Larry - I'm certain there ARE a smorgasbord of opinions on this subject, or at least I have heard it to be so. However, my opinion is that it doesn't really matter that much, within reason. I have used shellac, lacquer, varnish, and water-based finishes, all with no perceptible (to me) loss in sound quality. Some of the old boards are really loaded with lots of grain filler, and topcoated with multiple coats of either lacquer or varnish (depending on age). It seems to me they weren't all that worried that loading the board with finishing solids would harm the ability of the soundboard to do its job. I would think that a very brittle finish like polyester would be a poor choice, but other finishes with more elasticity (almost everything else!) would be fine. Re: your use of white shellac, that is fine, but you may consider adding a bit of alcohol soluble dye to bring out some yellow or orange - your call. Or start with orange shellac. Also, lacquer works fine over shellac, but if I were using shellac and lacquer, I would use a couple coats of shellac, then put on the decal, then apply a couple coats of lacquer over that. Whatever your choice, certainly spraying on the finish would be desirable to brushing it on, but it can be done either way. I would not try brushing lacquer, though, unless you are an experienced "brushing lacquer" user. Mark Potter bases-loaded@juno.com On Tue, 16 May 2000 09:49:57 -0400 (EDT) toto@fovea.pndr.upenn.edu writes: > > > I am about to refinish my first soundboard after having shimmed > several cracks. Evidently, here are many schools of thought on > the finishing materials to use. I am looking for an authentic > appearance on the Chickering grand. I do not want to use > polyurethane, as was suggested by Schaff & Co ("most rebuilders > use polyurethane today."). I thought that using white shellac > with a light topcoating of lacquer before applying the decal > makes sense. I am not equiped with spray equipment, but am > considering the prospect. > > Please comment (privately or publicly) if you have an opinion > on this topic. > > Thanks, > Larry Toto > > > > > > > > >
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