Sharp refinishing

[RndyPotter@aol.com]

At the end of his description of his sharp refinishing process, Rod Kiddell
asked:
What do you folks do to keep your naturals looking sharp??

I replace them. A new set of ebony sharps costs between $50-65 U.S.. It takes
a half hour (maybe) to knock off the old ones, 15-30 minutes to sand the
keysticks smooth and prep the keys ( little longer if you did not put any
glue remover on first, and managed to tear wood off the top of some of the
keysticks and have to remove it from the old sharp and glue it back onto the
keystick first), and an hour or so to glue on the new ones. And much of this
(except the sanding) can be done sitting in the living room with your family,
if you have a mind to.

I have tried several different methods of refinishing the originals over the
years. I have used re-staining products sold by piano supply houses, that
were not supposed to come off, but did. I have tried liquid indelible shoe
stain, lacquer felt pens, spray cans and brush on lacquer and enamel. Since I
want to get paid 100% of the time, a method that gives only a "60% success"
is not an acceptable option. Having work go bad is not my idea of
professional results. The process you describe can take 5-6 hours, at least
for me. I can usually tune three pianos for clients in six hours, and I sure
can't get that much for refinishing a set of sharps - so I would rather tune
the pianos, and get paid, than do those sharps for peanuts.

I often send my keytops out, though. Keytop replacers, such as Walker, will
replace the sharps with plastic for $50-70, depending on size and certain
options. Plus the cost of shipping keys to them. If you pre-pay, Walker will
return ship for free. Add the cost of ebony sharps for sharp replacement, and
you are looking at about $150. Add something for mark-up, plus the cost of
removal and replacement, if it were not already included in the regulation or
other repairs you are doing at the time. Then, while someone else is doing
the sharps, I am out getting paid for tuning pianos.

Randy Potter, R.P.T.