Soundboard Refinishing Query

[Delwin D Fandrich]

Robert Goodale wrote:

> I am personally not real hip on the idea of applying liquid to a
> soundboard. My objective when repairing a board is to dry it out as much
> as possible. Under the circumstances, however, I felt this to be the
> only viable alternative. Once the bleaching was complete, the board had
> to be completely re-dryed before any sealer could be applied. I also
> found a few new minor cracks to repair after the board had completely
> dried out again. Nevertheless, once a new decal was installed, along
> with the refinished plate, new felt, and new strings, what remained of
> the stains was barely noticeable. To this day the piano works and sounds
> beautiful, and no new cracks have developed. I think a thourough drying
> job followed by a well-saturated seal-coat is the secrete of success to
> this type of repair. My preference, of course, providing the client has
> the budget, would be a soundboard replacement. Sometimes you gotta do
> what you gotta do.

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I figured that this would come up sooner or later.

By the time the soundboard has reached the stage of needing these types of repairs, the choice of chemicals used to strip it,
bleach it, seal it or finish it aren't going to make much difference.

I did a few tests some years back to try to determine what effect the soundboard finish had on the tone of the piano. There
was none as far as I and/or the instruments could tell. Any chemicals -- be they strippers, bleaches or finishes -- you put
on a soundboard will only affect tone to the extent that they affect the mass or stiffness of the panel. If you use a bleach
that is so strong as to permanantly damage the wood fiber, I suppose that you could affect the stiffness of the board
slighty. But by then compression set has taken out most of the cross-grain stiffness anyway. What is left is being handled by
the ribs. And if you're putting on enough finish material to affect either, you don't really have a soundboard any more
anyway.

With all bleaching agents, follow the directions carefully, neutralize any acids, wash off any residual bleaches -- not
forgetting all those tiny, minute cracks you probably didn't see before -- and let it dry thoroughly. Mostly, watch out for
your hands and eyes. Especially your eyes. Once it's dry, and before sealing or finishing the board, it should be thoroughly
sanded or scraped clean. Then finish it with your favorite elixir.

Do remember though, if what you're trying accomplish is to seal the board, you need to put new finish material on the bottom
of the board as well as on the top.

-- ddf