Old Favilla Restoration - Cosmetic damage

necessaryrooster

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I managed to snag an old Favilla soprano (I think it's a U3 because it has the double fret markers on the 7th fret). It's surprisingly in great structural condition for its age; if not for the cosmetic damage it would look brand new.

There's a chip of wood missing on one of the sides (like it got dinged on something) and along the bottom of the uke is damage from the zipper of its bag where the teeth of the zipper pressed into the wood (I'm guessing it was stored in the bag and rested on its end for years, which caused the weight of the uke to press into the zipper teeth). The finish is also severely cracked and in a few small places chipped off entirely.

The frets look like they were originally painted over the metal and that paint is now worn off/chipping off.

How do I go about cosmetically restoring this? Can I just sand off the old finish and apply a new one? Is that going to severely impact the tone? What should I use to fill in the chips in the wood? Will that affect the sound?

Should I even bother fixing the cosmetic damage if the uke still plays/sounds great?

I can post pics if needed.
 
Since there is no structural damage, I would just give it a light cleaning with a damp cloth. You also might consider using some fretboard conditioner (Howards feed n wax) with 0000 steel wool to clean and condition the fretboard and polish the frets.
 
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But if you want the best result, think about investing the savings you made on the purchase price into the restoration process and seeking the help of a competent restorer/repair person. Either by paying them to do the work, or by paying them to mentor you through the process.

Thanks! I think I will do this. I have another uke that I need to take to a professional for some repairs so I think I'll bring the Favilla along when I do and get their advice.
 
For myself, other than the painted frets, I'd leave the patina and chips as they are unless the chips are large and deep. There's nothing like an old instrument showing it's age. I have an old 1895 Bruno 00 guitar, that has crazing bigtime and repaired cracks in the braz. rosewood back and sides. I wouldn't touch the finish at all. I think of it as it's badges of life being played for 125 years. I also had an old Favilla baritone that looked like it had beed used and abused thru the years of playing; it had that old bluesy smoke filled room type of sound and would never refinish it as I didn't want to take the chance of changing the sound by sanding and making it look new. Also would lessen the price.
 
Thanks for the advice! Here's some pics of the uke:

https://imgur.com/gallery/lhgKeGY

Like I said, surprisingly good shape apart from the finish cracks and few dings. All I've done since I got it is restrung it and tightened the tuning pegs. I've got Aquila sugars on there right now and it sounds great. Setup is fantastic; it's a very playable little uke.
 
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