Absolutely love it. I want one. (Really.) Kent On May 13, 2010, at 9:48 AM, Paul T Williams wrote: > I had some "fun" with a nasty looking old Steinway M in a practice room. The previous finish was a faux antiqued walnut that actually looked more like puke green. The fallboard was EXTREMELY gouged out. I used some heavy duty 2-part wood filler from Menard's that worked very nicely and accepted the spraypaint very well. > > No wise cracks about the color now! :>) Big Red flame suit on securely! The students love it! That's why I did it... > > Best, > Paul > > > > From: johnparham at piano88.com > To: caut at ptg.org > Date: 05/13/2010 09:13 AM > Subject: Re: [CAUT] Steinway D Case Repair & Refinishing (Institutional) > > > > > Paul, > > For what it's worth, I've used bondo on gouges with good success as > well... just don't put it on too thick because it will take too long to > dry. > > Automotive spray paint, by the way, dries very quickly, which is a plus > when you are dealing with a circle of refinement in disguising obvious > flaws. No matter the finish, it will usually look darker than the > original finish when applied, so if the stage lights hit the case just > right, the contrast in shading can be very obvious. It is worth the > time to blend the finish using 1500-4000 grit sandpaper (another common > automotive supply). > > -John Parham > Hickory, NC > > > -------- Original Message -------- > > Subject: Re: [CAUT] Steinway D Case Repair & Refinishing > > (Institutional) > > From: Fred Sturm <fssturm at unm.edu> > > Date: Thu, May 13, 2010 9:35 am > > To: College & University Technicians <caut at ptg.org> > > > > > > On May 13, 2010, at 6:44 AM, Ed Sutton wrote: > > > > > Paul- > > > > > > You can do a very effective stage repair of the side of the case, > > > using auto body filler from the auto supply store. > > > Don't skimp. Go through the grades of filler putty. Use all the > > > grades of abrasive with support pads to blend it in absolutely flat. > > > Find black primer. Try different kinds of spray black until you find > > > the best match. Mask off at the edges so the tone change occurs > > > unseen on the corners of the rim, and fade and blend around the > > > tail. Practice until you find the right touch for satinizing the > > > finish. > > > > > > Consider sending the fall board to a professional refinisher. This > > > is what the performer sees, and with some clever touch up around the > > > front of the case, the performer will see "new piano." > > > > > > This could be a real winner in faculty relations, as people who know > > > nothing about pianos will respond in amazement if you make the old > > > clunker look new on stage. > > > > > > have fun! > > > > > > Ed Sutton > > > > > > Ed gives some excellent suggestions. I think you could do somewhat > > the same with the fallboard gouges as he suggests for the gouge on the > > side. > > I touch up our instruments fairly regularly in a very low tech > > manner. I simply use an artist brush and some black automotive > > lacquer, and apply it carefully to every place on the piano that is > > "white wood." I won't call this a truly professional look, but it is > > quite passable from the audience. Sometimes a second application is > > needed where the white wood is really white. And, in fact, you could > > simply do this to the gouges and make an enormous difference at a very > > small expense of time and materials. And this would not preclude > > filling the gouges later, as body putty should stick just fine to the > > lacquer. > > Regards, > > Fred Sturm > > fssturm at unm.edu > > “Art is not a mirror held up to reality, but a hammer with which to > > shape it.” Brecht > > > > <Big Red Steinway 170.jpg> -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/caut.php/attachments/20100513/d1255ce0/attachment.htm>
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