Plate Finishing

[David Love]

I don't know if I have a solution for you but I have found that certain
lacquers (or techniques of spraying lacquer) seem to create a finish that is
much more brittle.  I usually aerosol plates using a product that I get from
Walter Wurdack.  The finish doesn't set up nearly as brittle as gun sprayed
lacquers that I have encountered and I have had not problems with chipping
in the area that you mention.  

David Love
davidlovepianos at comcast.net 
www.davidlovepianos.com

-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Jon Page
Sent: Sunday, November 11, 2007 8:30 AM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: Plate Finishing

Is there a preferred method to clean the screw head bevels
in the tuning pin area to avoid chipping the finish as the screws
are tightened?  When I was refinishing them myself, I would use
a countersink to remove the finish prior to spraying. I would also
clean them as the material built up on the bevels during the
spraying process and once again when done spraying.

I would clean the bevels often during the process to avoid the
mass of material between the surface and bevel which chips
once the screw is tightened or a countersink is used.

On the last few plates which I had sprayed by the case refinishers,
I cleaned the bevels before they left and asked them to continue
cleaning during the spraying. Evidently they can't be bothered
because now when I use the countersink small chips on the
perimeter of the bevel appear.

What other methods are used to clean the bevel?
-- 

Regards,

Jon Page