Hello Ned,
If you've already gone through the original finish, the best thing to
use is Renaissance Wax Polish. I believe it was Kenneth Be, a museum
conservator and lutenist, who recommended using this polish for just
the sort of thing you're concerned about. I'm also aware of one
luthier who applies it to his lutes before turning them over to his
clients. You can't really tell that it's there, but it leaves a very
thin layer of protection. It obviously won't prevent scratches and
gouges to the wood, but will prevent the bare wood from discoloring.
You can find some information about it at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance_Wax. It's available for sale
through amazon.com and other on line retailers.
As far as preventing scratches and gouges to the wood, the Kling-ons
that others have recommended are probably the best, but I've tried them
and they were always falling off the soundboard.
Best regards,
Bill Eisele
> Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:01:41 -0500
> To: [email protected]
> From: [email protected]
> Subject: [LUTE] Protecting top of instrument
>
> Aside from the precaution of keeping one's fingernails trimmed to
> minimize wear on a lute top, is there anything to do if a top already
> has substantial wear, to protect against further wear? I'm thinking
in
> terms of something like a clear varnish over the worn area. Has
anyone
> found something that works without negatively effecting the sound?
And
> also doesn't look bad?
>
>
>
> Ned
>
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