<div>Sarah -</div> <div> </div> <div>A couple quick thoughts...</div> <div> </div> <div>The more veneer patches you execute, the less telegraphing of the repairs down the road.</div> <div> </div> <div>I love West system epoxy, and use if often, but for filling an entire piano it strikes me as overly expensive, overly rigid, and overly demanding on labor, as well. I would very much be tempted to promote the idea of patching the bad spots with veneer, however poorly, and minimizing the application of epoxy to fill voids. In the long run, I believe the cost is less both in labor and in materials. </div> <div> </div> <div>There are a multitude of fillers, sealers, etc very well suited for the job that I believe represent better long-lasting choices than applying an "epoxy helmet" onto the surfaces.</div> <div> </div> <div>Mark Potter</div> <div>West Jefferson,
OH <BR><BR><B><I>"sarah@graphic-fusion.com" <sarah@graphic-fusion.com></I></B> wrote:</div> <BLOCKQUOTE class=replbq style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid">Hi Mike,<BR><BR>Since I'm above radar at the moment, this particular thread interests me. <BR>That's because I have a mahogany piano that I'll be ebony-refinishing<BR>sometime in the indefinite future in my abundant spare time. The reason<BR>for ebony? It's a great piano, but it looks as though it looks like it had<BR>been dragged from a bomb crater. (Well, not that bad, but you get the<BR>idea. Let's just say it's beyond simple refinishing, even with steam,<BR>veneer patching, etc.)<BR><BR>So I see your reference to your colleague using Bondo for fill and another<BR>post referring to polyester fill (which I assume means Bondo). Although<BR>I've used Bondo before, I've used West System epoxy for a much broader<BR>variety of jobs, and I've gotten very practiced at working
with it for<BR>repairing boats. Extrapolating fromm this experience, but never having<BR>done this on wood, I would imagine trying coarse fill (craters) with<BR>404-thickened 105/206 epoxy, finer fill (deep scratches) with 406/105/206,<BR>and a final skim coat (grain and small pits) with 410/105/206, with lots of<BR>sanding before, between, and after, perhaps with a final brush coating of<BR>unthickened 105/206, sanded afterwards.<BR><BR>My questions: How does epoxy-based fill (such as I suggest) compare to<BR>Bondo, with regard to adhesion, workability, and durability? I know that<BR>on cars, Bondo can eventually shrink and crack. Can this also happen in<BR>protected interior environments? Also, how well do these products expand<BR>and contract with the wood? Does shrinkage eventually reveal underlying<BR>defects with either of these materials? Should I go through the trouble of<BR>patching missing bits of veneer, or just skim over them with filler? (Will<BR>the patches
eventually show?)<BR><BR>... not that I'm going to do any of this stuff tomorrow or even next month,<BR>but since the subject came up... ;-)<BR><BR>Thanks for your advice! :-)<BR><BR>Peace,<BR>Sarah<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>Original Message:<BR>-----------------<BR>From: Michael Magness IFixPianos@yahoo.com<BR>Date: Mon, 31 Dec 2007 19:18:39 -0600<BR>To: pianotech@ptg.org<BR>Subject: Re: Ebony finish<BR><BR><BR>On Dec 31, 2007 11:50 AM, Gary Fluke <GARY.FLUKE@VERIZON.NET>wrote:<BR><BR>> I have a Mason and Hamlin console from 1957. The walnut finish could<BR>> stand to be done over again. These pianos were also available in an ebony<BR>> finish when new. How would one apply an ebony finish to my piano?<BR>><BR>><BR>> Gary Fluke<BR>> Snohomish, WA<BR>><BR><BR>Walnut is a nice looking wood even by todays standards, when refinished<BR>right. The work it would take to re-do it in ebony would certainly be as<BR>much if not more as redoing it in it's "original"
color. Everyone isn't<BR>looking for Oak or Cherry there are those who still believe that classic<BR>woods like walnut, pecan, even black walnut and other less used woods today<BR>are still classics.<BR><BR>A friend who used to, every so often, get a blonde beater from a school or<BR>church, would redo them in ebony simply because no one wanted blonde pianos.<BR>Stripping a blonde piano to the point where it will accept a decent stain is<BR>usually more trouble than it is worth because they have so much filler in<BR>them. He would use bondo to fill the nicks and gouges, coat it with a primer<BR>then several coats of black lacquer and 3 or 4 coats of clearcoat.<BR><BR>Mike<BR>-- <BR>The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.<BR>Michael Magness<BR>Magness Piano Service<BR>608-786-4404<BR>www.IFixPianos.com<BR>email mike@ifixpianos.com<BR><BR><BR>--------------------------------------------------------------------<BR>mail2web.com – Enhanced email for the
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