jim mcavoy Posted October 10, 2015 Report Share Posted October 10, 2015 Hi all, I notice that the plastic like finish scratches easily... does this ever harden up? .. And what is the fix?...(if there is one) .... over coat? Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Stross Posted October 10, 2015 Report Share Posted October 10, 2015 Hi all, I notice that the plastic like finish scratches easily... does this ever harden up? .. And what is the fix?...(if there is one) .... over coat? Jim I have the same problem with my small rental fleet. I found no solution. They're not worth overcoating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael_Molnar Posted October 10, 2015 Report Share Posted October 10, 2015 Jim, I think it is the same kind of lacquer put on wood trinkets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James M. Jones Posted October 10, 2015 Report Share Posted October 10, 2015 "Chinese" finish is a pretty broad net to cast, could be just about anything that sticks to wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim mcavoy Posted October 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2015 "Chinese" finish is a pretty broad net to cast, could be just about anything that sticks to wood.Yes I suppose it is I'm not a forensic chemist the appearance is that of plastic encapsulation not a proper varnish that looks like it is holding the wood in compression Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kubasa Posted October 11, 2015 Report Share Posted October 11, 2015 Hmm...interesting. The two Chinese instruments that I have available for a kids/youth program have a rock hard finish. It's almost like they were dipped in glass. I kind of wish they were softer. I suppose Chinese instruments spans the entire gamut in many ways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim mcavoy Posted October 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2015 Hmm...interesting. The two Chinese instruments that I have available for a kids/youth program have a rock hard finish. It's almost like they were dipped in glass. I kind of wish they were softer. I suppose Chinese instruments spans the entire gamut in many ways.From my point of view you are the lucky one Chinese instruments spans the entire gamut in many ways seems to be the case Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joerobson Posted October 12, 2015 Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 A lot of commercial instruments coming from China are finished with varnish made from cashew nut shell oil. This is a very glossy and very hard varnish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baroquecello Posted October 12, 2015 Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 I find your question a little hard to understand. How big are the scratches? do you wish to know how to do touch up? If that is the case, I can't help you. But if you are only talking about dulled down varnish because of small scratches, and you'd like to restore the former shinyness, then you should use Super Nikco. That will polish up almost anything. (I even repaired a photo camera lens with it!), however, it is an abrasive of a kind and it would not be good to use this on valueable instruments, but on cheap rentals I wouldn't hesitate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Yacey Posted October 13, 2015 Report Share Posted October 13, 2015 I bought a new Guarneri copy from a small factory in China as a sample. The varnish looked ok and was rubbed out to remove the gloss. When I spoke to the rep, he indicated it was a laquer of sorts, and his wife learned the technique from a Canadian luthier. She was the head luthier in the organization. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rue Posted October 13, 2015 Report Share Posted October 13, 2015 Lol. That's funny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DGV Posted October 13, 2015 Report Share Posted October 13, 2015 Maybe the Canadian luthier learned it from a Chinese luthier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Yacey Posted October 13, 2015 Report Share Posted October 13, 2015 It could be. He indicated she spent a few years working with a luthier in Canada before they started up their manufacturing business. If this is true or not, I can't say. I don't know of anybody here that would use laquer; perhaps he meant the method of antiquing and coloring moreso than the actual varnish composition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim mcavoy Posted October 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2015 I looked at all the repliesone of the lacquers looked like the best betso... having painted a few cars in my day, I decided to treat it like lacquerand used a little rubbing compound...Turtle polishing & scratch removerworked like a charm !!!&! ...looks better than new ...there was a slight wave in the finish and that's gonethen I went all crazy and tried it on a beat up violin that had been over coated with Tung oil varnish (HI Gloss) and it worked on that also ...whoopieThanks all, for your replies, I'm back to good. Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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