How to remove a light scratch on a polyester finish

[markymark]

The title pretty much sums up what I need. Fiancée is selling her B1 piano as we will be keeping my much better one. When she was dusting, the wire centre of the feather duster lightly scratched the polyester. Just noticed the scratch today and was wondering how to get rid of it. It isn't a deep scratch at all - just seems to have scored the top layer. Any advice?

[Colin Nicholson]

Hi
You’ll never get rid of the marked area 100% unless you buy the proper poly repair kit (Heckschers do them, but it’s not cheap).
For a quick & cheap repair job (to remove the ‘sanding’ effect of the scratch).... buy some black pigment powder – similar to titatium dioxde for ivories, but black (get that in an art/hobby store for a few quid), then mix a small amount with some clear nail varnish.... apply with a cocktail stick in thin layers.
When you’ve built up enough layers, leave to dry overnight, then buff up with some T-Cut.... will hide the scratch element, but there will always be a mark on the finish. Don’t use any kind of wire wool or fine emery cloth as it might scratch.

[markymark]

Hi Colin!
Thanks for that advice.

Took some from somone else who suggested toothpaste or furniture polish. The result has been creating a slight light patch - possible damage to the polyester finish. Tried using meths to remove any reside but still there and noticeable in daylight. Is this a job for a professional?

[Barrie Heaton]

For fine scratches all you need is a good wool buffing mop, patience, and some White Diamond car polish then normal polish. I have used that on Grand lids in shops to take out fine scratches works like a dream. The White diamond has aluminium flakes that buff out the scratches

For moderate to deep you do need fine paper, Traaz pads and the step by step buffing system Colin has posted about but that's a few hundred quid + a days training course. Unless you intend use a lot, not worth it but there is a lot of work out there taking scratches and chips out. Removal men are great at giving me work.

Barrie

[Colin Nicholson]

Might be a pro job.... its up to you.... depends on value and condition of piano/ name/ age, and if sold later, would a quick repair job lose value? Ands also depends on where the scratch is.... would need to see it in the ‘flesh’ to comment further. Could you claim on your home insurance as accidental damage? It’s a bit like buying a touch-up pen in Halfords for £5.99 and doing the odd scratch/ stone chip repair yourself on the car..... 

[athomik]

I've used this before: http://www.konig-uk.co.uk/konigshop/ko6 ... p-124.html . It work well (in a well ventilated area), but as has been mentioned, it's expensive and does require some training (and few other items such as their scraping tool, some extremely fine sandpaper (I had cloth based stuff down to 12000 grit). I also used a buffer and some Meguiar's plastic cleaner and polish.

Even with this, you can see the join with the original finish in certain light conditions.

For very light scratches, some car restoration products can be used to eliminate fine scratches and give you a polished finish. I would use a scratch remover followed by a polish, both designed to help with scratches in plastic, rather than car paint.

[markymark]

Thanks for the feedback.

Have gone back to look at the piano a few times and not really as bad as I thought - the polyester fading. I think the scratches will just have to do. Not worth is when the piano is being sold on as second-hand.