Congratulations on passing your doctoral dissertation. Since I'm an old furniture/antiques restorer, I've used the aforementioned touch up sticks (crayons) from time to time. They are not permanent nor are they very effective on larger gouges and scratches. The gold standard in touch up products is the use of burned-in colored shellac sticks. The disadvantage is you have to be quite experienced in burn-in work (which involves the use of a pre-heated burn in knife and melted shellac) or you'll do more damage than good. For scratch and minor gouge touch up, I would recommend the marker-felt tip pens you can buy at most local home improvement stores. If you are convinced the crayon type sticks work best in your situation, here's a retailer for Mohawk blend-all sticks (professional grade):
http://www.shopwoodrepairproducts.com/blendalstick.aspxMohawk and Star are the two pillars of the furniture touch up and refinishing industry (and have been since the 1920's) They are both part of RPM Industries. The solvent based (re)finishing products segment has been in steep decline since the EPA classified lacquers and associated solvents as HAPS (Hazardous Air Product Standards) non-compliant. Most furniture factories have gone to 100% solids (no solvents) and other EPA approved work-arounds to remain compliant. Others have simply moved their factories south of the border where air standards are more lax. Sorry to digress... Good luck with your project and please feel free to follow up.
John S.
