Repairing scratches

[G-Man]

Hi to all,

I just bought a set of used Gio's and they came complete with a few nicks and scratches on the conga and tumba.

Does anyone have any tried and true experience on fixing these type of surface dings?

Some of the scratches are more than "finish" deep and I may need to look at matching stain and varnish/urethane.

Gracias,

G-Man

[buckoh]

Hi G-Man, as a professional furniture repairman and conga player with 35 years experience (still active) in both areas here is what I've done. Test the finish to see if it is lacquer or something else. If it is lacquer you're in luck. The test is to dab a little lacquer thinner on the finish where it won't show, or possibly put a small drop on one of the scratches. If it softens the finish, you're in luck. Then, you have 2 choices; easiest one would get a small amount of lacquer retarder. This slows down the evaporation of the lacquer thinner. Add a little of this to the thinner and use a skinny brush to apply the mix to the valley of the scratch. Position the drum so that the scratch is as horizontal as possible. The goal is to let this sit until the lacquer/retarder mix softens the finish and it will partially fill the scratch. Get the retarder at a body shop supply or Sherwin Williams Paint. Option 2: (still with me?) Obtain a product by Behlen Finishing Products called Qualarenu™ #1. This is an over the counter version of Mohawk finishing Products Amalgamator. This is specifically for removing scratches and other marks from lacquer. It has limited results with other finishes. You ball up a clean, dust free cotton rag into a golf ball sized wad with a smooth, tight face and put several drops into the ball. Don't saturate. Then hold the ball tightly and tap it on the heel of the other hand to distrubute it. Then lightly pad some on the scratch usint short 'touch and go' strokes with the grain. Don't stop the pad or it will get stuck on the finish and you will curse me. Experiment somewhere that it won't show. You cam obtain this from Klingspoor Abrasives or Woodcraft Supply or your local goodguy furniture repairman. If you have enough and it works for you, you could gently wipe the whole drum. Remember to keep the pad moving and work fast. The stuff is now about 15.00 a qt. + shipping. The 2 above companies are mail order and have stores in larger cities. Also, clean the drums first with mineral spirits (paint thinner) first. It will not harm any cured surface. I would stay away from Formby's or Howard's finish renewer. Remember that Qualarenu™ #1 is a solvent and will remove a finish if not used right. If you have any questions, email me at bbrossman1@juno.com
Good luck, Buck

[bongo]

Buckho sounds like he has the experience to actually fix a scratch, so take my comments as kind of an aside to the general problem.

The beautiful finish on so many drums is also unfortunately delicate. My way has been to either order the drums in the first place with an oil finish, or refinish them in oil when it is time.

Natural oil is beautiful and easy to quickly repair scratches. Just sand them out and apply more oil. For drums that travel and gig a lot I think it is the only way to go.

[CongaTick]

buckoh DOES sound like he has a lot to contribute... a wealth of info on refinishing. thanks for sharing!!

[Derbeno]

What about if I want to strip the top layer/lacquer from the drum surface and go natural. What would you recommend?

Sander or chemical remover, I vaguely remember seeing a thread from years ago on this subject but cant find it

[G-Man]

WOW!

Thanks Buck for the very detailed info.

I'm not sure what LP puts on their drums. I thought it was a sprayed polyurethane.

What if it isn't laquer?

Some of the scratches are about the size of a dime. The coating around them are cracked and/or chipping. There is some bare wood showing.

I think eventually I will strip them down and do the oil refinish trip on them. I like the look and I agree with bongo that it is the easiest surface to maintain and repair.

Thanks again for the info.

G

[Mike]

I found it quite a hassle to mend a few nicks and scratches in my assorted LP congas. I didn´t do a very good job, but at least the wood is protected. One thing is for sure: aesthetically I don´t like the thick, translucent LP varnish. A friend of mine, a carpenter, advised me recently to remove it completely and use natural oil, like Mr. Bongo already suggested. But then, the time and money you spend on that could be too much... not enough time for playing anyway....plus aesthetics should lie on the music :p
Of course a nice-looking drum is awesome! But sound comes first...

[Derbeno]

I am about to embark on a Project to remove the lacquer or varnish. Can someone advise me please if I should remove chemically or sand it off?

Thanks

[buckoh]

Derbeno, use a good stripper with methelyne chloride in it. Do it OUTSIDE to avoid fumes. Sanding should always be the last resort for stripping. If you do sand, use a random orbit sander with a vacuum hose connected to the vacuum cleaner/dust collector. Otherwise you'll get small spirals that will show up when you put the finish on. Use grit around 200-220 and final hand sand with 220 going with the grain always. One responder mentioned an oil finish. I assume he meant a danish oil finish. It is easy to touch up. Just add some of the oil and hand sand with the grain with 200-240 wet or dry sandpaper. Some of the sanding sponges work well. They are about 5X5 inches and 2 sided. The sanding will work up a mix of oil & sawdust. Follow the directions and this will allow the mix to go into the scratches and build it a little. It really is foolproof. You get a nice soft looking satin that is easy to touch up. You're going for ease of mantainence, not durability. You can also coat with many other types of finishes later if you want depth and build. Watco Danish Oil finish is a good one. Also, Geo. Maloof, a famous chair builder, sells his own mix. I haven't used it, so I can't offer an opinion. Also, Waterlox makes a nice wipe on oil that is beautiful . A friend of mine who has been in Fine Woodworking 3 times, with 5 pages the last time, uses it on pieces that go for 10,000.00 and more. Its basically the same as the others. Remember to never pile the used rags up. They will spontaneously combust and burn your shop down! Good luck. Buck

[Derbeno]

buckoh,
Words cannot express how much i appreciate your advice.

[buckoh]

I'm glad to help with something that I'm so passionate about! Buck

[G-Man]

Thanks Buck,

You're a great source of valuable info.

I used to have a sailboat with lots of teak on it and have used that technique of oiling and sanding while the oil is still wet. It really does work! The fibers from the wood swell and stand up when they get wet. You then sand them off and they fill in the grain and give one of the smoothest finishes I have ever felt.

Buck, I'm kinda concerned if the chemical stripper would attack the glues used in making the drum.

Ever heard of this happening?

G

[Derbeno]

I finally found a couple of threads re stripping and whether to sand or use chemical stripper.

I don't know if you have seen these yet Buck, but any further comments re not attacking the stave glue?

http://www.congaplace.com/cgi-bin....6;st=20

http://www.congaplace.com/cgi-bin....tripper



Edited By Derbeno on 1190067443

[buckoh]

Derbeno, if you don't leave the stripper on for too long, there shouldn't be a problem. Not knowing what glue was used is definitely a drawback. Your basic guideline should be ; if the glue is not getting soft, you'll be ok. Strippers will eventually soften most glues. You have to work fast and watch closely.
As far as scrapers go, I use a Sandvik red handled, goose necked, carbide blade scraper. Woodcraft Supply sells them. It has a 1 1/2 inch triangular blade that can be rotated to give you 2 new surfaces after the 1st one gets dull. Be careful, if you rock it, you'll dig in and do irrepairable damage. Use mild, steady pressure and go slow. Good luck, Buck