Cleaning Enya Carbon Composite

[BBegall]

I recently bought a tenor model of this ukulele in white. I travel with it and use it to practice in my back yard.

It has quickly taken on a yellow cast and I'd like to whiten it up a bit.

The Enya composite probably gives me quite a bit of leeway in cleaners and products to try but I wondered if someone has already solved this.

 

[besley]

Well the white finish is just paint of some type, probably automotive. And white paint does tend to yellow in the sun. You might be able to whiten it up with some rubbing compound, or some cleaner-wax combination. But I suspect any attempt will lead to an overall blotchy appearance.

 

[Kenn2018]

Contact Enya and see what they suggest. They have very good customer support.

They may also be surprised that the finish is already yellowing.

 

[TaoCat]

If you don't hear from Enya, I'd suggest using a good polycarbonate cleaner. They're designed to not interact with polycarbonate and often work well. As the uke is polycarbonate and carbon fiber, I'd be careful of other cleaners or detergents. Polycarbonate is strong,, but itcan be finicky. There's a number on the market that work, but I usually use Novus.

 

[besley]

If you don't hear from Enya, I'd suggest using a good polycarbonate cleaner. They're designed to not interact with polycarbonate and often work well. As the uke is polycarbonate and carbon fiber, I'd be careful of other cleaners or detergents. Polycarbonate is strong,, but itcan be finicky. There's a number on the market that work, but I usually use Novus.

Well the Novus system might be interesting to try, but the surface of the white Enya is NOT bare polycarbonate - it's painted. I'd be surprised if the Novus doesn't rub the paint clean off.

 

[TaoCat]

Well the Novus system might be interesting to try, but the surface of the white Enya is NOT bare polycarbonate - it's painted. I'd be surprised if the Novus doesn't rub the paint clean off.

It's designed not to be abrasive. Polycarbonate has a tough reputation, being the material used in bullet-proof "glass," but the surface is surprisingly delicate and prone to scratching. It's great at withstanding impacts, abrasions not so much.

 

[BBegall]

Would anyone consider using paint? Perhaps a light spray coat.

 

[rainbow21]

Would anyone consider using paint? Perhaps a light spray coat.

That might yellow quickly too. I would only try this if you mess up on another method.

 

[Nickie]

Wow, I didn't know the Enya composite ukes are painted. I mistakenly thought that they had die put in the composite mix.
I wonder if the white paint can be stripped down to the bare surface to be repainted?
Only Enya would know, I guess.

I own a white car, and it's a b---h to keep clean. Yesterday I had to literally scrub the crap from a laurel oak tree off and then polish it, hoping the polish will repel the crap from the tree. (there is no place else to park the car).
Now I fully understand why laurel oaks are banned in some European countries. They are 80% of the tree population here, unfortunately.
But I digress....sorry.

 

[BBegall]

Is it the Enya Nova U Pro Ukulele White model that is currently advertised for $129 on the Enya website?

The Enya website says there is a one year warranty on materials, so if it is less than a year old, it should be subject to warranty. If you have owned it more than a year, it may not have warranty.

Looking at the photo on the Enya site, it should be easy to respray if you take off the tuners and tape up the fretboard. If you don't like the colour find a colour you like and respray it. If it has automotive paint, you need to check out paint which is compatible with automotive paints.

Personally I would let it yellow and age to make it look old and used. Beausage. Maybe I would put a choice sticker on it that has a good shade of blue to go with the yellow. Its a $129 uke. Have some fun with the decorations?

I've considered just letting it yellow. I'm not a fan of decorations or painting pictures on ukuleles but I might consider a color change or a coat of white. As you note, it's an inexpensive ukulele so I'm willing to try things or just live with the yellow.

I also contacted Enya to see what they say about remedies but I wouldn't expect it to be a warranty issue.