Gloss over a satin finish???

Ok, I've been wanting to ask this for a while but kept bottling it because to you guys its probably the single most ridiculous question ever posed. Is there any good reason why a gloss finish cant be applied to a Uke which has a satin or matte finish already? I have a mahogany uke, beautiful grain and I would much prefer a gloss finish but I dont know if it will work?

If you buff it enough, the matte finish will get shiny.

It can be done as long as the new material is compatible with the original, or if sufficient coat/coats is/are applied of a material compatible with both, in between. (Side benefit: If you apply enough coats, you can make the uke nearly silent for practicing purposes.)

If you want to do this, best to determine what type of finish is on the piece first and use similar.

You have to know what the original finish is, plain and simple. If the finish is the newer polyurethanes, nothing is going to stick to it once it has cured. The best solution is to try a buff it out to a gloss finish, but this may not be possible with all poly finishes. If the finish is lacquer. shellac or oil then you can apply new finish to the old to get a gloss look if you know how to do it.

Not ridiculous.....as a matter of fact - I have an eleuke SLT - it's a beautiful blue color, but I, too would love to "gloss it"......It's flame maple and the grain is quite nice.

BlackBearUkes said:

You have to know what the original finish is, plain and simple. If the finish is the newer polyurethanes, nothing is going to stick to it once it has cured. The best solution is to try a buff it out to a gloss finish, but this may not be possible with all poly finishes. If the finish is lacquer. shellac or oil then you can apply new finish to the old to get a gloss look if you know how to do it.

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Thanks everyone for replying, the finish on it at the moment is satin, more than that I don't know. Really appreciate all the input guys, thank you.

Hi, rightly of wrongly I've done this a few times , mainly because when I've repaired a satin finished instrument I haven't been able to replicate the finish. So in those areas its been easier to make the finish gloss and then add a matt texture latter if necessary or leave as gloss. The simplest way is using meguires mirror glaze 'show car glaze 7'. I believe the meguires doesn't have silicone in it so its not a problem to refinish if you don't like ,it simply polishes out the satin into a high polish, you can remove swirls with their mirror glaze 'clear plastic polish 10' if necessary and done .
Its quick and easy, I guess it might not have the precision of rubbing down and then polishing, buffing or respraying, but its got its own softness/warmth as a finish,
all the best, mark

There are a few threads on getting a satin finish to gloss. Look up the one Bao started up with his Kala Acacia tenor. Raecarter did his up and I followed his technique using the same polish and it worked on my uke (Kala acacia concert). Some other owners have tried the car polish method and have ruined the finish possibly from removing the entire finish? If you plan on doing the headstock as well, keep in mind that if your uke has a transfer type logo and not inlay, polishing it may remove it.

Found it...

http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/f...ss-up-our-ukuleles&highlight=polishing+acacia

Word of warning, if you go the polishing route test it on a small area on the back first. I wouldn't want yours to end up like mine.
http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/f...acia-Tenor-All-Dressed-Up&p=782008#post782008

Regardless if you go the route of buffing to a higher sheen, or sanding flat for a bit of 'tooth' applying some layers, and buffing again, you are potentially opening up a huge can of worms. If this is a newly finished uke, or you know it's entire history, let the original finisher do this for you. If you are a professional finisher, it is possible that you might find some surprises. If you are not a finisher, you may get lucky. Also, it may not be possible to get the level of clarity you are looking for do to the flatting agents in the existing finish. If you like this instrument, be careful. Really, even with buffing there is some danger, as if the instrument has been buffed ( likely by the original finisher who knows how thick the finish is, and how vigorously it can be bufed) you may not be able to tell how thick the finish is near the edges, and once you burn through, it is too late.


If the finish is satin, and well rubbed out, using some fine finishing polish may do the trick...


Caution....!

Might be better to add another uke to the collection, and either keep this one, or let it go..

Chris_H said:

Might be better to add another uke to the collection, and either keep this one, or let it go..

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Good advice! Once you start, there's no going back so you can potentially ruin the uke's finish. When I did my Kala acacia, I knew that Raecarter and another UU member had done theirs successfully so I wasn't too worried since i had the same family of ukes. It took 12-13hrs of hand rubbing. I did it once, I thought about doing the same to my acacia tenor but did the math and figured it wasn't worth the effort. Easier to sell it and put the money towards another uke with a gloss finish if you're not attached to the current one. Hey, it's all in the name of UAS. Ya just got another excuse to buy a new uke. lol

Yes Totally agree with Chris H and Trinimon, I've spent hours if not days, putting back a finish on so something that took seconds to start. Time offset against simply buying a new one in gloss, so much less stress and more time to play. mark

I suppose it's more reflective of me than anything else, but I just don't understand why anyone would ruin a lovely satin finish by turning it into high-gloss.

Then again, I also don't understand the appeal of those super low profile tires, spinning rims, giant jewelry, or any of that, either.

Aloha PoiDog, yeah, I have to admit, it was just cosmetics. I wish Kala made them in a gloss finish to begin with. Not a fan of the satin. I liked it at the start but the gloss won me over.