Question at Ken Timms Ukulele owners - Problems with the finish of your Uke ?

Hello there !

My Ken Timms is not very old but yet the finish starts to fade at some areas on my Uke.

I am wondering if anyone else is discovering this on his/her Ken Timms Ukulele ?

Am I doing something wrong ? It's hanging at the wall a lot at the moment since I am usually grabbing my super concert Uke or any of my other instruments.

I will add pics to this Thread

Thanks in advance,
Dan

why don't you contact Ken Timms?

It is french polish and should easy to touch up.. contact will rub any polish thin eventually.. the only way to keep a polish pristine is to keep it locked away..?

In a recent thread here about a 17 fret soprano, Ken mentioned he has been getting feedback on recent shipments that the finish wasn’t perfect on arrival, which he attributed to the warmer temps during shipment. As a result, he has decided to only ship when temps are cooler, iirc.

I second the first suggestion to contact Ken directly, and failing that to have it touched up locally.

French polish is not as durable as more modern finishes, but it's advantages are that it lets lots of sound out, and it's very easy to touch up.

French Polish is susceptible to attack by alcohol and probably some other solvents, too. You have to treat it with a bit more care than other, more durable, finishes.

"French polishing is considered by many to be among the most beautiful ways to finish highly figured wood, but it is also recognised to be fragile. It is softer than modern varnishes and lacquers and is particularly sensitive to spills of water or alcohol, which may produce white cloudy marks, as does heat damage. However, it is also simpler to repair than a damaged varnish finish, as patch repairs to French polish may be easily blended into an existing finish."

John Colter.

Looks to me like you've worn through the finish in those spots - its is very thin, and an excellent thing that is too!

I believe Ken uses fairly standard dark brown French Polish, and I can buy bottles of that at my local hardware store. I'd just wipe a few coats on and buff gently, but I'm used to finishing with French Polish so I don't necessarily recommend that to you.

The spot on the top looks like strum wear (clawhammer?), and I think I can see some digging into the wood. If so, either change your technique or put a clear pick guard film there!

And as Ukantor says, watch out for alcohol, sunscreen etc. which can dissolve the finish.

These ukes are made by a lone craftsman (well, OK, Mrs Ken does the French Polishing), so they don't have the bullet proof polyester finish you find on some production ukes. OTOH, they do sound far, far, better!