The Finish on the Kanilea

SuzukHammer

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 2, 2010
Messages
1,623
Reaction score
1
is damned tough. I've been waiting for my first strum mark to make its mark and I have yet to see one.

I also seem to put alot of forearm sweat and sometime belly sweat on a uke and maybe a little fried chicken grease and the finish can be wiped to a fresh new shine.

That is value!!!
 
Its a K-1 and it would seem to me to be "very glossy".

If it was satin, I probably would have slept with it already. :)
 
I heard even the glossy finish doesn't scratch on the Kanilea!! I got tons on my Kamaka, but I just use some GHS polish and it goes away :p
 
I heard even the glossy finish doesn't scratch on the Kanilea!! I got tons on my Kamaka, but I just use some GHS polish and it goes away :p

Thanks for the suggestion for my other ukes. I am sure my strum marks are superficial. I just needed to know how to buff them out.
 
I know, right? I could use it as a desk and the thing wouldn't scratch. I like for ukes to have a played-in look, for the most part. I've never managed to get an instrument looking like that just through playing, but it's an ongoing goal. Having said that, it's nice to have a pretty one that looks as great as it sounds.
 
Plainsong, I think if I had bought this Kanilea first in my uke learning, I likely would have been upset with any purchases afterwards.

Just tonight, this Kanilea had me sounding like I've been playing for years.

I am really really impressed with my Kanilea. Saying that, I know I sampled 6 beforehand and only wanted 1 other. I wonder if I'd bought one from online if I'd be just as impressed. This one definitely responds to me. I wonder if I sample the others wrong maybe because I don't want to bang up a new uke. Now that I know the finish will take any of my strums or picking, maybe I can sample other Kanileas with a bit more aggression.

Which is interesting because the second I knew I was goign to buy it, I started to really play the Kanilea hard in the store cause I didn't care if I nicked it - I was already going to buy it. That was fun - sampling without a care to the consequences.
 
Its a K-1 and it would seem to me to be "very glossy".

If it was satin, I probably would have slept with it already. :)

I've got the satin finish and it is just droolicious. I can't yet vouch for how the finish holds up to use (I've only had it for a month), but so far it still looks as if it were hanging in the showroom. The best part of owning this has to be the anticipation of how it as an instrument will grow with me as a player, and visa versa.
 
The Kanilea gloss finish is polyester. I talked extensively with Joe before he made the leap to poly. Done right...which Joe does...it's an incredible finish; thin, tough, and very transparent. The advances in finish materials in the past few years are pretty amazing. Not sure what he's doing for satin, but it could very well be a catalyzed urethane...not quite as tough as polyester, but still very durable.
 
I've been doing some hard strumming on my satin tenor for going-on two years, and it still looks like the day I took it home from Ukulele Source in San Jose. There was some initial concern that it might show forearm perspiration stain, but nothing so far.
 
I know, right? I could use it as a desk and the thing wouldn't scratch. I like for ukes to have a played-in look, for the most part. I've never managed to get an instrument looking like that just through playing, but it's an ongoing goal. Having said that, it's nice to have a pretty one that looks as great as it sounds.

Welcome back, Plainsong. Nice to see you back here.
 
LOL, I love the humor. I've always wondered how Classical violinists, violists, cellists, and the like keep their instruments so beautiful. Ever noticed how much rosin is on a Bluegrass or jazz fiddle? I used to wipe mine off, and even used the same brand and hardness of rosin that Classical musician use, but lots of players don't. It just comes right back...
Then you have guitarists like Willie Nelson beat the heck outta their guitars so bad, their luthiers have to replace the tops!
 
Welcome back, Plainsong. Nice to see you back here.

Thanks, it's nice to be back. We can all blame Joeybug. She convinced me I shouldn't be afraid to log back in and post. :)

Sadly I didn't get to choose my Kanile'a. MGM had this gorgeous K1 dlx superconcert and Grandpa thought I should get that for Christmas. I can't imagine what needs improving upon it though. I had a local uke-friendly luthier put in a MiSi, and lower the action at the saddle, and that really made it perfect for me. There's nothing like having someone who knows what they're doing dial in the setup specifically for your hands in the shop.

At first the distance between the strings and the tenor neck was intimidating, but now? It feels just lovely. The only other change was ebony bridge pins.
 
Top Bottom