Oh yes, just so you know, the new brass onlay is self-adhesive - makes placement a tricky, kind of "one-shot" deal, so have your ducks in a row. WRM On Wed, May 20, 2009 at 9:09 PM, William Monroe <bill at a440piano.net> wrote: > Hi Thomas, > > I've done just this repair. As others have suggested, it's a little > troubling. In the end, my experience was, well......OK. Two new brass > "decals" later (yes, then entire onlay must be purchased each time, logo and > lettering), the results were fine from the audience. There are a number of > problems with this mess. > > First: If the brass lifting is very minor, you can try the tiniest amount > of thin CA. Using a jewelers oiler is probably the best option. The finest > supply house hypo really delivers more than you need and the needle forces > you to lift the brass more than is desirable. Sometimes this can work. > When it fails go to...... > > Second: You can try removing the old lyre onlay very carefully (maybe > heating as Jon suggested) and then fitting the new only in the old lacquer > shadow. I tried this, gave up. The details of the brass onlay are so fine > it is nearly impossible to get it to just "drop in" to the old lacquer > shadow. And, if it doesn't just "drop-in" you'll have to pull it back off > to reposition - which means you'll bend the brass out in the process. If by > some minor miracle this works for you, proceed to "Fourth." And, for those > of us living in reality, when that doesn't work either........ > > Third: What worked for me was removing the entire piece (use whatever > indexing method you like for replacing it). I wouldn't worry about chipping > the edges of the lacquer, for your next step will be to............wet sand > the lyre area starting at 220 to take down the buildup of clear that was > around the original lyre onlay. I sanded an extended area, basically from > the lettering up to the top of the treble side, staying away from the edges > which are usually either already burned through from the factory, or soon to > be by you. Basically, you are trying to make it so the area around the new > onlay won't "pop" as a repair. Once the buildup that was around the > original onlay was worked down "a bit," I sanded up to p400. Then apply the > new lyre onlay. > > Fourth: Once you have the new onlay installed, give the treble side a > couple or three "mist coats" of lacquer (you can get it in a rattle can, > either from S&S or from Walter Wurdack company. Then I did a clear doty > type of touch up around the lyre to fill in any major unevenness in the > finish. A medium coat of clear, come back tomorrow and sand level, fill in > any remaining holes/divots doty style, another medium coat. Come back > tomorrow, heavy coat, next day, level and heavy coat..............ad > infinitum, ad nauseum. You must also take care to feather in the new > lacquer with the old finish, I usually aim to taper the spray off at the > middle of the outside treble case curve, and the entire treble case side > ends up getting sprayed before it's done. > > This is a challenging repair. Best in the shop. It shouldn't be done in > someones home - too much spraying, too much wet sanding, too much chance of > having the finish mucked up with daily traffic, too many trips to make the > repair (DAMHIK). You are spraying lacquer - the entire piano needs to be > covered - I taped the cover cloth to the top of the treble side rim and then > up and over the piano to prevent any lacquer from getting into the belly > area. > > When you are wet sanding to prep the area for the new onlay, DO NOT use any > lubricant other than water. It can cause you all manner of trouble getting > the new onlay to adhere. Again, DAMHIK. > > For the final sand, it's to p400 for me, with water/wool lube and then to > 0000 wool with water/wool lube, then polish. > > It really is quite a time consuming repair. > > William R. Monroe > > > > > On Wed, May 20, 2009 at 3:02 PM, Jon Page <jonpage at comcast.net> wrote: > >> The thin brass is not an inlay, it's an onlay or applique. As Paul stated, >> the finish is built up around it. Even if you can purchase the solitary >> "S" >> without having to but the whole applique, you will also be extremely >> lucky to remove the old letter without chipping the margins. >> >> Maybe applying heat with an iron (surface protected with a cloth) >> to the "S" will soften the glue and margins enough to limit damage. >> >> The whole area will then need to be sanded through the clear >> protective coat to make the color and patina make on the brass >> and a clear coat put over it all. >> >> If they want it all looking the same, remove all the other letters >> and leave the black silhouette. >> -- >> >> Regards, >> >> Jon Page >> > > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20090520/60423bb3/attachment-0001.htm>
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