Sy: I know a place in Southern California that I think does the poly finish. Their name is Esquire Piano. They will sell you anything you might need to repair poly finishes. I spoke to them some time ago, and they had just done a Steinway in Peach! I also spoke to the finish engineer some years ago when he stopped in our store here in San Diego. I asked him why they (Steinway) don't use these new urethanes or polyester. He said that the lacquer is translucent, while polyester is opaque. The lacquer finish has a kind of glow due to the penetration of light into and out of the finish. He said that they were not going to change what has worked for so many years. Having said that, I'll tell you all something that floored me regarding Steinway finishes. We've been having problems with the new Steinway finishes in that they have all kinds of packing marks, and other blemishes, shrinking of the lacquer, spots, and other problems. I spoke to Mike Mohr about it, and he said that due to the EPA regulations in New York, that they can't use thinners in their application of the lacquer. He said that they use some heating method (don't ask me what that might be. Maybe somebody knows) to apply it. And he said that it can "move around" for up to a year before it finally settles down. I've had to fill in large dips in the edge of the case where the rubber bumpers have dug into the soft finish. I will spare you all some gory details, unless you want to know more. IMHO, I think Steinway will have to do some rethinking of their finish philosophy, move their finishing operation out of state, or get their act together somehow, since what is being done at present is not cutting it. Paul McCloud, RPT San Diego, CA
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