When it comes to water based finish technology, it has changed at warp speed in the last 5 years. Before that there were a lot of disasters. Best case in point is the highly touted water based polyurethane for wood floors by Varathane. It was terrible and peeled in a year. However, due to federal regulations, most all cars are now painted with water based paints. Marine paints are following suit. I am as much of a skeptic as anybody about water based paints but I think it is time to reconsider. For example, Rustoleum (owned by Petit marine paints) now has a fantastic water based multipurpose grey sandable primer in gallons that I can't say enough good things about- and I have been using automotive paints (llaquers. acrylic laquers and enamels, and various two part polymers for years). I never thought I would ever consider using a water based paint on metal but times have changed. Try the new ones before you knock it. Doug Gregg Classic Piano Doc Date: Thu, 10 May 2012 14:43:45 -0400 From: "Encore Pianos" <encorepianos at metrocast.net> To: <pianotech at ptg.org> Subject: Re: [pianotech] Thumpe returns... and the shellac on old plates..... Message-ID: <001201cd2edc$d5815c40$808414c0$@metrocast.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" I can't speak to other people's experience, but years ago I had used a water based clear lacquer over my gold and had adhesion problems. Will Truitt -----Original Message----- From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Douglas Gregg Sent: Thursday, May 10, 2012 2:28 PM To: pianotech at ptg.org Subject: Re: [pianotech] Thumpe returns... and the shellac on old plates..... Several suggestions on plate reconditioning. I agree with Euphonious that plates can be cleaned and come out looking almost new with the right cleaner. I found that Dow Scrubbing Bubbles Bathroom aerosol cleaner works wonders and does not require soaking the plate, pins or soundboard. Also, it has not color dye added so no problem there. I have used this on every hard surface of a piano and also the felt with no problem. Not sure about leather and hammers. I think I wrote this up before for this forum and have submitted it to TT&T. The bubbles work very fast and float all the brown stuff off the plate in seconds. I am pretty sure it is not the shellac but tobacco tar and nicotine because I can smell it as it comes off. I do use a dusting 4 inch nylon paint brush and a vacuum before the scrubbing bubbles just to decrease the volume of grunge to mop up. this goes for the soundboard too. It is also hard to blow the wet wads of lint and dirt. This goes for the soundboard too. For the soundboard, it is better to tip the piano up and use gravity as well as the blower to blow the bubbles down to a rag at the rim. You can wipe it up or blow it to a corner and mop it up. I use a Metro Vac on blower mode and blow the foam to a convenient corner and have a rag there to absorb it. With the Metro vac blower, everything comes out nearly dry just like those high powered hand dryers in the restrooms. For between the pins, the scrubbing bubbles work best with a 4 inch stiff nylon cheap paint brush to loosen the dirt. Brush it to the front corner and blow it into a rag. You will be amazed how well it works. It does not have enough liquid to soak into the pin block. I am talking about a 30 second exposure to the bubbles. I use Sharpie brand black paint markers from Michael's craft store for lettering. They are toluene solvent based and work well. You can use the Sharpie paint last to avoid any bleeding. It is glossy. Otherwise, if you are having trouble with the clear coat taking off your marker or bleeding it, try a water based clear. I have used System 3 two part clear marine coat on a couple pianos and it is a nice high gloss finish. It can be brushed, but spraying is better. It can be thinned a bit to brush or spray better. Jamestown Marine Supply carries it on line. They ship very fast. You can still top coat it with a solvent based finish on top of the water based if you want to but why bother. Come to my French Polishing seminar in Seattle. That is a Shameless plug. The Adhesives presentation was scrubbed but will be presented here soon. You will be surprised at some of the test results comparing adhesives. Doug Gregg Classic Piano Doc Southold, NY
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