'Matt Finish' on New York Steinway

[Paul McCloud]

John:
	There are two (or more) ways to make a satin finish.  One way is to
shoot lacquer which has additives which reduce the gloss as it dries. If
I'm not mistaken, the Hamburg Steinways are done this way.  The other
way is to shoot gloss lacquer and rub it with oil and pumice stone to
get the desired effect.  This hand rubbing has to be done carefully to
insure the rubbing is done in absolutely straight, parallel lines.  I've
never actually seen it done at Steinway, so there is probably a lot more
to be said about the details, but this is basically the system used in
the New York factory.  There is a wrinkle though, in that New York
environmental laws don't allow use of thinners (as in lacquer thinners)
to be used, so they heat up the lacquer to thin it enough to spray.  It
doesn't harden very fast, so packing marks are common (my experience
with Steinway finishes ended last January, so maybe they've improved
since then).  The nice thing about lacquer is that you can work with it,
and you can clean up most of the problems by sanding the area and
rubbing it out.  The spray-matte finish used in Germany is difficult to
repair without respraying a whole panel.  (If anyone has a way to
touchup this kind of finish, I'd like to know).  
	I don't know exactly what made the piano you saw look "terrible"  The
Steinways we have here are quite beautiful.  A matter of taste, perhaps?
	Best,
	Paul McCloud
	San Diego