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<BODY lang=EN-US vLink=purple link=blue> <DIV> <DIV>Years ago, when I was a new tech, I learned to do these kinds of repairs.  Mohawk has a wonderful video that shows all of the procedures, with very professional graphics and full explanation.  See if they still have that video.  You'll understand (at least theoretically) what you need to know.  A lot of what I learned in the Mohawk school was just the way THEY did things.  I took the classes about 15 years ago, and I've heard their classes are much better now.  You can improvise to a certain extent, and you can get good results if you are systematic in your approach.</DIV> <DIV>For example, maybe you have a dent.  The color is still there, or maybe you just need to put a little color in the depression.  They have pens, like Sharpies, with different colors.  Just dab a little color into it, smear off some if it's too dark, and fill the damage with a clear lacquer stick.  You would use a hot knife (electric is easier than using the oven-type) and melt the stick into the hole.  Let it cool a bit, then level it off by pulling the knife across the hole.  You then wet-sand the fill to smooth it.  Put a top coat over it, or french polish the area, or use steel wool, to adjust the sheen to match the surrounding area.</DIV> <DIV>Basically, you inspect the damage to see what procedures you need to use.  Is the veneer damaged?  Is the color intact?  Do you need to replace wood that's been chipped off or dented?  What kind of finish do you have?  Is it REALLY lacquer?  Maybe it's lacquer over polyester.  Or maybe it's varnish or urethane.  How deep is the damage?  Can you just sand it out and rebuff?  Each situation is going to be different, and one procedure may not work where another might.  </DIV> <DIV>If you have to fill, you can use wood putty, bondo, lacquer stick (burn-in stick), or other materials.  Then you need to color the fill with something to camouflage the area.  There are various methods of using color.  Some use powdered stain colors, which mix with liquid padding lacquers.  There are spray cans with colored tints and paints.  There are various stain pens, some of which are tints, some are opaque colors.  </DIV> <DIV>First, you color the fill with the lightest color you see in the background of the panel you're repairing.  Then, gradually darken the fill area to match exactly the background color.  This would be done using powdered colors and padding lacquer.  Then you would draw a grain pattern over the newly colored area to imitate the grain pattern of the surrounding area.  "Connect the dots" by continuing the natural grain lines over the repair so it looks like a continuous pattern.  You would use a very fine brush, or graining pens which have a fine point on them.  These also come in various colors.</DIV> <DIV>After you've got the color right, you seal it with spray lacquer or padding the area with a french polishing lacquer and a pad.  You may be already familiar with refinishing, so at this point, you know what to do.</DIV> <DIV>A few hints:</DIV> <DIV>Make sure your repair is flawless, with no pinholes, and level with the surrounding area.  </DIV> <DIV>View the repair from different angles, because the color changes in different light.  It may appear too light from one angle, too dark from another.  </DIV> <DIV>Use the powdered stain colors for a professional job.  It takes some practice to know which colors to use for which kind of wood.  Mohawk has a small stain color kit with about 10 different colors in it.  I used this kit for years, and I did a lot of jobs with just these colors.  Their master stain color kit costs around $400., but you don't need this right away.  There are many kinds of padding lacquers, like Rapid Pad, Qualasole, Wil-Pro, and others.  Each has it's proper use.  Rapid pad is good, but be sure it's completely dry before spraying any lacquer over it- spraying over padding lacquer may cause the finish to crack.  I only use Wil-Pro because it dries so quickly that I can spray over it immediately with no ill result.  Wil-Pro dries so fast that it's tricky to use, but it makes a good result.</DIV> <DIV>Best way to learn is to get some stuff and try it.  Get some old panels and a hammer and make some dents and scratches.  Get a hot-knife and a heat control (important- the knife by itself is too hot) and some burn-in sticks and try to fill the dents, using the tip of the knife to level the area.  Try to pick a color that matches the surrounding background color.  See if you can match the color so you don't notice it when it's done.  Draw some grain pattern over it, and see if it disappears at first glance.  You'll see how easy it really is.  Later, if you get adventurous, you can get some stain colors and see if you can blend the background color even better.  Don't worry if your result isn't perfect right away.  You'll be surprised how people will be pleased that that ugly damage "disappeared", even if you can still see where it was.  You'll never get it 100%, but in the '90's they'll love you for your work.  Just be sure to make a disclaimer that they might see something if they look for it.  Temper their expectations in the beginning, then they'll be happy if it exceeds their expectations.  </DIV> <DIV>I hope this helps.  Good luck.  Email me if you like, anytime.</DIV> <DIV>Paul McCloud</DIV> <DIV>San Diego</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV></DIV></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt Arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title=staff@smithpiano.com href="mailto:staff@smithpiano.com">Brad Smith, RPT</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To: </B><A title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">Pianotech</A></DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> 11/01/2005 7:49:46 PM </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> RE: Finish Repairs</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV><FONT size=2> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=812175103-02112005>Hi David, </SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=812175103-02112005>I took the 3 day Mohawk course for the same reasons you give. </SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=812175103-02112005>It was wonderful !! Worth the money and time.  </SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=812175103-02112005><A href="http://www.mohawk-finishing.com/seminar_wood.asp">http://www.mohawk-finishing.com/seminar_wood.asp</A></SPAN></FONT></DIV> <P><FONT size=2>Best regards,<BR><BR>Brad Smith, RPT<BR>Smith Piano Services<BR><A href="http://www.smithpiano.com">www.smithpiano.com</A><BR>  </FONT></P> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Tahoma size=2>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B> pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org]<B>On Behalf Of </B>David Love<BR><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, November 01, 2005 10:36 PM<BR><B>To:</B> 'Pianotech'<BR><B>Subject:</B> RE: Finish Repairs<BR><BR></FONT></DIV> <DIV class=Section1> <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial color=navy size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">In general I would like to be able to make small repairs when the need arises.  I�m not looking to get into it in a big way, but there are times when being able to do a small neat repair would come in handy.  I simply have no experience with finishes and want to know the general procedure, materials, tools, etc., for executing repairs especially to lacquer finishes.  </SPAN></FONT></P> <P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial color=navy size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN></FONT> </P> <DIV> <P><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=navy size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy">David Love<BR>davidlovepianos@comcast.net </SPAN></FONT></P></DIV> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><FONT face=Tahoma size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">-----Original Message-----<BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">From:</SPAN></B> pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] <B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">On Behalf Of </SPAN></B>Mark Potter<BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Sent:</SPAN></B> Monday, October 31, 2005 5:51 PM<BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">To:</SPAN></B> Pianotech<BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Subject:</SPAN></B> Re: Finish Repairs</SPAN></FONT></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN></FONT> </P> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Hi David -</SPAN></FONT></P></DIV> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Surprisingly, I can't come up with specific literature that addresses this topic, although I know that I have encountered some over the years.  Is there a specific repair you are needing to make, or is this query for general education purposes?</SPAN></FONT></P></DIV> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN></FONT> </P></DIV> <DIV> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Mark Potter<BR><BR><B><I><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-STYLE: italic">David Love <davidlovepianos@comcast.net></SPAN></I></B> wrote:</SPAN></FONT></P></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: medium none; MARGIN-TOP: 5pt; PADDING-LEFT: 4pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 5pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; MARGIN-LEFT: 3.75pt; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 1.5pt solid; PADDING-TOP: 0in; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none"> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Does anyone know of any literature/articles that specifically address the<BR>repair of damage to lacquer finishes?<BR><BR>David Love<BR>davidlovepianos@comcast.net <BR><BR><BR><BR>_______________________________________________<BR>pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives</SPAN></FONT></P></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>