[pianotech] Abrasions in polyester finish

[Dean May]

When the poly finish gets fine scratches, it looks white. Get some good
quality automotive wet sandpaper- 400, 600, 1000. Start with the 400 and
sand in one direction only until all the scratches are obliterated by the
400 scratches. Keep things wet, a spray bottle with water helps. Then switch
to 600 and sand at a 90 degree angle to the 400. Again sand until all the
400 scratches are obliterated. Then switch to 1000 or 1200. Sand at 90
degrees to the 600 until all the 600 scratches are obliterated. You can go
up to 2000 grade sandpaper if you wish, each time you switch grades go at 90
degrees to previous grade so you can see when you've sanded enough. Work
hard at keeping a uniform pressure on the sandpaper so your fingers don't
carve out grooves in the finish. 

 

You might actually want to leave some of the deep scratches if they don't
readily sand out. When everything else gets polished they won't be that
noticeable on the vertical surface. 

 

If you use fine enough sandpaper, and I think 1200 is fine enough, you can
finish by hand rubbing. Get the Maguires or the Turtle wax, white fine.
Maguires has a very fine grade you can use as well for a final rub, but
probably won't be necessary for the side of the piano. If you aren't
satisfied with the gloss after hand polishing, try a finer grit on your
final sanding then hand polish again. 

 

Horizontal surfaces like the lid or music desk are much more unforgiving,
all flaws are very conspicuous. So you are learning on a good surface.

 

Stress to the customer that you promise to make it a lot better but it may
not be perfect. If they want perfection they can get it, but it will cost a
lot of money to bring in a poly specialist. 

 

Dean

Dean W May                        (812) 235-5272 voice and text

PianoRebuilders.com           (888) DEAN-MAY         

Terre Haute IN 47802           Give us a LIKE on Facebook! Go to
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From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of paul bruesch
Sent: Wednesday, September 07, 2011 7:43 PM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [pianotech] Abrasions in polyester finish

 

Dean, thank you for that info. So might the light coloring polish back to
black? I'm certain that the damage is not .100" deep. My intention is just
to get it back to as black as possible, not smooth and flat.  This is all my
own initiative. The owner isn't concerned enough about the cosmetics to pay
for real repairs, which would probably be very steep. 
Also, I'd be doing this by hand, not with a power buffer.

Paul

On Wed, Sep 7, 2011 at 4:31 PM, Dean May <deanmay at pianorebuilders.com>
wrote:

I used to sell YC's and one of their selling features was a thicker than
average finish. My experience in repairing YC finish typically found about
.100" plus thick.

 

Dean

Dean W May                        (812) <tel:%28812%29%20235-5272>  235-5272
voice and text

PianoRebuilders.com           (888) DEAN-MAY         

Terre Haute IN 47802           Give us a LIKE on Facebook! Go to
PianoRebuilders.com

  _____  

From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Paul T Williams
Sent: Wednesday, September 07, 2011 4:00 PM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [pianotech] Abrasions in polyester finish

 

YC probably used very thin finish on it and it's torn through the finish.
Epoxy repair kit from pianotek or something similar should work....or a
Sharpie! lol 

Paul 




From: 

paul bruesch <paul at bruesch.net> 


To: 

Pianotech List <pianotech at ptg.org>, ptg_pianotechne at egroups.ptg.org 


Date: 

09/07/2011 01:25 PM 


Subject: 

[pianotech] Abrasions in polyester finish

 

  _____  




A new client I tuned for yesterday has a small YC grand. I noticed
light/white-colored abrasions on the treble side of the black-polish case,
right on the outside curve. 

When I asked her about how they came to be, she told me that they'd had it
moved many times, so when they wanted it moved one MORE time, they decided
to do it themselves ("It looks so easy when the pros do it"), and dragged it
on a "soft carpet, only soft carpet". 

She's the first client I've ever known that had her own bottle of Cory High
Gloss Finish polish (which I always bring, too) though the piano was quite
dusty and well-smudged. As I cleaned, dusted, vacuumed, and polished with
the Cory, I noticed that the abrasions seemed to be slightly reduced in
intensity. 

It just occurred to me now that perhaps this could be buffed out? I didn't
consider that possibility and took no photos while I was there. I just
called the owner to ask if she could take a photo or two, but she cannot.

Was the apparent reduction in abrasion likely my imagination? Or would it be
worthwhile to try something with a very mild abrasive? I'm thinking
something like "3M Imperial Hand Glaze 05990"

And yeah, I know a photo would probably help a lot... sorry!

Paul Bruesch
Stillwater, MN 

 

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