Authentic Steinway sound board dilemma

[Jon Page]

You could seal the wood with orange shellac to impart color and varnish over it.
Jon Page
Harwich Port, Cape Cod, Mass. (jpage@capecod.net)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At 12:34 AM 8/6/97 -0600, you wrote:
><snip>
>Here's the dilemma:  If he sands the whole board down then the original
>Steinway varnish is gone forever, and soundboard is a much lighter color. 
>If he leaves it alone (what he would do if it was his) he said nobody would
>notice because it is under the hinges (he will be putting some sort of
>sealant on the whole board anyway -- short name -- starts with a D).  I
>suggested perhaps sanding the whole board and then putting the same type of
>varnish that yellows the wood slightly and even more with time.  He said
>he's never done this but he would if that is what I wanted.  Whatever he
>uses will be brushed on.
>
>Any thoughts?  Authenticity is important to me but I do want a sharp
>looking piano.  I even asked for a soundboard decal even though the
>original didn't have one.  
>
>Glenn.
>
>