Decals

[Ted Simmons]

   A customer of mine, whose piano I have been tuning for some years, has a
piano rebuilt by a tuner who has since passed away.  It is a Chickering
grand but there is no name on the fallboard and he wants me to put a decal
on.  I ordered the press-on decal and messed up the little practice sample.
Now I'm afraid to apply the decal fearing that if I mess it up the
customer will be disappointed and he is an "every 6 months" customer.  I
don't want to disappoint him!  In addition, the instructions call for
applying a coat of lacquer after the application is complete.  I tried this
on the sample and the lacquered portion stood out like a sore thumb.   His
piano's finish is not high gloss.  Is there a coating that would not look
so obvious? Do I even need to coat it?  What do you use to rub the transfer
decal off onto the fallboard?
   All advice will be appreciated.

Ted Simmons
Merritt Island, FL