---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment Oh....... Good , I always like to argue with you Joe I think the thin flexible idea is ... well ....all wet Joe. If it isn't then I guess all Kawai's & Yamahas sound bad cause they have probably 10 mils of poly urethane over them or at least the ones I've stripped have. I personally think with some of them it's not the thickness of the finish but too thick of a board and boards with without the edges thinned or just too thick aboard. That'll make a piano stingy alright. JMO As for using Varnish, it's a lovely finish if your not making a living but the wait time I'd go broke. Now lacquer is a fine product & well ....I guess my boards will sound even better if I quit using it. hmmmm? Not Frankly I see little wrong with stripping a board that's half dead & flat anyway & the truth is if its' done right the stripper isn't on there very long & good quick acetone cleanup evaporates quickly. A good sanding cleans up most other residues & stains. Then you can do it really right with a good sealer coat of good shellac (which I known you have)Shellac which penetrates & gives a nice case hardening of the wood & then procede with Varnish if you have lots of time to kill. grin. Or spray on the right Nitro cellulose over the shellac. It can be built up in two days max & rubbed or polished . Either way varnich or lacquer takes time to cure really hard & when it does both have fine acoustic properties IMH O All this is really subjective & fun Dale Erwin My reasoning, for this system, is that I want a THIN Flexible finish that will be easy to clean and will endure. I have seen boards with TOO Thick a finish, which, IMO, tended to "choke" the tone, if not completely Deaden it, as in one case of Polyester!!!Yikes!!! As for "Sealing" for better "stability", I don't think that is possible and is not the major concern. TONE is THE major concern, IMHO. There are those who like to put multiple coats of Lacquer on their boards. I have found that I don't like the tone, compared to what I get out of my system.<G> And then there are the "purists" that will only use Shellac. To them I say what ever flips your Kilt up, but it is not a enduring as Varnish. The secondary concern is to protect the wood from contaminants and to LOOK nice. The Varnish gives Spruce a beautiful light golden glow, that makes me all warm and fuzzy!<G> Finally, Do Not, Under Any Circumstances Strip the Board!!!!!!!! (Scraping/Sanding only please.) Stripping tends to drive the olde finish/contaminants into the wood pores! I further think that that sort of extremely caustic stuff, deteriorates the wood itself! Just my opinion/experience. Regards, Joe Garrett, R.P.T. Captain, Tool Police Squares R I Erwins Pianos Restorations 4721 Parker Rd. Modesto, Ca 95357 209-577-8397 Rebuilt Steinway , Mason &Hamlin Sales www.Erwinspiano.com ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/49/18/95/a5/attachment.htm ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--
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