The advice Howard gave you was all right on the money, but I have one
suggestion that I've tried that seems to work pretty well. He said;
>Damage such as that you describe on a Salvi is very difficult to repair
>well, for the polyurethane finish does not dissolve under a new coat as
>lacquer or shellac would. It can be made "presentable", but will never look
>new.
For the most part this is true, but I've found that if you mix in about 30%
xylene (commercially sold sometimes as Xylol) with your basic poly finish,
either gloss or satin, it will dissolve into the previous finish very well
and you can generally blend it in pretty well. It behaves very much like
lacquer. Extreme care must be used with the xylene, as it is VERY nasty,
toxic stuff. I use charcoal-filter masks, paper spray suit, gloves, the
whole thing. But it does work with poly, if can find someone with the
equipment to do it. It's not a bad idea to try it somewhere inobtrusive
(like the base) before you go for the gold. Good luck!
Dave
Dave Woodworth
Heartland Strings
2686 Boston Road
Woodville, WI 54028
800-969-4277 (800-WOW-HARP!)
e-mail - hartland@win.bright.net
Web site - http://www.win.bright.net/~hartland