A follow up to the my posting on voicing hammers with lacquer. A couple of points to make re lacquers and thinner. There are different types of lacquer and some will set up softer than others. Musical instrument lacquers such as Behlen produces (Steward MacDonald supplies it for use on acoustic guitars) are not only more flexible when dry but also come in a lower solids content (13% rather than a typical 26%). The HammerLac that Pianotek sells is also a soft setting lacquer and won't develop that crystalline tendency that some other lacquers will. After a conversation with Bob Marinelli I decided to order some and try it out. It seems to be a lower solids mix (though Bob didn't have the exact numbers) as the dilution required is some less than I suggested in my previous posting. The lacquers which remain more flexible when dry may have some benefits in hammers, as one can imagine. With respect to thinning, higher grade lacquer thinners (they do come in different grades) will flash off more slowly than others and much more slowly than acetone which will have benefits for deeper penetration of the solids content depending on how you apply (side or shoulder). I would probably recommend that people use lacquer thinner generally especially with shoulder applications unless you want more material to remain closer to the surface. That can produce an effect which some might find desirable should you want the attack to have a bit more shine to it. The down side is that you can end up with more material near the surface which can be difficult to manage in some cases. David Love www.davidlovepianos.com
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