Piano Finishes

[bases-loaded@juno.com]

Hi Clarke -

There is nothing wrong whatsoever in using tung oil on a piano, as far as
I'm concerned.  Again, there are plusses and minuses with all finishes. 
When you wipe on oil finishes, you have to keep each coat very thin for
proper drying, and normally allow 24 hours between coats.  That means, to
achieve any build at all requires several days and alot of wiping to get
to the desired finish.   Also, I've always thought that oil finishes look
best when the pores are not filled, leaving a more "natural" wood grain
look.  This can be a bit of a dilemma when you have filled a bunch of
dents with filler/putty and have areas where there will be no exposed
grain because of the fills.  There are ways around it, but it entails
alot of trickery, such as "scratching in" a simulated grain pattern in
your patches so that you minimize the contrast between the filled patches
and the open grain.  Also, toning, glazing and coloring is more difficult
with wiping oils compared to spraying, and sometimes that can be a major
consideration.

You may consider investigating into the newer "wiping varnishes", which
are still hand applied, but have better build.  Or, you can make your own
concoction by using the basic formula of one part varnish, one part tung
oil (or linseed oil) and one part mineral spirits.  You can adjust the
proportions to suit your preferences, but that is the general starting
point. 

I would suggest checking out Jeff Jewitt's "Hand Applied Finishes" for
very in-depth information and techniques for applying and manipulating
oil finishes. 

Mark Potter
bases-loaded@juno.com

On Mon, 10 Dec 2001 22:44:53 -0500 "Clark A. Sprague"
<clarks11628@juno.com> writes:
> May I ask a further finishing question?  How about a Tung Oil finish 
> on a
> grand?  I am currently re-whatevering a Baldwin R (1943) that is
> mahogany, with I think Laquer applied.  There are various gouges, 
> etc,
> which will need to be filled.  I was wondering, without the proper 
> spray
> equipment, as of now, what kind of finish would be good to hand 
> apply?  
> Any experience with Tung Oil on a piano?
>         I put it on a rocking horse that I made for my daughter 
> years
> ago, and it has held up well.  So why not on a piano?
> Clark Sprague
>