What NOT to do when refinishing !!!!!!

[gordon stelter]

 I am re-refinishing a 1923 Steinway M that was done
20 years ago. I am very upset with the prior "tech"
for:
     Applying ( black) filler to the bare, stripped
wood, then sanding the excess off the top to "even up
the color". Not only did he sand through the veneer in
several places, but he left very little opportunity
for me to lightly re-sand ( to get rid of "hairs" )
without making things worse.  The black ws also "too
intense", and by applying it to bare wood, so much 
soked in that that I have had to strip this thing SIX
TIMES to get an even color tone, ready to finish
again.
    I repeat, according to EVERY top-notch refinisher
I have opersonally consulted ( such as Bob Flexner of
"Fine Woodworking" fame ( he also has several
excellent books out ) you should:
1) Chemically strip as much as needed to remove old
finish, filler and stain. Use a  fine bristle brass
brush, with the grain, wipe up with solvent and rags
and/or paper towells. ( I use "Citra-Strip" and
denatured alcohol, because it works well and doesn't
go right through your gas mask and gloves, like
methylene chloride strippers do. )
2) LIGHTLY sand with 220 grit.
3) Stain.
4) Apply a THIN coat of sanding sealer over the stain.
5) Apply filler. 
6) Lightly sand again, to remove "whiskers" and filler
on top of sealer coat, between pores.
7) Another light coat of sanding sealer.
8) Lightly sand again.
9) Top coats.
10) Wet sand and rub to desired sheen.

If you do this, and use an aniline dye stain, you will
have the clearest, most gorgeous finish you hae ever
seen!(  And no future crafstmen will curse you. )

--- Ron Nossaman <rnossaman at cox.net> wrote:

> 
> >The covered string scale can be 
> > greatly changed with advantage on many existing
> scales but the only way 
> > to "rescale" the plain steel is to rip off the
> bridge and fit a new one 
> > of the best shape and in the best position, and if
> the piano was so 
> > ill-designed in the first place it's not going to
> be worth the expense 
> > of the exercise.
> 
> Not in my experience. Replacing bridges and
> redesigned string 
> scales with new soundboards with added cutoffs and
> new rib 
> scales, longer back scales, transition bridges, log 
> progressions across breaks, and silent and
> functional front 
> duplexes is becoming more common every year. Just as
> action 
> geometry analysis and correction has become
> commonplace as we 
> became aware of the need (in ill-designed
> high-to-mid value 
> pianos), we who do this work are finding it well
> worth the 
> trouble and expense in performance enhancement. The
> folks for 
> whom we do it agree.
> 
> Ron N
> 


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