Lookin for honest opinions..

Tudorp

Tudorp

Big guy with a lil' uke..
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Fokes.. I know the folk here are kind foke. BUT, in this thread, not looking for kind. Looking for honest opinions on the looks of the buttons on these. I shown some of these before I did to the buttons on a couple of my ukes.. This is a set I done today. Personally I like em because they are something different. But I am wanting some of your personal opinions. It is a technique I developed for relicing button heads, and also found out it will also relic chrome and nickel parts. Kinda cool. It actually weathers the metal parts as well as the plastic, without actually rusting them, or making them non functional. Here are some geared tuners I reliced using the technique. The buttons to me look cool and random, kinda like stone, or some other natural mineral. The metal looks old and tarnished.

Do others like this look? be brutaly honest. Im tough, I can take it..

relictuners.jpg
 
On a dark wood uke they look awesome. I wouldnt use em on a bright glossy uke or one made with a bright coloured wood. But try them anyway coz im probarly wrong.
BTW post some pictures when there set up.
 
I'm not really into a relic look, but they remind me of an article from about 10 years ago about a guy who bought a new longboard and didn't want his wife to know so he had brown and yellowing water/ding areas airbrushed on the foam so his wife would think it was his old beat up board.

Not sure if there is a market for that, but who knows.

John
 
Well, ... **adjusts cap**

The buttons look relic'd ... as in "someone left the uke in the basement when it flooded" relic'd. Shouldn't they look more "weathered by playing in the sun and worn down by millions of dirty finger-turns" relic'd?

Can I take my brutally-honest cap off now?
 
I agree, put them on a dark wood with no gloss and you'll have a winner!!!!
 
There is actually a huge market for reliced hardware. For guitars anyway. Personally I don't like fake reliced guitars, unless it is actually reliced, and ya need to put a part back on to match it's already reliced peice. Not sure if that is also with ukes, but relic guitars are huge. Ya might have noticed over the last several years, many mainstream artists out there play guitars that are worn, and reliced in performances, when they used to only use those guitars for practice. Now, it is considered a badge of honor for a seasoned musician to be playing a vintage, or scuffed up guitar that shows it's gritty rough road life. \

Good point about on a light colored uke. Might not look right. I have a set I have done on my Ohana (it is somewhere on the forum), as well as on Bango my Banjole. But those are dark colored ukes, and look pretty good on those.. These specific tuners have no home. They are just out of my parts box for uke projects. I'll find something soon to put them on tho..
 
I work in another restoration field, and putting a shiny new part on a vintage object looks really bad. i think you have a good look there, and in the right situation, your service would be valuable. Unless something is totally falling apart, I like to restore to a vintage look. If it is totally beat and near death, restoring to new is what I prefer. each potential customer will have to decide.

take care,

Tom
 
GVlog said:
Shouldn't they look more "weathered by playing in the sun and worn down by millions of dirty finger-turns" relic'd?
Click to expand...

In a nutshell, yes. You do want relic, but you don't want "abused". This were right out of the pot, so I need to clean them up some, because they look like they were in a coffee can with a bunch of nuts and bolts that was left in the rain for a season. But, after they are wiped down, the metal is just duller, and not as bright, and kind of blotchy a little, like what age does to metal. The buttons are what I was going for, to get a random earthy mineral color. These were done longer, and more extreme than the ones I did on some of the earlier ones.

Yes, you can take the cap off now, I got what I was looking for.. ;)
 
engravertom said:
Unless something is totally falling apart, I like to restore to a vintage look. If it is totally beat and near death, restoring to new is what I prefer.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Anything that is vintage I like to keep the vintage history intact if possible to do and it still be useable. But like ya said, basket cases, go all out and make it better than new.
 
I like um! Pretty cool look, but I agree probably better on a dark uke.
 
Aloha Tudorp,
They would look good on my KPK Deluxe Tenor. Good job, looks great, like it alot...........................BO....................
 
Tudorp said:
Now, it is considered a badge of honor for a seasoned musician to be playing a vintage, or scuffed up guitar that shows it's gritty rough road life. \
Click to expand...
Like Willie Nelson and his beloved "Trigger"? :p

I like the effect on the buttons a lot. The tuners would go with a certain look for older instruments.

Made me think of when my aunt had their kitchen remodeled and the "distressed" look was all the rage. She said they had all these huge key rings with tons of keys on them and they literally threw them at the cabinets to ding them up.
 
mm stan said:
Wonder how they would look with a clear coat for protection.....hmmm what ya think???
Click to expand...

Actually the staining of them, is permanant. After I get the randomness I am looking for, I air dry them. Once they are air dried, then I have taken them and tried, and tried to rub the effect off, you can not rub it off. It is there for good. BUT< that said, you can put them back in the solution for a minute or two and it will take it off, but it wont ever be white again, you will get the same effect, just a different pattern. Kinda cool. Believe, me, I rubbed and rubbed very hard with a rough thumb, a rough towel etc to try and rub the affect off, it is permanant.. ;)
 
Actually, I think I am going to play with something that is kind of goofy, but I think I can do it with some manipulation as the solution airdries. The blotchy areas, like the worm looking formation on the 2nd from the right. I can manipulate that pattern to a degree, and I think I can do things like initials, maybe a simple silhouette etc. as it sets, and once it is set, it's on there..

Hmmm... Goofy, but I think it can be done.. I feel another science project coming up.. lol
 
Am a lapidary, and at first glance I thought they were made out of Jasper, or petrified coral, or??? Very cool if they compliment the right stain on a uke. Very cool, but then as I said, I'm a lapidary and am a little biased. I would put some on my uke!!!!!!!!!!!!

After much thought, I had to edit my post to more accurately reflect my "honest opinion"....................... I FREAKING LOVE THEM!

See PM tudorp
 
Last edited:
Me like em and would be real stoked if you could get colors like these:)
funnel-fractal-art.jpg

Huge market if you could pull that off w/ the Dead heads like me trying to play a 45 minute Dark Star on uke....
 
I think those buttons, without the distressed metal, would be great on a spalted wood like maple or mango uke. For trying to match a new replacement tuner on a vintage instrument, I think it would be very helpful. I kind of don't go for the artificial vintage idea though (pre-torn jeans or hats, new banged up furniture, etc). I am very careful with my stuff, so dings, rust, and dull spots are not my favorite look.
 
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