Mark, Clear coat over black on the fallboard to protect the decal is standard procedure with one exception: the brass decals from the Steinway factory that are buried under black and revealed upon wet sanding. I'd be curious to see how clear over black is repaired. On the fallboard it's less of a problem because it's a relatively small area. The lid, case etc. is a different story. PianoLac includes a waterborne paste wood filler that sands off easily and is ready to recoat in 30 minutes. I understand your attachment to the look of shellac. It cannot be duplicated with any other finish. Don't forget that it is highly flammable. Every once is a while you hear of a tragedy where flammable solvents explode and kill their users. There was one last year in Brooklyn, NY in a well known professional finishing shop. This doesn't happen with waterbornes. Some finishers use shellac under waterborne to prevent grain raising. PianoLac Sanding Sealer/Barrier Coat/Pore filler performs this function, while quickly filling the pores that remain open, even after paste wood filling. It contains no zinc stearate, so multiple coats can be applied without looking cloudy. PianoLac clear is so clear that it looks identical to black without clearcoat. Arthur Grudko
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