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I have an Aria Pro II PB-550 that I bought new in 1976. It has a couple of nicks on the side of the peg head I would like to touch up but am unsure what type of finish they would have used at the factory back then. I guess either a lacquer or varnish since that is a bit early for polyurethane. It also has a couple of belt buckle scratches on the back of the resonator which I hope to buff out since they are not very deep. Any suggestions? Thanks—Larry
My recommendation is to leave it be. My experience with 1970's Asian finishes is that the are a polyurethane. The finishing technique used starts with a fairly heavy base finish, then a thin color on top of that, then a thin clear coat. As soon as you start sanding the little bit of touchup finish, it is likely you will sand through the thin clear and color coats. That blotchy look is much worse than a few minor dings.
Bob Smakula
smakulafrettedinstruments.com
Edited by - Bob Smakula on 01/25/2025 13:56:04
quote:
Originally posted by Bob SmakulaMy recommendation is to leave it be. My experience with 1970's Asian finishes is that the are a polyurethane. The finishing technique used starts with a fairly heavy base finish, then a thin color on top of that, then a thin clear coat. As soon as you start sanding the little bit of touchup finish, it is likely you will sand through the thin clear and color coats. That blotchy look is much worse than a few minor dings.
Bob Smakula
smakulafrettedinstruments.com
I have always understood that the finish used on instruments of that era was catalyzed Polyester and as such was extremely hard. It was almost impossible to remove by any means. I have seen where they have been chips in that finish which allowed the ingress of moisture which turned the areas milky white.
Wayne is correct on the polyester finish. I had mixed up my polys.
I have seen a fair number of those finishes with a milky appearance. Mostly with no apparent damage to the clear coat. I think if any milkyness was going to happen on the banjo, it would have started by now.
Touchup with CA glue is the best method, but, again, because of the thin clear coat, you risk significant mission creep with any sanding.
Bob Smakula
Interesting, I had not considered polyester nor have I ever worked with it. I have used CA for a lot of other work so will give it a try. These are just small dings on the edges where the peghead flares out so shouldn’t require much CA to cover. You are correct too about the finish, it looks almost like a decoupage with all the buildup to cover the fancy MOP inlays. Thanks for the tips—Larry
I hate having exposed raw wood. The vintage purists will hate me, but so be it. For small nicks, I would stain the wood with an alcohol based stain (i.e. sharpie) and seal with a clear finish (perhaps super glue). Not trying to bring it up to the level of the old finish, or to sand it, just get it protected from moisture.
Thank you kindly.
With the milky appearance, there is nothing you can do other than try and hide it. CA glue is perfect for filling in the holes/nick/scratches etc. The poly finish is extremely hard and can be sanded smooth. The only way to cover up the milky or other large areas of "imperfections" is to refinish with something darker. That in itself is probably not the best way because you would get a colour mis-match between the neck and the reso unless you spray the reso also.
I had a 1977 or 78 Aria Pro II which I bought new in that year, and some years later wanted to strip and refinish the rosewood resonator. Every stripper I tried rolled off like water and did nothing, so I ended up chipping the finish off with a pocketknife, one flake at a time. It's not urethane, but more like some type of epoxy or super hard finish I've never encountered before or since.
[EDIT --I see Wayn'e post above about the type of finish, I defer to his knowledge of the materials...]
Edited by - banjoy on 01/27/2025 04:55:18
quote:
Originally posted by Bob Smakula
Touchup with CA glue is the best method, but, again, because of the thin clear coat, you risk significant mission creep with any sanding.
Bob Smakula
I love the term "mission creep".
May I borrow that?