Authentic Steinway sound board dilemma

[Danny Moore]

Delwin D Fandrich wrote:

> That's the whole point. You don't want a wood finish to breath.

Del, list,How, then, does the board continue to react to humidity?  It
seems that some degree of moisture must be able to absorb and/or
evaporate from the wood in order to effect the pitch swings that we find
during the change of seasons and the subsequent change of relative
humidity?  It addition, it seems that, as the wood continued to age and
dry, we would notice premature checking and cracking of the finish as
moisture trapped inside made its way out.  (I once polished out a car
before all the solvents had flashed off thus trapping them beneath the
surface - within 2 weeks, it looked like shattered glass!)

Certainly we don't want the radical effect that we would have if the
board was unprotected.  I had always thought that we used certain
varnishes and lacquers because they offered the correct "control" over
the amount of "breathing."  (NOTE:  Breathing may not be the correct
word for this phenomenon.)

If this is not the case, why not use acrylic lacquer?  It works as
easily as nitro, but is much more resistant to UV.  Or we could use
polyurethane for an even tougher finish.

I realize that toughness and durability are not that big an issue.  It
seems that most people don't leave their Steinway parked on their
driveway for extended periods, or at least when they do, they close the
lid . . .

Thanks for your thoughts on this subject.

Danny Moore
Houston Chapter