Repairing Polyester
Fixing a scratched polyester finish is a tricky job, and may call for an expert. August 30, 2005
Question
I have a high-end polyester table that a client dropped on the edge. The edge is gouged and cracked, and the top is slightly damaged also (on edge). I contacted the manufacture and was told (I feel incorrectly) that I could re-spray the piece with nitro lacquer. How should I approach this repair? The client is very particular.
Forum Responses
(Finishing Forum)
From contributor L:
Your table can be recoated with lacquer. To minimize scratch transfer, you must sand with 600 or finer paper, thoroughly. The bond will be to the scratch cut surface only. Re-spray with gloss lacquer only. Two coats or more will be necessary. This lacquer topcoat will not be as hard or as glossy as polyester. Polishing with compound and buffer may be required. On the other hand, Konig makes a polyester touch-up and repair kit. You should look into this avenue before recoating.
From contributor R:
With all due respect to you and your skills, if you don’t have experience repairing this type of finish I would decline the job. Why experiment on a client’s table? If at all possible do some homework and find someone qualified to do this repair and your client will appreciate it.
From contributor D:
I agree with Contributor L. Konig has a polyester repair kit available. Your lacquers and NC just won't get the job done right. These kits are used to repair damaged polyester surfaces.
From contributor M:
I would suggest looking in the yellow pages under piano repair and restoration. Those folks do poly fixes everyday and they have a wealth of info that might be useful to you. I can tell you from experience that this can be a very tricky fix. I had a repair that I could not get to look right and it was costing me time and money. I called a buddy of mine at a piano restoration shop and he stopped by to fix the problem. He used a kit; I think it was from Konig to do the fix and it looked great.
