On Tue, Jan 13, 2009 at 3:17 PM, Mark Potter <bases-loaded76 at sbcglobal.net>wrote: > Hi Rob - > > This is interesting in that, having done alot of refinishing, with the > exception of cases that are badly damaged I actually think going black is > a MUCH tougher job than going natural. > > My reasoning: the intrinsic visual interest of a mahogany grain pattern > helps camouflage minor imperfections whereas a solid black finish is * > completely* unforgiving. In addition, I think a black finish that doesn't > have the pores completely filled (still shows grain) - looks pretty goofy > (subjective, I know), whereas a clear finish can show some grain without > losing aesthetics. This boils down to being able to forego what is a major > step in the refinishing process - namely completely filling the pores. > Granted, a small bag of simple tricks can be required for the natural finish > to camouflage minor imperfections, but it needn't be time-consuming (again, > in the absence of significant damage). Either way, loose veneer really > needs to be glued down, no way outta that one. In addition, I think > rub-thrus, an almost inevitable consequence of rubbing out, are MUCH easier > to feather in an 'invisible repair' with a natural finish. > > Naturally, YMMV, and we are talking econo methods here on a case that only > needs minor repairs. If you can make black work easier, my hat is off to > you! > > Mark Potter > > --- On *Tue, 1/13/09, Rob Goodale <rrg at unlv.nevada.edu>* wrote: > > A couple of thoughts regarding refinishing- > > First, when all else fails and it looks like economics are going to rule the > day the easiest way out is to go with black lacquer. Forget the tedious > task of matching and coloring veneer, regluing loose veneer, and all the > other time consuming work that natural finishes involve. > > IMHO Mark is right on the money with his comments. A good friend and mentor who has refinished many more pianos than I have was not a very talkative salesman preferrring to let the job sell itself UNTIL the customer asked about refinishing it in Ebony. He then became a very talkative salesman trying to talk them out of it. For 2 very important reasons, it's a difficult finish to put on right and it chips easily and doesn't "touch-up" easily. The only pianos I ever saw him do in ebony by choice were some used blonde studio pianos he acquired for next to nothing. He filled the chips and missing veneer with Bondo, sprayed a heavy primer coat, sanded it and sprayed 2 or 3 coats of black lacquer. However that was on pianos that already had had a lot of filler on/in them from the blonde finish and he felt it was the quickest choice for a low priced instrument. -- I intend to live forever. So far, so good. Steven Wright Michael Magness Magness Piano Service 608-786-4404 www.IFixPianos.com email mike at ifixpianos.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech_ptg.org/attachments/20090113/b73024c7/attachment-0001.html>
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