaaa the bonding primer will REALLY help. I always paint rough finish ukes because they take the bonding primer in so completely. It's very smooth stuff but it's desgined to fills smalls holes... that's how it does what it does. And hesitate to used a second coat of primer... I AWLAYS do. It will fill in those little pourous places very well. You'll be good to go! Enjoy the process. You will soon have a one-of-a-kind custom uke! Aloha y'all!
Just wanna be sure, would bonding primer be available at any hardware store? Also, do you think sanding would be necessary for my ukulele? I don't think it has any finish on it.

What is the best paint to use for painting a uke? I thought Acrylic was what most people use, I could be wrong though...


Thanks again!!
 
I have painted a few with acrylics and I tend to first, cut them 1:1 with water. When I am done, I hit them with a water based Poly and sand to 400, and then go over it with 0000 steel wool, then apply a second coat of poly. Seems to work pretty well for what I have done- see the pics in my albums (on my CBU's)
 
I have painted a few with acrylics and I tend to first, cut them 1:1 with water. When I am done, I hit them with a water based Poly and sand to 400, and then go over it with 0000 steel wool, then apply a second coat of poly. Seems to work pretty well for what I have done- see the pics in my albums (on my CBU's)

still seems like acrylic would dampen the sound a lot.
 
just wanted to ask how did it go? I also wish to repaint mine

So my Richwood ukulele arrived today, workmanship isn't the best, but it's a pretty cheap uke so I couldn't ask for more!

I love the Satin finish, it just feels like it could be sanded down a lot better.

By the way, this will be my first painting project so I may need some advice.

Here's what I might do,

1) Sand off the whole ukulele except the bridge and fretboard

2) Tape all areas which are not being painted with normal tape (would the normal transparent tape do?)

3) Spray paint the whole body with the base colour

4) Use acrylic paint with a brush to paint the design

5) Wait for everything to dry, then spray a few layers of Clearcoat



Is that the correct procedure?



By the way, this is a slightly off-topic question, how do you adjust intonation on a uke? I'm not a uke player, but the intonation on this thing is pretty terrible!



Thanks in advance!

Hi! Im new here so sorry if replying to this is wrong i am a little confused on posting and replying anyway how did it go for you? I wish to repaint mine too.
 
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