Refinishing and painted cases

[John Musselwhite]

At 06:40 PM 1/6/98 EST, Ray wrote:

> I have a customer with an old S&S model K upright. When I walked into her
> house for the first time, I saw that it had been “refinished” by being
painted
> over with high gloss white enamel house paint. Needless to say, the
action was
> shot, a fact which I only found out after having to pry loose all the case
> parts. I warned her what would happen to those pretty edges when I separated
> the parts. It was just like when you go into an old house to discover the
> windows painted shut. It was a splendid time, I’ll tell you. I guess my
> question is, who else has seen refinishing like this, and how do you keep a
> straight face when you do see it? What should my reaction be, and what is
the
> best way to be diplomatic about it?

I look after an old upright that someone has tried to make a "Steinway" out
of at some time in that past. Most of the plate markings had been ground
off and raised letters spelling "STEINWAY GERMANY" were added to the plate
and a S&S decal to the fallboard. This instrument was "refinished" with a
thick epoxy or perhaps a polyester without taking ANY of the parts off it
except for the front board.  The piano is actually a Canadian  "Bell"
instrument from about 1920, a fact that's obvious since they didn't remove
the "Illimitable Repeating Action" insert from the plate triangle. 

Not only did I have to tell the owner that I couldn't get at the action to
regulate it (there was overspray on the action too) because of the thick
finish, but I had to tell him it wasn't a "Steinway" either. I did it all
as gently (diplomatically?) as possible, but I still have one very
disapointed customer who paid a lot of money for the piano and to have it
"refinished". He's still a customer, though.

This particular piano is pretty-much toast in my opinion, although it still
tunes reasonably well. Breaking it apart will tear up the wood and the
finish, and nothing short of total action replacement will get all the
hardened guck off the parts. The owner says he'll just enjoy it as it is,
and since all it's used for is playing hymn tunes it will do just fine for
him. I feel sorry for the next owner though and I'm tempted to put a sign
inside that says "THIS IS NOT A STEINWAY" just in case.

		John



John Musselwhite, RPT  - Calgary, Alberta Canada 
musselj@cadvision.com - http://www.cadvision.com/musselj/