Repairing Veneer on an 8-string Kentucky

[HowardBerkowitz]

i've gotten a scratch on the front of my mandolin and I was looking for advice on how to repair the veneer. Any thoughts?

Thanks!

[lenf12]

Love hurts Howard, chalk it up to being affectionate. A picture of the scratch might elicit other replies.

Len B.
Clearwater, FL

[sblock]

You didn't say what model it was, or even post a picture! That makes it harder to offer advice.

That said, unless I'm mistaken, Kentucky mandolins (even their budget KM-150 model) have solid wood tops, not veneers. Unless the scratch is quite deep, though, or destabilizes the structure by causing a crack near a seam, I would just leave it alone, and chalk it up to wear and tear. It's cosmetic, and Kentucky mandolins are not exactly collectors' items.

[Richard500]

Howard, the less-than-warm replies only relate to your not providing enough description or a photo, and referring to a finish as a veneer, which is sort of semantically ok, but not in woodworking. And no, people here are not particularly snobby, except for an honest preference for better instruments.
So, scratches: If, at a guess, it’s visible mostly as a color change, lighter than the rest, touchup pens (like Sharpies) and crayons, available in any hardware store, plus a little experimentation will subdue the mark, and not cause any acoustic or valuation effects whatsoever. Or, better, call it evidence of an instrument that is in use, and not just decoration.