Got a little chip out on my uke...

VVVLion

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Hello everyone,
Something sad just happened...
My dearest roomie accidentally hit my alarm clock with my uke:(,
then I got a little chip out on the head of my Kamaka.(not the alarm clock...= =")
The wood cracked a little bit, some wood dust came off from that crack, and the finish came off, too.:wallbash:
Should I send it back to Kamaka to get it repaired? Will they accept it?
I'm too scared to repair it myself (I'm been reading some threads...), I might actually screw it up...
I'm thinking about putting a sticker on it (made with 3M Cutting Sheet)
(since seeing the chip on the head is so painful, and I can see it every time I when I play or tune it...),
but will that do any harm to it?
What should I do?
I would like to know the best option I've got...
Any help would be appreciated.:)
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I have no experience at all, but I would probably cover it with something close to that color and forget it. I do feel your pain, though. I have brown furniture oil I use to cover similar dings in furniture. Good luck!
 
If you play your uke like it was meant to be...you are going to ding it...

I would not send to Kamaka as if they did take it(which I doubt) since not a major repair...but if you really wanted them to do it...a repair will take at least 6 months or longer....

Email Tekla and ask...good luck!
 
Battle wound! Just adds character lol. I've already dinged mine up a few times and it still sounds perfect so I have no worries. I mean I don't have a Kamaka, so I'd probably be a little pissed, but there's not much you can do so I wouldn't dread on it.
 
The first ding is the deepest...

I felt the same way when I got the first ding in my Kamaka concert but a little sparingly applied lemon oil (for instruments), hid the ding quite well.

Now I don't notice it, or even think about it... until I read threads like this!;)
 
Ouch—I know that feeling! But you know what? I've come to realize that what appears to me to be a giant gaping wound is usually invisible to the rest of the world. And I have to remind myself that I bought the uke to play, not to preserve behind a glass display case. That is a very small ding indeed, and in a place that won't have any impact on the sound or your playing at all. I bet soon you won't give it a second thought.
 
Wow...I can pretty much guarantee that nobody but you even notices that little mark. If it really bothers you that much you could darken it a little with something close to the same color and then rub it good with a couple of coats of paste wax.

It probably won't be the last battle scar that the instrument gets. :)

John
 
I wouldn't worry about that. It's all part of the history of the instrument now. Besides, trying to "fix" it can sometimes make it worse. If you are dead set on trying to though, there are ways. Sometimes you can get dents out as long as none of the wood is actually missing by taking a soldering iron and a damp towel (not dripping wet). Keeping the towel damp, lay it on the "wound" and rub the shaft of a heated soldering iron back and forth over it, checking often. You can steam a dent out like that in many cases. If you don't have a soldering iron, a tip of a clothes iron will work just as well. But again, I would just play it, and enjoy it, and tell the story of the dent.. ;)
 
If you want it perfect, take it to your local luthier. But, rather than spend between 50 and 150 bucks, I'd put a tiny bit of nail polish over it and forget it. This is nothing.
 
Have you seen the movie Cars 2? They get a little philosophical about dings. Might make you feel better (?)
 
If you want it perfect, take it to your local luthier. But, rather than spend between 50 and 150 bucks, I'd put a tiny bit of nail polish over it and forget it. This is nothing.

This is the best advice, IMO. Clear finger nail polish is good for many things. You can let it dry and apply more coats. Don't make the individual coats too thick. It's better to apply thin coats, let it dry, and them apply another coat, etc.. Also works great on the thread that hols the ferrules on fishing rods.

Oops! My bad! I didn't look at the "ding" before posting. You could just leave it; The wood does not appear to be cracked in any of your pics. I have some dings in my horns so I can empathize with your pain.
 
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Battle wound! Just adds character lol. I've already dinged mine up a few times and it still sounds perfect so I have no worries. I mean I don't have a Kamaka, so I'd probably be a little pissed, but there's not much you can do so I wouldn't dread on it.

This. I have dings, I have scratches and I have dings I didn't put there. And it's not a Kamaka. It's a custom. It distresses me, but I keep telling myself "Willie Nelson".
 
Repairing scratches in lacquer are one thing, filling dents and dings is another. Lacquer is mostly solvents with a little bit of solids mixed in. Once you apply lacquer to an are it "melts" all other previous coats. This will create a halo of softened lacquer around the repair. It could take 20 fillings to build up a dent sufficiently. This is done over a period of days or weeks to give previous coats time to dry. Then you'll need to wait a month or two for the lacquer to totally dry before leveling and finishing. But the real problem with repairing lacquer is the shrinkage that occurs in the repair area. It'll look great the day you finish it. The next day you may see a hint of depression where the lacquer has shrunk back. In a month it'll look like a crater. This will be most obvious on a flat surfaces such as the front or back of the uke. In your case the damage is on an edge and isn't as noticeable. You can attempt to repair it and you may even get it to look better but at best it'll never be invisible. With that in mind I would just put a couple of drops of lacquer on the chip to seal the wood and make it less visible and be done with it. Remember that pimple you picked at as a kid that you should've left alone?
 
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Wow, man. Talk to anyone who plays out with an instrument, subjecting it to falling microphones, tripping band mates, drunk customers, and host of other dangers. You should see David Grisman's Loyd Loar! If it wasn't his, you'd probably think he ruined it! But he was determined to play it from the first - and play it he did - and bang it and ding it, etc. Not the same level, or anything close, but all of the instruments I use professionally - and some that I leave at home - are dinged up. None are in bad, neglected condition, but if you play em you'll ding em. It's even dangerous taking them out of the case with those sharp case latches.

Hard to accept sometimes, but so true.

I'm a recovering OCD professional musician - oh the pain of it!

Doug
 
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Take a look at the late SRV's Strat, lol.. And the aformentioned Willie Nelson's guitars. Hell, it's a huge fad these days to play road weary instruments these days.. Your in style now.. Own it.. ;)
 
I understand the dings and such you get from playing but it looks like bare (raw) wood in those pictures. Shouldn't it be covered with something? It looks like a good size to my eyes but then maybe I'm projecting.
 
I had a ding about that size in a Pono I bought used...knew about it ahead of time. Took it to my local luthier (an extremely reasonable and skilled one)
The ding is now invisible and I can't even find it. Didn't cost a lot.
 
If it were mine, I wouldn't touch it....I'd let it be a reminder to be more careful...I'd rather play mine than try to get the boogers out of the finishes....
 
Oh man that is so sad...I'd color match the scratch and fill it in ......with what every you choose and sand and buff...
 
To hibiscus:
Thank you for answering!:)
 
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