How do I fix nicks in the finish on this new Hobart M Cable 45" upright? Its a blonde finish(yellowish golden color) The nicks are only in the clear coat, which looks like a thick plastic coating.

I appreciate any help

Anson Everitt
PTG associate.

You need someone experience with polyester repair.

Assuming it is polyester:
If you attempt a repair without being trained and experienced in poly repair, a small nick will end up becoming a big blemish.

The question you ask tells me you should stay away from this one, for your own good as well as the piano's.

Wayne, Jurgen,
Thank you for responding. Are either of you trained in poly repair or repair of piano finishes in general? If so, how do I tell what the finish is and how do I fix it? The nicks are all less 5mm in diameter. Is it possible to use CA glue and build it up, then buff it. If so , will you tell me how? Are there any kits I can buy for repairs such as this or should I assemble my own kit. What should be in it?

Anson Everitt
PTG associate

Polyester finish repair classes. There may be others.

I'm experience at poly repair and I state again hire someone who is experienced. As Jurgen stated a small ding will become a large blemish. You need training this is not something that you can learn from a few lines of text on a forum.

Thank you BDB for that great lead! You're probably right Wayne, it would be more efficient to learn at a hands on seminar or something. Maybe I can go to the one in
fresno end of February.


Anson

Of course, the advice previously given is the best route in that seasoned touch up guys work efficiently because that is their livelihood. Nobody wants to go back to the customers home the following day to finish a touch up repair 50 miles away . Even a course is only partially the anwser.You gotta be able to practice hopefully not on a polyester Hamburg Steinway.
Touch up is actually not a rocket science though one has to learn all the various finishing materials to be versatile.You never know what you'll encounter on the job.. Lacquer,polyester,polyurethane,hand rubbed
finish,gun finish etc. Touch up is actually a refined skill.Very few refinishers can do touch up and vice versa.

Just for grins you can use CA glue for a small shallow repair on polyester.One nice thing is that you can use the accelerator to dry your fill instantly.On a black piano ,you need to color the hit first before you fill it with the glue.On a wood finish piano you need to color the wood again,before the fill.You can file,sand and buff CA glue very easily.If the hit is to deep it will look to glassy because of the depth of the clear. You have to be careful in that when you spray the accelerator it will damage the surrounding area unless you taped it off.You still need to blend and taper it into the surrounding undamaged polyester.That's where the guys are saying that blip can become a major blemish. Air bubbles are a problem with this glue.Tricky! For a nick on an edge,no problem! Practice on your own piano I learned out of necessity over the years but not as fast or efficient as for one doing it day in and day out.

pianobroker,

That sounds like what I need to do. Get to the point, either by taking a course and then practicing on my own pianos or shadowing a specialist, where I can do it if

needs be but for the most part hire it out.

thank you for the interesting input fellas!

Anson Everitt
aspiring RPT

I've tried the König system a few times (after some training by the König guys over here) and it works quite well. I've only worked on black polyester so far, and while it is not invisible, you have to look pretty closely and at the right angle to see the repair. One thing I have found is that their polyester mix, without any colouring, dries to a honey coloured finish, not totally clear.

You'd want to be careful about adding too much accelerator to the CA glue. Excessive amounts end up causing the glue to lose it's clarity.. thus defeating the whole purpose of the repair. In fact, sometimes just the humidity being too high can cause problems with clarity. Making repairs on light colored woods are the most difficult to make 'disappear'

As has been mentioned, it is not always possible to make the repair entirely 'go away' This is because you are laying one material on top of another... the two are not melting together as can happen with lacquer. If you do a very neat job, (particularly with the preparation) the 'halo' will be very difficult to see, but it will still be there. The only way I've been able to completely get rid of them is by spraying a coat of polyurethane on top the the entire surface.. then sanding down and re-buffing.

Anyone trying these repairs would also do well to invest in some professional buffing equipment. We use a system from Presta: http://www.ketone.com/proddetail.php?prod=136089&PHPSESSID=7cd36251f927cf596e568d075ead1d48

Lighting conditions can work for you or against you.. There are many instances, where just working your way up (patiently) through increasingly finer grits will produce a very satisfactory result. There are situations where the type of surface, size of the affected area, and way the light comes through (at different times of the day) simply demand having the good equipment.

At some point you have to make a decision.. Does it make good business sense for you stock all this equipment, expensive materials, take a course, spend hours practicing, etc. just to make a handful of repairs each year? To me it wouldn't. However, if you are affiliated with some dealers who could use the service, and you're interested in taking on these types of jobs for other local technicians, then it starts to make sense.