Things I done to a Martin S1 Uke

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AustinHing

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So I finally done things to my precious S1..

New Gotoh UPTL installed!

Sent to a luthier for the job for I do not have the skills or tools to do a proper installation.

Would like to thank Maestro Guitar for the early delivery on the job well done!

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I love my Gotohs on my S1, I was a bit worried at first, as generally I like to keep tuners original, but no complaints here.
Took me a while to settle on Worth Brown strings, tried a few, just didnt tick the box for me, but Worths are my S1 strings from now on.
 
Dansimpson said:
I love my Gotohs on my S1, I was a bit worried at first, as generally I like to keep tuners original, but no complaints here.
Took me a while to settle on Worth Brown strings, tried a few, just didnt tick the box for me, but Worths are my S1 strings from now on.
Click to expand...

That sounds great! Same here, there’s no going back as the Gotohs need bigger mounting holes compared to the Grovers. But I’m glad I went with it. The tuning is now much smoother. No more twisting the hell out of them! And the gold really made the S1 from an average Joe to something classier. Now I’m thinking of adding a matching strap button just for the looks!

I’m still preferring the Martin strings for S1 though. Loved the barking raspy sound it made. I do have the Worth brown laying somewhere and maybe someday will give it a shot.
 
Just a rant, so don’t mind me...

So.. my Martin M600 strings were getting pretty worn out and so I did a string change to the Worth brown (high g) on my S1.

No offence to any worth brown fans but I took an immediate dislike to the sound. I had it on other ukes and it’s great on those. In fact, I have a low-g worth brown on my tenor and it sounded lovely.

But on the S1, it just sounds dead to me. That familiar bark is gone and the S1 has a deep voice now. Like a boy whose voice is breaking. Weird kind of deep. Perhaps the worth brown is more suited for a concert size, I don’t know. Another thing is that the worth brown is actually stiffer and not as flexible as the M600.

Lucky for me, I got my last spare pack of Martin strings and put them on. All is well now. Again, this is personal preference. so if you like Worth brown on your S1, I’d totally understand it and nothing against it.

But after this episode, I know that the only strings set that ever to be on the S1 is the Martin M600 and I need to run out later to get more spare packs in case of zombie outbreak, which is pretty much anytime soon.
 
Hi, just checking if anyone tried using shoe wax polish on their ukeleles? I read that people are using this stuff or turtle wax. I’m not looking for a gloss finish but something a bit better than the current dull finish. :D

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Well, this stuff works!

I don’t have a before, but here’s the original top.
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The back that I’m working on for like 15min.
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That's interesting. I've found the newer S1's I've seen to have a dry texture that never appealed to me. That finish, and a 12 fret bridge might sell me on one. :p
 
Ok, some good and bad news on the shoe wax polishing.

Good news is the back is now a hand-shined shimmery gloss rather than just a satin finish.
And bad news, as the S1 grains are not filled when I did this. So now, the some of the deeper grains are filled with the wax and it’s whitish. Not looking so nice.

I have been rubbing hard to pull those wax out but it’s not possible to get all out. So I’m thinking of having a flame glaze over those parts, hoping the wax will melt out. Should I be concerned? I’ve done this to shoes, not ukulele. :rolleyes:

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I suppose you could try it. What could go wrong?

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I use Renaissance Micro-Crystalline Wax Polish on my Martin S1.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Renaissance-Micro-Crystalline-Wax-65/dp/B001UON1CY
It only gives a sheen not a high gloss finish.
But then I like the rustic look of the S1.

As for strings I use Martin M600. I really don't like Worth Browns.
The tuners on my S1 are the originals and work just fine.

