(from Bob Davis, RPT) Hi, all - My wife Marcia is also a piano technician, and does beautiful plate lettering, so I showed her the messages on that subject. She sends along the following: ------------------------------------------ This is in reference to David Vanderhoofven's question concerning rub-on letters for plate serial numbers. I have also included some information about painting the raised letters. There are several brands of rub-on letters that work very successfully, and some that are more troublesome. Geotype and Letraset, from the local blueprint shop, work wonderfully and don't seem to have a shelf life problem. There are many typefaces to choose from. In addition to pages of letters, you can get entire pages of numbers (as opposed to a page of letters with a few numbers at the bottom). Zip-aTone, from the local art supply store, works fine, but seems to stick less well after some time on the shelf. It does not have an appropriate numbers-only page. Stenso (by Dennison) and Chartpak bubble or run when finish coats are applied, and therefore, I would not recommend them. The peel-and-stick-type letters are thickish, and will stick up noticeably. Since they are plastic material, I would feel uneasy clear-coating over them. Decals Unlimited makes a decal including one each of the string numbers, but if you mess up one string number, you must buy another set. The pages of numbers from the blueprint shop cost about ten dollars each, and will number dozens of pianos. The following method of application works well for us: -Wash, patch, sand, undercoat and gold-coat the plate in your usual manner. -Put down a light clear coat on the areas to be numbered. The clear coat serves two purposes: 1) the numbers stick better to a surface that doesn't have bronzing powder in it and 2) it is much easier to remove an incorrect or crooked number without damaging the gold. Don't sand where the numbers will go, because you risk damaging the gold surface, you risk leaving dust to which the numbers won't adhere, and the sanding scratches may show through the final clear coat. -Use masking tape for a guide line at the bottom of the numbers. -With a razor blade, cut out the numbers you will need. In the cases where we want to number the string sizes, we get a page of 12 point numbers and a page of 8 point numbers. The whole numbers go on in 12 point. We make the 1/2's from the 8-point with the long line of the "7" being the slash. -Fix each digit of the serial number in position with a tiny piece of masking tape. String numbers can be held sufficiently well with the thumb. -Rub on with a plastic burnisher, the rounded front end of a keytop, etc. (gently remove any mistakes with your fingernail and take off any remaining sticky marks with paint thinner). -Remove the masking tape right away. -Mist clear coat over the letters and let dry a while. -Clear coat the whole plate. After the clear coat has dried, paint on the raised letters with sign painter's enamel (we use One-Shot brand which we get at a place that sells auto painting supplies). Others have suggested various types of markers, but we haven't found these as opaque as the enamel. Set up with Q-tips and toothpicks for tiny mistakes, and a rag and paint thinner for bigger mistakes, and a couple of sizes of good-quality small brushes for various widths of line. (No coffee that morning). I hope this covers your questions about rub-on numbers. We think they are very dressy looking, and have used them for about fifteen years without problems. Marcia Davis Stockton, CA
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