[CAUT] Shellac Voicing

[David Love]

Try polishing the tops of the hammers with up to 1500 grit paper first.
Those Abel Naturals just don't need to be any harder and I think you may
regret it in the long run unless it's just the very top of the piano.
However, if you want to use it I don't think you want to use spray shellac.
Make it yourself from flake shellac and get the blondest uncolored shellac
you can find (unwaxed) so it doesn't stain the hammers.  A typical coating
for a piece of furniture is probably 3 lb cut which means 3 lbs of shellac
flake to a gallon of alcohol.  Mix a 1 lb cut by using the ratio of 2:16
shellac flake to denatured alcohol (2oz of flakes to 16 oz of alcohol will
make you one pint of a 1 lb cut).  Dilute that by somewhere between 3:1 and
6:1 depending on what part of the piano you are using and try a sample
hammer first to see how it sounds.    

David Love
www.davidlovepianos.com

-----Original Message-----
From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Andrew
Anderson
Sent: Monday, November 23, 2009 6:38 AM
To: caut at ptg.org
Subject: [CAUT] Shellac Voicing

I'm looking at using shellac on some Abel Naturals that a client is  
getting impatient waiting for play-in on.   I have Zinser spray cans  
available locally.  How much should I dilute this for a subtle  
reinforcement?  Is there a choice in diluting solutions?

I'd like to stay away from lacquer because of its tendency to continue  
hardening over the lifetime of the hammers.

Thanks,
Andrew Anderson