[pianotech] Ny Times article on pianos

[Douglas Gregg]

From: Douglas Gregg <classicdoc at gmail.com>
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Cc:
Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2012 21:56:25 -0400
Subject: Re: [pianotech] Ny Times article on pianos
Dean,
I am not sure which finishes you are referring to as old soft
finishes. If that includes shellac, lacquer, or varnish from 50-75
years ago, the answer is yes. I don't work much with polyester pianos.
Most of the pianos are from 1920 to 1955. That pre-dates polyester.
The Scrubbing Bubbles does not soften the finish unless, of course, it
is mostly dirt and hand oil that turns the finish to gum as on some
arms. That, I would just as soon have come off anyway and mostly it
does. However, even an old orange peel lacquer or shellac cleans up
nicely. The brown nicotine and dirt floats to the top of the bubbles
and wipes up with a paper towel leaving a clean finish to start work
on. If it is orange peel, I first wet sand it until it is pretty
smooth, being careful not to go down to the wood, and then French
polish it. Again, any scratches, missing finish, deep water marks,
missing veneer, etc have to repaired before French polishing or often
after the first coat of French polish so that the wood is sealed.

If a piano just has light scratches, French polishing will repair all
of them by filling them selectively without building up finish. You
can go from many scratches to high polish in 6-8 hours for the whole
piano-and often in less time than that. A scratched upright top can be
done in 30 minutes. You can charge a lot more than your usual hourly
wage for this too.
I think that those who came to my workshop in Bellevue are now believers.

Doug Gregg
Classic Piano Doc

Message: 8
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2012 19:41:24 -0400
From: "Dean May" <deanmay at pianorebuilders.com>
To: <pianotech at ptg.org>
Subject:
Message-ID: <724BC31D12C84A0AAEB62E62F181A52A at ToshibaNetbook>
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Are you saying you use the Scrubbing Bubbles on the old soft finishes?

Dean
Dean W May                (812) 235-5272 voice and text
PianoRebuilders.com    (888) DEAN-MAY
Terre Haute IN 47802