Finish chipped - Easy fix?

[necessaryrooster]

Just bought a uke that has a chip in the finish on the heel (pics attached). How can this be fixed? Does the whole neck need to be refinished or can that spot just be sanded down with finish re-applied? Is this an easy/common job for a luthier to do? Meaning, can I take it to any random guitar repair shop and get a decent fix or should I look for someone specifically skilled in this kind of thing?

In the meantime, is there anything I can do to make sure this doesn't get worse (besides leaving the uke in its case until I can get it repaired)?

 

[Sporky]

No idea about the finish but that light eucalyptus is so nice

 

[badhabits]

you might look into CA...often used to fill cracks

 

[Peter Frary]

You can fill it with lacquer. You can still see the damage but it will look much better. SM even sells lacquer sticks for that very purpose.

 

[Poul Hansen]

You can fill it with lacqeur or CA glue and polish it but finish is never easy, if it must be near invisible.

Don't touch it with grease fingers or just stick some clear tape over it.

 

[Nickie]

Ouch! What a shame, I hope you get it fixed! Then please show us pics of the whole ukulele!

 

[necessaryrooster]

Ouch! What a shame, I hope you get it fixed! Then please show us pics of the whole ukulele!

Here's the whole uke! It's an Ohana CK450QEL. Solid quilted eucalyptus, mahogany neck, rosewood fingerboard. I got it used in a music store, but there was a Uke Republic sticker inside the case, so I'm guessing that's where the original owner got it from (although I can't find the original listing, so they must have bought it in the store before it was ever listed on the website). Pretty sure also that this one was a factory second, as this was a limited edition model from 2018 but on Ohana's website, the LE only has a maple fret marker at the 12th fret and this one has normal side dots on 5, 7, 10, and 12. It does have a very lovely stripe of maple up the back of the neck, though.

 

[Nickie]

Very pretty!