Refinishing and painted cases

[JElving]

In a message dated 98-01-08 03:02:49 EST, Del Fandrich wrote:

<< So why did the top of the soundboard look so good? It had been artificially
wood-grained and was probably the best piece of
 work on the whole piano.
  >>

I've found the same kind of workmanship - on a *rebuilt* Steinway, sold by a
dealer in the southern part of our state. When I was called out to replace the
sostenuto monkey that somehow came up missing/lost by the moving company, I
was also asked to clean and polish the case, clean the soundboard, etc. What
to my wondering eyes should appear, but a wonderfully wood-grained paint job
on the soundboard. That's right, a job that looked suspiciously like one of
the *antiquing* kit jobs we've all seen.

As they say, no Newton is good Newton (or something like that).

John Elving, RPT
San Leandro, CA
JElving@aol.com