How To Get Scratches off of Mandolin

[Mandogirl:)]

Hey there!

I was wondering if there is any way to get scratches off mandolins. I have just a few on my Eastman David Grismen 4155 (from the Dawg Collection) and I want to get them off. Is there is any sort of wax or something you can put on your mandolin to make them permanently go away?

Thanks!

[multidon]

Well, it really depends on what you mean by scratches. Deep scratches, simple answer, no.

If you mean the very light superficial scratches that accumulate on a very glossy finish, the kind you can only see when light hits it at certain angles, then there are products you can use. But understand there are no effective cover ups. The only way to truly get rid of scratches is to polish them out. and polish is an abrasive so this action will make the finish thinner overall. If you go too far you can completely burn through the finish.

The most effective thing to do is take it to a luthier who is willing to buff them out with his polishing wheel. It will look pretty much like new but again your finish will be thinner overall.

You can try to do it yourself but most so called polishes you can buy at the music store will be useless. You need something with a little cutting action to it. I have had luck with a product called Micro Gloss, made by Micro Mesh. Others have reported success with Novus polish. Both of these products are designed for polishing plastic but nitrocellulose lacquer is in a certain sense a sort of plastic, so these products can work. Some products designed for removing scratches from automotive finishes can also work. But beware of products that contain silicone. They should not be used on instruments. And if you are going to do this by hand, buy lots of soft cotton flannel cloths and be prepared to spend a lot of time and elbow grease. A powered buffing wheel can get the job done a thousand times faster.

Here is one other thing to think about. What happens when you get a scratch again after you get rid of all the scratches? An instrument will accumulate fine scratches like this naturally. It's inevitable. You cant keep and instrument mint and use it too. Most of us realize the inevitability of the situation and just let them accumulate. If you get enough of them you stop noticing them and they just become part of your instrument's personality.

[stevedenver]

dons points are good ones for your consideration.

the short answer-
Novus plastic polish red label (fine)

http://www.amazon.com/NOVUS-Plastic-...keywords=Novus


I have used this on my Gibson fern, many Gibson and Fender and other electrics, and Martins, for years.

Superb too for pick guards. it will take a bit of patience and elbow grease ,but you may get it back to very very shiny.

Works slowly and wonderfully, will remove light scratches and round and reduce the impact of deeper ones. safe on nitro. do not use for varnish.
this is a super light abrasive, not unlike a car polish, but much finer. works slowly, controllably, you cannot screw it up. use a super soft cloth, like old t shirt, baby diaper, or similar soft cotton material that itself wont scratch.

you can plan on an hour or more to do the entire mandolin , perhaps less if lightly scratched, perhaps a bit more if deeply gouged. Deep gouges wont go away, but they can be softened to the point that they are much less noticeable.

trust me on this-I have a lot of experience using this for instruments, and I am pretty fussy in this regard. Novus never fails, never leaves residue or long term issues like clouding , softening the finish, etc. I have used the medium green for deep scratches but don't thin you need this, and the fine will do as well, but would take much more effort and time, but it will do it with repeated applications and buffing.

the nice thing about doing this yourself is you can get as fine a job as you are willing to work at. My luthier charged me $50.00 to 'reduce a gouge' thinking he would do a superb job, and did virtually nothing.

I went at it in earnest with Novus and while it took me over an hour, its gone. Didnt hurt that Gibson nitro is pretty thick ......

get the big bottle, works on swiss army knives, turntable covers, furniture with nitro type or poly finishes, anything plastic that you want shinier. no im not affiliated in any way.

[George R. Lane]

As a Novus franchisee I can attest to the quality of Novus products. I own a windshield repair business and use only the Novus products and my customers are always amazed how good the repairs looks. Like what was mentioned earlier use the fine polish, the others are very abrasive. I have a few scratches on my Yellowstone and I look at them as proof that I play her a lot.

[MysTiK PiKn]

http://www.novuspolish.com/

quote:
"By using a few simple techniques, along with NOVUS Plastic Clean & Shine No. 1, NOVUS Fine Scratch Remover No. 2 & NOVUS Heavy Scratch Remover No. 3, you can actually add life to plastic and keep it looking new. Best of all, you don't have to be a pro to get professional results" . /unquote.

I use Novus #2, slightly abrasive - as recommended by a luthier who did much repair on elderly gibbie - complete w crazed nitrocelluoose lacquer.
See website - there are 3 grades - one of them is NON ABRASIVE.

USE ONLY COTTON CLOTH - you don't want polyester, nylon, etc - pure 100% cotton - the others will micro scratch.
NEVER use silicone
NEVER use "johnson's pledge" = silicone content (don't ask how I know this) Pledge will also dissolve the finish. danger.

My finish has a zillion scratches - I use novus2 and I don't worry about it. I don't scrub for hours. I only use it like once a year. It's olde.

