Advice for Painting A Uke

Axemaniac88 · Nov 23, 2016

Hi guys, just looking a quick bit of advice - I've got a cheapie soprano uke that's been scratched a good bit and I thought about giving it a new lick of paint and also maybe add a small design to it.

I've already sanded it lightly enough where the original paint finish has been taken off, and it's nice and smooth now. I was thinking of painting a base layer of black, but just wanted to check if I should use a primer before or would it be ok just going ahead with a thin layer of black specialist paint straight onto it?

Any help (and further design ideas) are much appreciated!

Rllink · Nov 23, 2016

Good question. I have an old one that I want to paint and make it have a distressed look to it. Not sure how to do that. I've tried that on other things before, and it hasn't come out the way I want it to. I don't want to experiment with my ukulele.

Doxuke · Nov 23, 2016

I've painted a lot of wooden furniture and decorative items, some have been raw wood and some have had prior finishes. I've used craft paint, chalk paint or milk paint. Craft paints are very easy to use, as long as you sand the item first, then use a base coat. That allows the paint to adhere to the wood. I coat it with a sealer to protect it. If you use milk paint, no base coat is necessary. Just sand, wipe off and paint. Milk paint is permanent and can be scuffed or sanded along the edges to give an aged appearance. It comes in great colors, too. Chalk paint is another way to give an older, distressed look and it's very easy to use.

PhilUSAFRet · Nov 23, 2016

Here's one source of guidance. Lots of cool designs on google images: http://www.instructables.com/id/How-To-Paint-A-Ukulele/

Nickie · Nov 25, 2016

My friend Nancy Blauers, an artist, is really good at this. You can find her on facebook. She even built one of her own ukes.

Axemaniac88 · Dec 1, 2016

Hi guys, thanks for all the help and suggestions on this!

Currently, it is painted black, with the intention of adding a few small silver stars to the body and potentially painting the fretboard as a rainbow (my wife might end up using it so wants something snazzy!).

The first thing I did was to lightly sand off the paintwork (glossed natural finish on the front and burgundy around the back, sides and neck), exposing the wood but not sanding down into it.

Next, I used black acrylic spray paint and sprayed the whole body, let it dry (in this case as it was black, a 2nd coat wasn't needed)

All that's left now is to get some star stencils and rainbow spray paint and we should be done!

Joyful Uke · Dec 1, 2016

I hope that you'll post a photo once you're done. Sounds like it's going to look great!

Rllink · Dec 1, 2016

Axemaniac88 said:
Hi guys, thanks for all the help and suggestions on this!

Currently, it is painted black, with the intention of adding a few small silver stars to the body and potentially painting the fretboard as a rainbow (my wife might end up using it so wants something snazzy!).

The first thing I did was to lightly sand off the paintwork (glossed natural finish on the front and burgundy around the back, sides and neck), exposing the wood but not sanding down into it.

Next, I used black acrylic spray paint and sprayed the whole body, let it dry (in this case as it was black, a 2nd coat wasn't needed)

All that's left now is to get some star stencils and rainbow spray paint and we should be done!

Good for you. I've been convinced by those close to me that I don't need to paint a Puerto Rican flag on my Makala and that I should leave well enough alone, but I would like to see how your's turned out.

Axemaniac88 · Dec 2, 2016

Thanks guys, I'll definitely post a few pics once I finally put the lacquer layer on it and get it restrung! Went for a slight change in direction with the finish - I quite liked the simplicity of the black so tried to think how to add to it without going overboard. In the end I came across a sparkle/glitter spray paint which gives it a slight more "cosmic" style. Will hopefully post pics of the final job in the next day or so.

A couple of pics of the Uke in question pre and post-sanding...

Axemaniac88 · Dec 5, 2016

Thanks Bill1 - I might acquire another uke and have a go at it!

This is the finished job below - tried to keep it as simple as possible and it seems to have come out ok. Still plays as well and sounds good - managed to keep the paint quite thin!

Ziret · Dec 5, 2016

Looks great. Let us know how it holds up.

Axemaniac88 · Dec 6, 2016

Ziret said:
Looks great. Let us know how it holds up.

Thank you! I shall do - although it's only been a few days, so far in terms of sound it's no different. Hopefully will stay that way!

Advice for Painting A Uke

Axemaniac88

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Rllink

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Doxuke

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PhilUSAFRet

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Nickie

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Axemaniac88

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Joyful Uke

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Rllink

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Axemaniac88

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