Soundboard Finishing

[bases-loaded@juno.com]

Lance,

I have never had any problem with glue joints failing because of
stripper, although I am careful to not allow stripper or solvents to
travel into the gap where the soundboard meets the rim.  I tape off there
very thoroughly.  I would think that if the joints are THAT weak, that
simple expansion and contraction would open them up just as easily as
stripper would.

I personally have had mixed results bleaching boards, and no longer use
that method.  One board would come out very uniformly bleached, the next
would be splotchy and very difficult to compensate for. 

Besides, I kinda like the look of an old board.

Mark Potter
bases-loaded@juno.com

On Mon, 6 Nov 2000 07:26:14 -0600 "Lance Lafargue"
<lancelafargue@bellsouth.net> writes:
> I would be afraid to "strip" (I never have) a board or add water with 
> bleach
> because of the likelyhood of weakening glue joints. Not only the end 
> joints
> of the soundboard material, but the ribs as well. I scrape/sand 
> only.  Is
> the bleach regular wood bleach with water?
> 
> Lance Lafargue, RPT
> Mandeville, LA
> New Orleans Chapter, PTG
> lancelafargue@bellsouth.net
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-pianotech@ptg.org [mailto:owner-pianotech@ptg.org]On 
> Behalf
> Of Paul McCloud
> Sent: Monday, November 06, 2000 1:19 AM
> To: pianotech@ptg.org
> Subject: Re: Soundboard Finishing
> 
> 
> I've just done my first board, a S&S M.  I stripped the board, 
> shimmed
> it, then bleached the old board with shims in it.  I then used 4 
> coats
> of Deft and sanded and wooled it.  The newly bleached board matched 
> the
> shims nicely, and gives a "new" look to the board.
>     Paul McCloud
> 
>