The amount of abrasive in Novus 2 is quite mild. You might want milder, or non-abrasive. *(see LINK)

[Ivan Kelsall]

Be very careful what you use on your Eastman mandolin,the finish while seemingly 'hard' is actually pretty soft. If you try any abrasive 'substance',try it first on an area that isn't seen much & even then be careful. When using any abrasive polishing medium,when polishing, you're getting that local area pretty warm via the friction. On a soft(ish) finish such as the Eastmans seem to have,you could do more harm than good. A good friend of mine works in one of the largest & longest established music stores in Manchester UK where i live. He used to own an Eastman 'F' style mandolin & also an Eastman Mandola. He was more than pleased with both but did mention that the finish on both was pretty soft. By soft he meant relative to the 'harder' finishes on other makes of instrument. Personally,i'd simply use a good quality Bees-wax furniture polish to bring up the shine & forget the scratches - just in case. Years back when i used to renovate banjos,i used French polish to re-finish the necks & they always turned out great - except one time when i was in too much of a hurry to finish one,i tried to do the final polishing before the polish had really hardened. It seemed fine,but when i began polishing it,the finish began to 'ball' & rub off like soft rubber. I ended up completely stripping it & starting again. So much for being in a hurry !,
Ivan

[mandroid]

maybe you can find a luthier to Carefully Buff the finish , like was done at the Eastman Factory
Before they were shipped.. If too much they can spray another layer of finish on and Buff that.

[Barry Wilson]

Being an auto detailer, I have a number of different types of polishes. They are like grades of sandpaper. Cut polishes are heavy cut, glazes are less down to swirl remover. I have used those on many instruments. Wet sanding with super fine paper is also an option

[Ron McMillan]

When I asked this question a while back about scratches on my mandolin's headstock, one of the luthier guys immediately recommended metal polish. He was right. It did a great job for me. However note this WAS on a headstock, not on a lacquered or varnished part of the mandolin body.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Ron - I've used 'Duraglit' metal polishing wadding to final polish a re-finished 'whatever' for over 50 years. It just needs a good squeezing out to get rid of the surplus white spirit which is used as the carrier for the ultra fine abrasive. However,as with all abrasive polishing mediums,it needs a light touch or it can do more harm than good on 'some' types of finish. I've thought about trying some ''Jeweller's Rouge'' which is an ultrafine polishing medium for Gold & Silver. It's available in powder or block form & only requires a slight drop of water to moisten it for use = no white spirit etc. It's also great for honing any blade to obtain an incredible edge,in fact the old fashoned leather razor strops were dressed with it in block form,
Ivan

[stevedenver]

metal polish?
this , depending on grit, could leave more scatches than it removes.
iknow this first hand. even on bright new chrome, some polishes will leave tiny scracthes. it can be very abrasive, designed to remove oxidation coorosion , etc.

and id be weary of solvents and finish.
there are just others that offer less risk.
seems like a bit much.....

[Mandobart]

I've had good results with Meguiar's Show n' Shine to take out light scratches.

[Bob A]

The idea of using any kind of abrasive on a mandolin to remove signs of use is kind of shocking. Varnish and shellac finishes are thin and reasonably delicate; if a scratch absolutely must be removed, it can probably be French polished by a skilled woodworker.

A bit of polish or renaissance wax could be applied to help preserve the finish, but very little, very infrequently, as the more stuff you coat the instrument with, the more you deaden the response.

If you have a fifty-dollar "beater" a few scratches won't make any difference; if you have a reasonably pricey instrument anything you do to muck up the original finish will take more away from its intrinsic value than just leaving it alone.

If having a pristine instrument is important to you, don't play it; detune it somewhat and leave it in a case under the bed. Mild marks of careful use are not a detraction; peeling or buffed-through areas of finish are a distraction and worse.

You could get a chrome-plated National or something like it if you need the shine, but even those will show signs of use after a while.

Nothing is forever; we must try to age gracefully, especially if we're made of wood.

[Jim]

It's inevitable. You cant keep and instrument mint and use it too. Most of us realize the inevitability of the situation and just let them accumulate. If you get enough of them you stop noticing them and they just become part of your instrument's personality.

This is my thought too. A well cared for instrument with a few scratches has more personality, People actually pay to have it done (Relicing) I would just take as good a care of that Eastman as I could and play the heck out of it. It will earn it's patina of scratches and you can be proud of every one.

[Scot63]

Lots of times, it's the dryness, not the scratch. Think about trying a little olive oil first—not a lot, just a little—before chemical things. If it doesn't work, no harm done, but lots of times minor scratches really need to be not dry.

[lflngpicker]

I have been fairly successful in removing fine scratches with Novus plastic polish red label (fine), though it merely smooths the deeper ones. In either case, it soothes me as a musician to see my mandolins improve when my playing (especially on stage) takes a toll on the top. Where did I learn of this Novus? Right here on the MC!

[Dale Ludewig]

Think of it like this. Would you rather have Justin Bieber or Keith Richards in your armory?

