Great information Dean. Thank you again! <div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Sep 7, 2011 at 7:19 PM, Dean May <<a href="mailto:deanmay@pianorebuilders.com">deanmay@pianorebuilders.com</a>> wrote: <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;"> <div link="blue" vlink="blue" lang="EN-US"> <div> 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. <div class="im"> <div> Dean Dean W May <a href="tel:%28812%29%20235-5272" value="+18122355272" target="_blank">(812) 235-5272</a> voice and text PianoRebuilders.com (888) DEAN-MAY Terre Haute IN 47802 Give us a LIKE on Facebook! Go to PianoRebuilders.com </div> </div><div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center" align="center"> <hr align="center" size="2" width="100%"> </div> From: <a href="mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org" target="_blank">pianotech-bounces@ptg.org</a> [mailto:<a href="mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org" target="_blank">pianotech-bounces@ptg.org</a>] On Behalf Of paul bruesch Sent: Wednesday, September 07, 2011 7:43 PM<div><div></div><div class="h5"> To: <a href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org" target="_blank">pianotech@ptg.org</a> Subject: Re: [pianotech] Abrasions in polyester finish</div></div> </div><div><div></div><div class="h5"> 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 <div> On Wed, Sep 7, 2011 at 4:31 PM, Dean May <<a href="mailto:deanmay@pianorebuilders.com" target="_blank">deanmay@pianorebuilders.com</a>> wrote: <div link="blue" vlink="purple"> <div> 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. <div> Dean Dean W May <a href="tel:%28812%29%20235-5272" value="+18122355272" target="_blank">(812) 235-5272</a> voice and text PianoRebuilders.com (888) DEAN-MAY Terre Haute IN 47802 Give us a LIKE on Facebook! Go to PianoRebuilders.com </div> <div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center" align="center"> <hr align="center" size="2" width="100%"> </div> From: <a href="mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org" target="_blank">pianotech-bounces@ptg.org</a> [mailto:<a href="mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org" target="_blank">pianotech-bounces@ptg.org</a>] On Behalf Of Paul T Williams Sent: Wednesday, September 07, 2011 4:00 PM To: <a href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org" target="_blank">pianotech@ptg.org</a> Subject: Re: [pianotech] Abrasions in polyester finish </div> <div> <div> 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 <table style="width:100.0%" border="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td style="padding:.75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt" valign="top"> From: </td> <td style="padding:.75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt" valign="top"> paul bruesch <<a href="mailto:paul@bruesch.net" target="_blank">paul@bruesch.net</a>> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="padding:.75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt" valign="top"> To: </td> <td style="padding:.75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt" valign="top"> Pianotech List <<a href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org" target="_blank">pianotech@ptg.org</a>>, <a href="mailto:ptg_pianotechne@egroups.ptg.org" target="_blank">ptg_pianotechne@egroups.ptg.org</a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="padding:.75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt" valign="top"> Date: </td> <td style="padding:.75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt" valign="top"> 09/07/2011 01:25 PM </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="padding:.75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt" valign="top"> Subject: </td> <td style="padding:.75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt" valign="top"> [pianotech] Abrasions in polyester finish </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center" align="center"> <hr noshade align="center" color="#a0a0a0" size="2" width="100%"> </div> 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 </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></div></div> </div> </blockquote></div>