To get rid of the shoe polish I would try a cloth moistened with a little White Spirit(UK name)
Then a soft fine bristle brush to clean out the ingrained stuff.(old tooth brush)

Mike
 
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Twibbly said:
I wonder if using a clean shoe-shining brush would do it?
Click to expand...
Thanks, I have tried using a toothbrush instead as I don’t have a shoe shine brush. Not much effect. Haha.

mikerr said:
I use Renaissance Micro-Crystalline Wax Polish on my Martin S1.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Renaissance-Micro-Crystalline-Wax-65/dp/B001UON1CY
It only gives a sheen not a high gloss finish.
But then I like the rustic look of the S1.

As for strings I use Martin M600. I really don't like Worth Browns.
The tuners on my S1 are the originals and work just fine.

To get rid of the shoe polish I would try a cloth moistened with a little White Spirit(UK name)
Then a soft fine bristle brush to clean out the ingrained stuff.(old tooth brush)

Mike
Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestion on the wax polish, I’d look into it. I have no interest in high gloss either, an old vintage finish is just right for my taste.
The original tuners are fine but I prefer the black piano buttons and gold tuning posts that Gotoh offers.
Totally with you on the Martin string for S1. I can’t imagine using any other strings now.
I have an old bottle of white spirit lying somewhere. Guess I have to dig it out.
 
If I remember correctly, a sgt. I knew, who was in the Army, said he used a little bit of lighter fluid to liquefy shoe polish and make it apply more evenly on his shoes to get a spit shine. If you try it, test it on a very small, unobtrusive area. Just slightly dampen a soft cloth with it and gently rub one of the white grains.

On my Martin 1T IZ, the finish came matte. Which I did not like. But knowing that flat or satin finishes will get shiny areas after the uke is played for a while, I decided to rub the entire uke with a soft cloth. Sure enough, it took down the "tooth" of the matte finish and made it look more like a satin finish. I'm sure that if I kept going, I could have made it more like a semi-gloss.

I don't know how much of the shiny patches on played satin or matte instruments is from rubbing, and how much is from the oils in our skin. I suspect a buffing wheel could smooth the finish even more, but you'd have to be extremely careful to not buff through the finish tot he wood below.

Applying a guitar cleaner/polish made for gloss finishes may also help to reduce the flatness of the finish.
 
Kenn, that’s what I used to do too, liquefying shoe polish on boots back when I was doing national service. In my country, all the boys need to serve as soldiers for 2years. Last night I did tried to “melt out” the wax but I was too scared of burning my S1 if I overdo it. Guess I need to try again tonight with a bigger flame? Haha.

Ah.. The things that we do with our Martin ukes. Why can’t they just come with some finish, that’s not asking too much right.

As for the professional guitar polish, I’m too cheap to buy those. A shoe polish, yeah, I could still polish shoes once done with polishing the S1.
 
Wow, thanks Bill1 for your thoughtful post. It is helpful!

Guessed my S1 is not screwed after all. So this is case of mis-application, i would definitely get some 00000 steel wool to try out tonight. I had been using micro fibre cloth for application of the shoe polish.

The Kiwi polish is indeed a mix of carnuaba wax and some other stuff from what Google told me. No bee wax though. I’m not much of a DIY-er so I think I’ll pass the idea of making a custom wax polish mix. But the recipe is handy for any UU folk who wishes to concoct their own polish.

Well, this S1 is not going anywhere cos wifey gave it as birthday present to me, so definitely not selling it. Although it’s precious, I don’t mind trying unorthodox stuff on it. I think I’m beyond that when I applied shoe polish on it!
 
I think the key two words in Bill's comment are "wood polish". Probably, you're going to have less issues with a wood polish than a shoe polish. ;)
 
glennerd said:
I think the key two words in Bill's comment are "wood polish". Probably, you're going to have less issues with a wood polish than a shoe polish. ;)
Click to expand...

Haha, well I thought shoes and ukuleles are one and the same thing! So the shoe or wood polish don’t matter. Given that I owned plenty of both but I only got a pair of hands and feet for them at a time. Just kidding.

I’m really just hoping that it will turn out good. Just hoping. ;)
 
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