This one snuck by me. I've been trying to spend an order of magnitude more time in the shop than on the computer lately.... The answer is: Yes, they could have been brass or black. Black is just fine for such an early one. You'll have a hard time getting a brass paint that doesn't look modern fakey. Is this a London or Paris Erard? You need to know, as the pitch levels were significantly different. Anne Acker o: pianotech at ptg.org >Sent: Wednesday, February 7, 2007 10:08:09 PM >Subject: Erard Plate Color? > >I am restoring/rebuilding a 1859 Erard Grand. It's the standard 8' >model from that era. As some might now, in that period erards did >not have a cast plate, but a 1/4 or 1/2 plate with hitch pins and 5 >steel bars that bolt to the pinblock on one end and the plate at the >other. > >Is Brass or Black correct on the plate and bars? It was horribly >repainted with a terrible brass paint when I got it. When I removed >the bars and plate, I saw layers of both brass color and black >color, can't tell what would have been original. In photographs from >the period for other erards, I have seen both brass and black >colored plates. > >What is the correct color, if any? I am blogging the restoration >here: worldofcows.blogspot.com
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