[Ron McMillan]

I, too, was surprised by the metal polish advice, but it came from one of the forum's respected builders. So instead of writing it off without having any personal knowledge of the subject, I gave it a try - and it worked, beautifully. Again, this was on a headstock, not on the body of the mandolin. There's endless advice to be found on the forum, but clearly rather a lot of it comes from people unqualified to give it. Not so in this case.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Steve - On the face of it,Metal polish does sound weird,but the 'Duraglit' polish that i mentioned, is as i said, Ultrafine or i'd never have used it. I've also used it on tiny scratches on the finish of my wife's car with excellent results. It seems very much finer than the 'cutting polishes' usually used for that purpose. My Weber Fern when it arrived at my home,had a single tiny scratch on the upermost side,most likely caused by somebody playing it in store. 5 minutes work with Duraglit & it had gone. As Jeweller's Rouge is, as the name implies, Red,& the Duraglit polishing medium is also Red,i'm wondering if it's Jeweller's Rouge. Using Jeweller's Rouge 'as it comes' eliminates any 'carrier'. All you need is water = won't affect any finish. In the US,you've got ''Cape Cod'' polishing cloths which seem very similar,but are a 'dry' polishing media,
Ivan

[almeriastrings]

The idea of using any kind of abrasive on a mandolin to remove signs of use is kind of shocking. Varnish and shellac finishes are thin and reasonably delicate; if a scratch absolutely must be removed, it can probably be French polished by a skilled woodworker.

A bit of polish or renaissance wax could be applied to help preserve the finish, but very little, very infrequently, as the more stuff you coat the instrument with, the more you deaden the response..

Surely, the answer to this depends entirely on what the finish actually is? There is a world of difference between various finishes. You have 'bar top' tough swimming pool deep poly finishes on some instruments that are near as tough as nails, while others are nitro, and others are already 'french polished' or some variety of oil varnish had been employed. Each of these needs different handling. Poly and nitro finishes will generally take enthusiastic buffing with various compounds well. Spirit and oil varnishes are already very thin and considerably more delicate, so what works beautifully on the former may pretty much destroy the latter.

You are not normally adding anything with buffing/polishing, but rather cutting/melting the finish back. Car techniques work because in many cases, they are the exact same type of formulations.

With varnish finishes, for myself, I just keep them clean with a soft microfiber cloth and don't use any polishes at all....

[Polecat]

've thought about trying some ''Jeweller's Rouge'' which is an ultrafine polishing medium for Gold & Silver. It's available in powder or block form & only requires a slight drop of water to moisten it for use = no white spirit etc. It's also great for honing any blade to obtain an incredible edge,in fact the old fashoned leather razor strops were dressed with it in block form,
Ivan

I wouldn't recommend that, Ivan. I do indeed use jewellers rouge to sharpen cut-throat razors, and it's great for that job, but it does stain anything remotely porous it comes into contact a virulent red, and is more or less indelible. A better possibility would be Aluminium Oxide powder, which is available from dental tool and lapidary supplies in a variety of grit sizes down to 0,5 micron, which is fine enough for anything, and is neutral in colour.

My point of view is that a musical instrument is a tool do do a job, which is to bring aural joy to the listener and player. Tools require the proper care, but you won''t see a joiner, for example, polishing his saw or a mason relaquering his hammer. Equally, they won't just throw them in the corner at the end of a work day, but look after them according to their requirements. That's how I treat my mandolin. I never polish it, but don't let it get greasy and dusty either. Scratches are, as others have pointed out, unavoidable if you use the tool as it was intended.

[mandroid]

If you remove the rest of the finish down to the depth of the scratch you wont see the scratch any more ,

.. but you have taken off a bunch of finish to get there.. (hence the suggestion to add a coat then polish it out )

[Ivan Kelsall]

From Polecat - "A better possibility would be Aluminium Oxide powder...". Otherwise known as ''Alumina''. I've used Alumina & Magnesium Oxide powder by the pound years back, polishing metallurgical specimans to a high degree of polish.Magnesium Oxide was the very final polishing medium. In fact,the anti-indigestion liquid known as ''Milk of Magnesia'' is a suspension of Mag.Carbonate in water,& i've often wondered about it's use as an 'ultra-ultra fine' polishing media - i must try it out. I learned a long while ago that deeper scratches don't need to be completely polished out,in fact many can't be polished out. It's usually the rough edges of the scratch that reflect light so that we see them. All that's needed is to polish those edges in order to round them off & blend them in so making the scratches seem to disappear as per lflngpicker's point.
Just to return to Polecat's point re.Jeweller's Rouge 'staining things Red',i'd agree that if what you're using it on is in any way porous,then don't use it. However, i successfully used it on French Polish for many years,i've used it on the Poly.Lacquer on my Lebeda a couple of times,on my Weber as i mentioned, & also on one scratch on my Oil Varnished Ellis without any problems - but yes,do be aware that it can stain some materials as Polecat so rightly pointed out,
Ivan

[stevedenver]

ivan youre quite right about simply rounding the sharp edges of a scratch to reduce reflection, thuu appearing to be a less noticeable flaw, and thus, not having to completely remove the surrounding finish.

[Polecat]

I didn't realize you had used jewellers rouge in this context, Ivan. If it works, it works. I don't know how effective magnesium carbonate is as an abrasive, but the idea of using milk of magnesia as a polish appeals to me - it would also smell pleasantly of mint. That reminds me that toothpaste is also a very good polishing agent, and according to my father was regularly used during World War II to resharpen razor blades, which were in short supply in South Africa, where he grew up.