Piano plate refinishing

[Ted Simmons]

Terrific advice, Joel.  Thanks

>I like the look of a high gloss clear coat, too.  Also, before you put
>that last clear coat on, if you want to do a _really_ professional
>looking job and put some rub-on numbers and a model letter, this is the
>time to do it.  All previous coats must be dry.  Place a piece of
>masking tape across the "delta" of the the plate (triangular area
>between bass and tenor for those who do not speak Joelese) and you can
>rub the serial numbers on in a nice, straight line, then remove the
>masking tape.  Add the model letter and you are ready for a "dry" coat
>of clear.  If you shoot too much lacquer at this point, you could lift
>previous lacquer and/or lift the rub-on numbers.  We also use smaller
>rub-on numbers for the wire sizes.  I have a question for the List about
>the 1/2 sizes which I will save for another post.  We use gloss black
>lacquer and a small brush to highlight the raised lettering on the
>plate.  The gloss of the black fits in well with the gloss of the clear
>coat.
>
>Best of luck on this project.
>
>Joel Rappaport
>Round Rock, Texas