Refinishing ebony keys

[John Gunderson]

I am servicing a totally restored 1948 Steinway "M" .  The original ebony 
keys were refinished by the restorer at the time of the restoration but a 
short time later, in the customer's home, the finish proceeded to "flake 
off" leaving little flakes of black paint on the white keys and unsightly 
chips on the surface of the ebony keys.  The restorer took the ebony keys 
back and re-refinished them, but again, a short while later, they started 
to flake.

I suggested to the customer that the best solution to the problem was to 
strip the ebony keys completely and stain them with ebony anniline stain, 
leaving nothing on the key's surface to chip.  She accepted this solution 
so I took the keys and completed the work.  The result was very nice, the 
finish being satin and uniformly dark in color, but not as dark as when the 
keys were finished with black lacquer.  Although the customer is willing to 
accept this finish as a compromise, she would like it more if the keys were 
darker.

Does anyone have any suggestions to this problem?

Thanks fellow piano-techs.   John Gunderson, RPT.  NJ Chapter