Scratch on my Satin Black VST :(

MikeC78 · « **on:** 29 Mar 2014, 05:10 pm »

Yes, I have now acquired a new mark on my less than year old Veracity SongTower. I can now thank the new girlfriend and her dog! :bang head:

Question? Is there a way to make this disappear without some extensive work? Looks to me like it dug into the MDF and would require me to send it back to Jim. I didn't want the girl to even touch them to ask, i'm a little pissed off at the moment. Maybe a good body shop in the area?? Gonna go somewhere and cry now...

Jim- Please tell me how I can get this fixed. This is gonna bug the F*** outta me!! Thanks!

Mike

MikeC78 · « **Reply #1 on:** 29 Mar 2014, 05:32 pm »

JP78 · « **Reply #2 on:** 29 Mar 2014, 06:01 pm »

Sharpie?

jsalk · « **Reply #3 on:** 29 Mar 2014, 06:03 pm »

The ideal situation would be to repair the area and re-finish the cabinet. That is what we would do. But that is not an option in this case.

The problem with a situation like this is that, without re-finishing, the best repairs will tend to mar the area around the scratch.

You can use something like a black Sharpie to color in the area. To make it flat, your best bet is a Fil-Stick from Mohawk. Here is a link:
http://www.mohawk-finishing.com/catalog_browse.asp?ictNbr=106

I typically warm the tip of one of these sticks with a flame and then quickly apply the material to the depression while it is still soft. Let it cool and repeat until the entire area is filled. You can then take a soft cloth and rub the area flat with the rest of the surface. This is basically a softer wax, so you can work it a bit until you get the depression filled. Of course, as stated above, you will likely impact the area surrounding the depression. If you rub too much, the surround area will get shiny too.

I hope this helps.

- Jim

MikeC78 · « **Reply #4 on:** 29 Mar 2014, 06:44 pm »

Thanks Jim!

Definitely not what I would like to hear... I just know if I do go this route, I will notice it from a MILE away.

Anyway, if I do ship this back to you, what is the cost of something like this? Looks like my only option to make me happy. PM me if you'd like.

Furthermore, to make this situation even more interesting... I recently had water damage in my basement, ruining the stock boxes in which these were shipped. Just gets better!!

Ace Deprave · « **Reply #5 on:** 29 Mar 2014, 07:11 pm »

Damn, that's no good.

MikeC78 · « **Reply #6 on:** 29 Mar 2014, 07:47 pm »

Fack! Tell me about it... I'm kinda glad I'm not home at the moment, definitely need a cool down period...

I told her, thanks for being careful around my speakers.... I just shit 4k daily, so no big deal to replace them. Yes, I'm an a-hole! Lol Sad part is, she knows how valuable they are and chose to stick a damn dog crate in their vicinity. Ohh, FML! Lol

I just keep telling myself.... They are "just speakers" and can be repaired. Trying to stay optimistic here...

SCompRacer · « **Reply #7 on:** 29 Mar 2014, 09:36 pm »

Oh, the pain! Sorry to hear about and see this Mike!

PMAT · « **Reply #8 on:** 29 Mar 2014, 09:49 pm »

007 would kill the girl and the dog with a silencer, pour some scotch and call a previous girlfriend for some entertainment.

Rocket · « **Reply #9 on:** 30 Mar 2014, 12:57 am »

Hi,

I feel your pain. One of my cats was involved in pushing over my Salk Sound HT2's and my speakers ended up with veneer damage. I considered repairing the speakers locally but I ended up selling them and purchasing a pair of HT3's. I live in Australia and all in all the accident ended up costing me an arm and a leg. Jim was great to deal with though. I'd expect shipping to be much cheaper for you though.

Regards Rod

jtwrace · « **Reply #10 on:** 30 Mar 2014, 02:27 am »

Looks like she ows you 50% of Satin Black SS8's since your half is already paid for.

loving_it · « **Reply #11 on:** 30 Mar 2014, 02:52 am »

I'm pretty anal it would have to go back and be fixed , then I would put up a gate " which I have " no pets allowed in that room

DMurphy · « **Reply #12 on:** 30 Mar 2014, 03:00 am »

Some of us have pets that respect loudspeakers.

bladesmith · « **Reply #13 on:** 30 Mar 2014, 04:04 am »

If you decide to repaint, go "piano black lacquer". More durable.

Rocket · « **Reply #14 on:** 30 Mar 2014, 04:21 am »

Hi,

I really like piano black finish on speakers but it may cost quite a bit. My understanding is that there are a number of extra processes the finish has to go thru in comparison to a satin black finish. Its still worthwhile going a quote from Jim.

Cheers Rod

MikeC78 · « **Reply #15 on:** 30 Mar 2014, 06:12 am »

You guys at least lightened my mood!

The GF feels really bad (which she should), and is gonna pay for the damages. I'm going to request a box from Jim and proceed from there...

I do like the idea of the added durability from the piano black, but I personally like satin black better. Maybe a more durable thicker satin top coat??

Jim- Any ideas on a more durable satin finish, if I send these back?

MikeC78 · « **Reply #16 on:** 30 Mar 2014, 09:09 am »

Quote from: PMAT on 29 Mar 2014, 09:49 pm

007 would kill the girl and the dog with a silencer, pour some scotch and call a previous girlfriend for some entertainment.

Haha!!

If it was my ex-wife, I'd call it a plan!

This girl is actually a good one, just made a mistake...

She is already looking up shipping companies to send it back. She told me she would pay someone to pack it up professionally and send it. I told her the best bet would be to have Jim send an empty box with all the padding for a VST. Would be the only viable and economical option to ship. The only real issue, is having someone remove the plinth and handle the speaker carefully in a box. I would need to call my father to do all that, as I'm currently out of the country for work.

jsalk · « **Reply #17 on:** 30 Mar 2014, 11:03 am »

Just to correct the record...

Gloss levels have nothing to do with the durability of a finish. It is the material being used.

Lacquer is quite hard, but brittle. It is fairly natural looking and that is why it is most often used for furniture. But it is generally not impervious to water damage. It is easy to repair a lacquer finish and you can use fine sandpaper to sand out dust particles in a final finish and then spray lacquer thinner to re-melt the surface. None of the other finishes are as easy to work with in this regard.

Poly is generally more flexible but not as hard as lacquer. It is less prone to water damage, but a bit harder to work with for a final topcoat. You can't generally sand out dust particles without spraying another coat (and hoping there are no dust particles to deal with in that coat). We generally use poly for sealer coats as it sands very nice.

Acrylics are very durable which is why they are often used in automotive finishes.

Polyester is the hardest and most durable of all. But it is expensive and dangerous to work with (mix it slightly wrong and it will explode). There is no way to remove dust particles without rubbing out the final finish. And its hardness makes it extremely difficult to polish. It is usually used for high-gloss, hand rubbed finishes where durability and clarity are required (like electric guitars).

Many of these finishes are available in various gloss levels from dull all the way through high gloss.

But, of course, the bottom line is that no finish would likely have survived this incident.

- Jim

MikeC78 · « **Reply #18 on:** 30 Mar 2014, 12:53 pm »

Jim-

Thanks for the info! I didn't plan on changing the finish...

I just sent you an email. Looking to send this back to get refinished.

screener · « **Reply #19 on:** 5 Apr 2014, 07:47 pm »

I would try to fix the area before sending it in to Jim. If I couldn't live with it, off it goes. What you could do is take the stand off and choose an area that is covered with the speaker. I know that the material is different but it's a chance I would take. Good luck.