sun-bleached lid

[Bill Peterson]

I have had several pianos refinished by the expensive Beverly Hills area
refinishers.  I found that they bleach every piano and take every bit of
color and filler out.  They use lye to strip and I do not know what they use
for bleach.  When the wood is dry it looks like driftwood and the looks of
it would suggest your precious art case Sand S was ready to burn.  The
reason they do this is because no 2 pieces of wood match.  When people pay
the big bucks all of the parts must match.  They next fill and then sand
then color and false grain the patches and plugs.  They use no wood filler
for dents etc.  They dig out and fit and glue wood in all of these places.
they then start the lacquor process using clear lacquer.  After they have
ground down the first 10 to 16 coats they then recolor and highlight and
blend in the seams and joints.  They then do more coats and grind down again
then they polish the results.  When finished it is museum quality.  What I
am saying is that veneer can take a real beating as long as you are careful
how long you soak it.  They use burn in stick  to fill the edges around the
patches.
Hope this helps.  Bill Peterson  PS they cut off any banged up corners and
glue on a block of wood then shape it to fit.
----- Original Message -----
From: Farrell <mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Tuesday, January 16, 2001 5:06 PM
Subject: Re: Re: sun-bleached lid


> Golly Gee. I don't think Mark Cramer from Brandon University could ever
> offend me. He was such a gracious host for our group almost one year ago
now
> while we played with soundboards!
>
> Anyway, NO. I don't have a proven method for bleaching out a lid. BUT I do
> have a work or two of warning. I have used a variety of wood bleaches in
> marine applications. I have always used them on solid planks of mahogany,
> etc. The bleach is really hard on the wood. Really blasts the grain out
from
> the surface, etc. You need to soak the wood pretty good usually. I would
be
> a bit hesitant using it on a veneered lid. I would be afraid it would just
> chew the veneer right off.
>
> If you go that rout, you might try starting with a highly watered down
> mixture and use it sparingly. You can always hit it again with more bleach
> if desired.
>
> Also, I know it is generally not a good idea to sand on a veneer much, but
> you might want to try a small spot and see whether a moderate amount of
> sanding will get you through the sun-bleached zone. Often offending
colors -
> stains, sun-bleaching - don't go all the way through the veneer.
Obviously,
> be real careful with this approach also!
>
> Who owns the piano? Did you tell them that all real pianos are finished in
> ebony???????
>
> Terry Farrell
> Piano Tuning & Service
> Tampa, Florida
> mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Stan Kroeker" <stan@pianoexperts.mb.ca>
> To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, January 16, 2001 4:11 PM
> Subject: Fwd: Re: sun-bleached lid
>
>
> > Dear list:
> >
> > Not sure what the protocol is for messages forwarded from
> > non-subscribers.   If it doesn't offend you, then please consider
> > sharing your experiences with the following refinishing problem.
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > Stan Kroeker
> > Registered Piano Technician
> >
> > Mark Cramer wrote:
> > >
> > > Hi list,
> > > I'm having a 1911 mahogany 'O' refininshed. The lid has been left open
> all
> > > it's life, such that half the lid is red, and the other half blond. I
> know
> > > you've all seen this before, this is the vintage where the legs are
> > > grain-painted.
> > >
> > > Does anyone have a succesful (proven) approach for blending
(bleaching)
> the
> > > two halves?
> > >
> > > thanks,
> > > Mark Cramer,
> > > Brandon University
> >
>