Refinishing

[Bigeartb@AOL.COM]

Hazen:
    Here is my "black piano" refinishing trick that I know works....been 
working many years and taught to me by a retired piano refinisher several 
years ago..here we go step by step.
1. Strip off old finish.
2. clean with lacquer thinner
3. fill nick, gouges , with either paste wood filler or "bondo" ...same as 
they use on automobiles.
4. dents in wood....apply drop of water to dented wood and touch with a hot 
iron...steam will swell wood level.
5. sand with 120 grit and then 220 grit...never lesser than 220...need a semi 
rough surface for finish to be applied.
6. apply two coats of...Dupont 30S Platinum Gray Lacquer Type Primer-Surfacer 
or 70S Dark Gray (same as above) if available I like 70S better only because 
it is dark, no other reason..both work and build base smoothness the same. 
(purchase these products from any automobile paint supplier) Don't forget to 
use acrylic type thinner.
7. sand with 220 lightly with an air operated jitter-bug hand sander 
...operate at a medium speed so not to melt the surfacer.
8. add another two coats of Surfacer if grains are not filled and sand.
9. Finish Lacquer: Dupont Diamond Black ..Lucite Acrylic Lacquer 99S High 
Gloss....Flattener 4531S...spray two coats and wet sand with 320 grit 
...water or mineral spirits or any kind of cutting oil.....spay again and 
continue until the surface is perfect with no grains showing....perfect as a 
piece of glass....final sanding 400 grit paper....wet sand by hand with 
sanding block ....clean and dry with cloth....use air to remove foreign 
particles....Final coat....50/50 thinner and finish lacquer..maybe two or 
three coats.
10. experiment with flattener to acheive desired gloss...about 1/2" of 
flattener in a quart spray cup will drop the gloss to approx. a "dull rub" 
gloss. I wish I could be more specific about the flattener but I experiment 
until I achieve the gloss I want which is always "dull rub" on a black piano. 

11. If I were to want high gloss, then I would spray directly from the 
can...wet sand with 600 grit up to 1500 grit and polish.....But I never 
refinish a high gloss black piano...WHY...because I know my dull rub process 
and do not wish to learn a high gloss process. Somebody else can help us with 
that process.
    Now....if you have a black lacquered piano and the finish is not cracked 
or checked, then rough up the old finish with 220 grit and spray directly 
over the old finish. I have never had one to crack using this lacquer. 
However, I rarely spray directly over an old finish. But it will work.
     Finally, I know the RPT POLICE will probably jump on this. Yes I know 
the "POLICE" says bondo will crack or break loose...that bondo's been holding 
nearly 30 years on some of my pianos...I'm still waiting on that bondo to 
crack or do whatever it's going to do...maybe all of them at once....what a 
mess. Well, this is only my way which has worked for a number of years. I've 
never, ever shared this with anyone else.   I am sharing this because I 
believe we can all continue to learn from others. I know there any numerous 
ways to build a finish. I do not have a professional spray booth. I spay in 
my shop but the finished product is beautiful . You will be proud of your 
work if you follow this process. 
      Hazen, I hope this helps you and others. I didn't dream this up. For 
you guys in Birmingham, the refinisher from one of your old established piano 
dealers gave me this formula. I have forever been grateful. I've decided I 
"ain't" gonna do many more. So there's my recipe. I have another recipe for 
mahogony and other woods. If you are interested, I might share that with you 
also.

Tommy Black
Just an associate