Type finish on a 1923 Gibson A2Z?

[Charles Johnson]

Does anyone know of something that will re-liquefy the finish on a 1922 Gibson snakehead mandolin? I just got an almost mint natural top A2Z, but unfortunately a child got ahold of it and put some nasty pick scratches on the top on the bass side. Not into the wood, but definitely deep into the clear coat. Its just way too clean to refinish. Any thoughts? French polish?

I'm thinking this is a varnish mandolin, but I do not know. Does anyone know what Gibson used for these?

Thanks!
Charles Johnson

[MML]

Charles, that sounds just like my A2-z, random scratches, but not by a player. I believe they are a varnish finished. If you find a method that works let us know. I have been hesitant in touching up mine for fear it may be worse. Oh yeah lets see some pics #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[Bill Halsey]

Charles, one of the old violin restoration tricks is to keep a solution of copal gum and alcohol handy for shallow scratches. Drop a little of this into the scratch (I use a toothpick) and allow it to dry for a few days, until it hardens. Then level it carefully with a small, slightly curved scraper. Finish up with a very thin French polish over the area.

[Michael Lewis]

Is the wood compressed under the scratch? It is nice to swell the wood back to it's original surface. I use a soldering pencil and wet Kleenex to work only the dented area. Test underneath the tuner plate with various solvents (alcohol, lacquer thinner, MEK)to discern the variety of finish. Behlen markets a product (Qualarenew?) to reamalgamate the finish, and claim it works on varnish. Read about it in most any wood working catalog.

If the finish is just crushed and fractured try a bit of alcohol with a small water color brush. If that makes the appearance better, then drys out and returns to the previous appearance you can apply a tiny amount of thin shellac ONLY TO THE DAMAGED AREA. Use a magnifier when doing this stuff.

One thing to keep in mind is that it is rather easy to make a small bit of damage more apparent by trying to make it disappear. It takes some experience and a bit of good fortune to make tings like this disappear.

[Darryl Wolfe]

I agree with both Billbows and Michael. It should clean up with shellac/french polish, but you must have the experience with that finish.

My Loar had some very very ugly scratches..but Kim taught me how to french polish. They are gone

[Charles Johnson]

Thanks guys! Next question - who does this work? Its not something I'd be comfortable doing. Replies offlist to charles@vintagemandolin.com are fine.

Thanks again,
Charles

[Dennis Russell]

copal Gum http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif? what is it, I read one of the post on repairing scratches on violins. How do you make it or or where can one obtain it. A elementary school down the road sends me there damaged violins, some of the kids are careless with the violins or violas, and some cello,s. Most repairs are scratches some deep some superficial.
I am not a proffesional repairman, but there are no others here in this one horse town, someone in a orchestra workshop I was in, noticed the Violin I was playing,, ( my rebuild) asked me where I got it, I said I rebuilt it, it had been damaged severly. this is where it all started, the word got around that I repair violins. When people found out I also build guitars and mandolins, I get calls almost everyday of the week.
I am always looking for new sources of repair techniques and new and different materials to use,, so Where Do I get this "COPAL" GUM Dennis in Yuma Az

[sunburst]

Here is a link to International Violin. (http://www.internationalviolin.com/searchpage.cfm?category=RESINS&expanded=13%2C31%2C37%2C4%2C60%2C75&stype=cat)
I've heard of doing similar things with sandarac also.

[Bill Halsey]

(Here's a repeat of a couple offlist replies)

I use copal that I purchased from Behlen Bros. decades ago and it works alright. However, since Kremer opened a branch in NY, I think that they would be your best domestic source nowadays.

Go to: http://www.kremer-pigmente.de/englisch/chemic01.htm#naturalresins
and scroll down to : (their stock no.) 60150 Manila Copal, soluble in denatured alcohol.

Get the 100g quantity @ $6.50 -- that's enough to last you for a very long time.

Mix up a little, maybe a half-teaspoonful, in den. alcohol, methanol or ethanol. Warm it gently to dissolve if you're in a hurry. Make it a little thinner than maple syrup; much thicker and it may retain voids & bubbles, and it takes too long to dry thoroughly. The trick is to find a small container with a tight seal to store it in, so it doesn't thicken. Keep it out of the sunlight. It can always be thinned if it does thicken.

Give this a try (description earlier on this thd.) on a junker to develop a little confidence. Experiment with it. Try to keep your repair area as confined as possible to the scratch or dent. It may or may not make the scratch disappear completely, but the idea is to level the surface to keep the reflections from reminding you of what's underneath.

[mythicfish]

"One thing to keep in mind is that it is rather easy to make a small bit of damage more apparent by trying to make it disappear. #It takes some experience and a bit of good fortune to make tings like this disappear."

I agree with Michael in this regard. The German language has a succinct term : Schlimbesserung . Def: Making things worse nby trying to make things better.
Wise course of action according to the Chinese: Wu wei. Do nothing ... until the correct soulution presents itself.

Curt