I must say, satin finish looks better than gloss

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I've never cared much about the type of finish; they all look fine to me.

Maybe I preferred gloss over satin because it seems more durable and sweat and stuff come off it so easily.

But, now, on a side-by-side examination, I think I much prefer satin finish for its superior looks. It has this understated elegance that I never noticed before. (or maybe it is just new-uke love; we shall see.)

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I'm the complete opposite. I much prefer a gloss finish for the looks but satin for the ease of cleaning. During this summer, my gloss finished ukes have had an insane amount of sweat and dirt and grime on them after only a little bit of playing and it's a nightmare to get off, but for the few satin finished ukes it's just a few swipes with a cloth, if even that, and it's completely clean. Especially for acacia and koa ukes, a gloss finish brings out the grain and flaming much nicer than a satin finish. For something less striking such as mahogany or spruce, the difference is not as big. And of course, this is only in regards to the looks of the uke and not the sound, which can actually differ quite significantly depending on the finish.
 
It's a tossup. I Only have one glossy uke, it's koa and koa laminate. I Do think that cocobolo looks way better in satin.
I've seen tons of glossy guitars, and the only one I ever wanted (Wooden) was in satin.
 
It depends on the manufacturer and what they mean by satin or gloss and what materials they use.

Kanile'a satin is in my experience a huge fingerprint grease magnet. Kanile'a gloss on the other hand does not show any fingerprints whereas Pono gloss does.

Kamaka semi gloss is just about the perfect balance I think.
 
I have both and don't prefer one over the other, though I do have to be a little more careful photographing the glossy.


This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly Grove near the Beverly Center
9 tenor cutaway ukes, 4 acoustic bass ukes, 12 solid body bass ukes, 14 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 39)

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers: YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video, Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheCCStrummers
 
Cheap thick heavy gloss finishes look terrible. Makes it look like the ukulele is encased in plastic and probably doesn't do wonders for your sound quality, either.

A good quality gloss finish can look great. Some of them really highlight the wood grain without affecting your sound quality because they are so thin.
 
I have both and don't prefer one over the other, though I do have to be a little more careful photographing the glossy.


This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly Grove near the Beverly Center
9 tenor cutaway ukes, 4 acoustic bass ukes, 12 solid body bass ukes, 14 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 39)

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers: YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video, Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheCCStrummers

I just noticed that (WRT photography) after posting the pics. In 2 of the pics, you can see the reflections of a picture frame and window, making the ukulele wood look discolored.
 
A well done gloss finish is a beautiful thing, but I generally prefer satin.

I have found the down side of gloss to be that it shows play-wear, scratches, and fingerprints quite easily and I really don't care for the feel. However, an advantage of gloss finish is that because it is a buffed out finish you can fairly easily buff out scratches to a level of sheen that matches the overall finish.

Satin finishes tend to show wear not as easily but a sprayed on satin finish is generally obtained by having flattening agents in the finish and therefore has not been buffed out at all. You can buff out scratches to a similar sheen but it will never totally match that untouched areas and you risk creating a worse blemish. In most cases it is best to scratches and wear in satin finishes alone. Somewhat counter-intuitively gloss finishes are actually easier to touch up.

But overall I do generally prefer the look and feel of satin as well as how it wears. Overall, I don't have a strong preference except when it comes to necks...the next uke I own with a gloss neck will be getting the #0000 steel wool treatment (just to the neck).
 
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I like the appearance of both if well done but prefer glossy bodies for audio recording with a satin neck. Why? satin bodies make "sheeeeek" sounds when the instrument moves against my shirt while glossy is silent. On the other hand, glossy necks make thumb fart sounds sometimes whereas satin necks are much quieter.

The only down side to satin necks is mine became glossy after a year or so of playing...
 
I’m in the boat of preferring a gloss body to show off the wood’s figuring more but mostly so it doesn’t make so much noice against my shirt or pants when I’m recording. Some brands’ satin finishes sound like sandpaper against a shirt.

In one case I didn’t really like the tone of an ukulele that wasn’t finished at all, but the change of having a finish put on pushed me over the edge and I fell in love with that specific tone. That ukulele, but with a specific finish.

I also like Kamaka’s semi-gloss which starts out very satin but gets to be pretty dang gloss-like where you’re constantly touching it.

But I like a satin neck all the time. Usually if it’s a special uke that I know I’ll want to keep forever, I’ll knock down a gloss neck with fine-grit sandpaper so it’s easier to move around on.
 
Over the last 5 years, I purchased roughly ten $100-300 range ukuleles. Three of them were "high-gloss." Over time, I sold all 3.

Thinking back, I didn't like the feel (especially the back of the neck) and believed they all had a dull, uninspiring tone. I may be all wet on that, but their finishes were like man0a described as "encased in plastic."

I have no doubt that further up the price range gloss finishes would be much better than these.

Satin makes me comfy and happy.
 
Some polyurethane high-gloss finishes are way too thick and heavy. Properly applied and rubbed out, they are hard to distinguish in sound from Nitrocellulose Lacquer.

I think matte and satin finishes dull the look of the often beautiful woods used in ukuleles and other stringed instruments.

One prime example is the Martin 1T IZ tenor that was made with gorgeous quilted mahogany. The matte finish Martin put on it hides much of the wood's beauty and makes the overall impression of the wood as being very—ordinary.
 
Ah, a blast from the past. I still like the looks of a satin finish more than gloss.

(BTW, both of those Kala ukes played really well and sounded very good.)
 
I’ve always kind of wished I had a gloss finish but now that I have a uke that I love to play, I don’t really care that it’s satin. It’s weird. In the past I had even wondered if I could refinish my existing satin ukes to have a gloss finish I wanted one so bad. Now I don’t even care!
 
I like to look with awe at my gloss finished ukes. Though one of my daily players - a Kamaka HF-3 - I like not only for its tone, but because its finish is semi-gloss. Never do I have to worry about leaving sweat marks or fine scratches on the uke. The surface looks just slightly worn-in (i.e. shinier) at places that get touched the most, kind of like an instrument that's played and cherished.
 
My gloss-finish instruments don't show any wear … some of my satin-finish instruments have "shiny" areas from repeated use … not sure I have a preference ;)
 
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