<!doctype html public "-//W3C//DTD W3 HTML//EN"> <html><head><style type="text/css"></style><title>Lacquering Steinway Hammers</title></head><body> <div><x-tab>        </x-tab>Hello everyone, My name is Russell Schmidt. I have been the piano technician at the University of Kentucky School of Music for the past three years. I've been subscribing to the CAUT list but this is my first posting. <x-tab>       </x-tab>I am currently working on lacquering a set of Steinway hammers on a newly rebuilt Steinway "M". I had been reading extensively in the CAUT archives many helpful comments on this topic and I was happy to see this topic addressed in the Q&A Section of this months (Novembers) PTG journal.  <x-tab> </x-tab>One thing I took note of was the specification made by Mr. Schandall of Steinway, that the lacquer used by Steinway was a " water-white nitrocellulose lacquer with 12 percent solids by weight. This is the first time I have seen this specification, mentioned and wonder if this might explain the results I have been getting. <x-tab>     </x-tab>I have only been able to locate two lacquer products sold locally. Neither had this spec.listed on the label. By calling the company I found that the one product I have always used when applying lacquer, "Deft" Clear Wood finish, was nitrocellulose lacquer with a solid content of 26% by weight! The other product I located made my "Watco" was also a nitrocellulose lacquer with 26%-27% solids by weight. <x-tab>    </x-tab>Could this mean that a 3:1 solution of "Deft" lacquer was more like a 1:1 solution of "Steinway" lacquer, since both would be around 6% solids ( by my rough calculation)?  <x-tab>     </x-tab>Now, I am now wondering how meaningful the various opinions are about the strength of the lacquer solution 15:1 3:1 etc. , without a specification of the solid content of the lacquer being used.  <x-tab>     </x-tab>I reread the Q&A comments made by Mr. Otto Keyes who did not specify a lacquer/acetone ratio but basically stated that the key to success in lacquering hammers, was using a solution that was diluted enough to allow the  hardening agent to penetrate to the desired depth. This statement started to make more sense to me stated in this way. What I needed was not a 3:1 or 5:1 solution, but a solution with the hardening agent diluted just enough to reach the core for my initial application. Too "thick" a solution would not penetrate to the core, while a solution too "thin" would not provide enough hardening effect, and block the penetration of latter application (according to the theory). <x-tab>     </x-tab>My question now is how much I should dilute my lacquer (26% solid by weight) to come up with this properly diluted solution that would be equivalent of a 3:1 "Steinway lacquer solution". I came up with a 7:1 solution as the answer but my results make me think this is too weak. Or, would anyone know of a source for the lacquer used by Steinway or similar product. According to the Stienway parts department, they do not sell it. <x-tab>    </x-tab>Thanks in advance for any comments on this topic. <x-tab>       </x-tab>Sincerely, <x-tab>      </x-tab>Russell Schmidt<x-tab> </x-tab></div> </body> </html>