Refinishing my Hammond Organ

[Randall Dibble]

I have Hammond M3 Organ I'd like to brighten up.

It's from the 1950's with a Walnut Veneer and finish, possibly Lacquer. I don't think it was stained very much. It a rich medium brown color.

The reason I want to refinish it is that it has some scratches and small chip in the veneer about the size of thumb nail and aging cracks in the surface and some checking.

I'd like to know know repair the finish without stripping it and then apply more durable modern type finish over the top of the repaired older finish.

[Terry Mac]

Hey Randall welcome to the forum!

As for the cracks and scratches can't help much. The other members of this forum are aptly better than I to answer such a question. There's very good woodworkers here.

As for your final finish I do have suggestions. A good polyurethane might be the best bet. But have to admit, if the organ doesn't get much UV rays and the color is where you want it; look into Gougeon epoxy. There'll never be another scratch again, if there is, someone is trying real hard. Don't know how that will affect the sound though. Just a thought.

Good luck with it, and keep us updated. Like to see pictures if you don't mind.

[Don]

Hey, Randall. You've picked a tough project. Most likely you are correct about a lacquer finish, it being from the fifty's. Unfortunately there are few options to you. If you simply want to add some life to the finish you have you can fix some of the chips with something like some hard putty crayons that you will find in home center stores or a more permanent fix with shellac sticks, called "burn in sticks." The sticks are actually melted into damaged areas, plus there are more colors available. A company like Mohawk http://www.mohawk-finishing.com/ has these materials and even more specialized help areas. This is getting into an area that takes practice and specialized tools.

Scratches and checks in the finish may be able to be doctored with some of the better colored waxes, etc that are available. Of course the problems that you will have with trying to refinish the thing completely are going to stem from having the mechanism in the way, working around the keys and controls, etc. Refinishing veneer is something that can either go well or sour, it depends on the quality of the piece really.

You may want to visit a place like this http://www.woodcraft.com/stores/ in person or online to see some of the product options available.

Hopefully some other guys will chime in with their ideas as well, good luck.

All the best, Don