<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16640" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Steve, I hate you disagree with what you have read, but you are going about it all wrong.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>First of all, sanding sealer contains no plasticizers, which means if you use too much of it the finish will crack as soon as it is exposed to cold weather. If the cold weather doesn't get it, time will.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Start with a good black lacquer primer and sand it smooth. You can spray several coats.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Next use a good quality black lacquer and only thin enough to spray good wet coats without too much orange peel. 3 to4 coats over primer should be enough for a hand rubbed finish.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>You can do the final coat with more lacquer thinner to get better flow, so you wont have to sand too must to get a smooth finish.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Email me privately if you would like more information. I worked as a technical rep for a chemical company in another life.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Al Guecia</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title=Steve@store.parks.ca.gov href="mailto:Steve@store.parks.ca.gov">Steve Ellemberg</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, April 14, 2008 1:55 PM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Piano refinsihing question</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV>I am trying to restore a piano that was originally wood grained and will<BR> soon have an Ebony finish.  I found a post on ptg.org that contained detailed<BR> instructions with the following steps: multiple coats of sanding sealer,<BR> followed by several coats of black lacquer and clear lacquer, sanding in<BR> between each coat..<BR><BR> I already have the piano completely disassembled and have applied 3 coats of<BR> sanding sealer, with more than 30 hours of sealing and sanding.<BR><BR> My instructions were to apply semi-gloss black lacquer (cut by 50% with<BR> thinner) after the last coat of sanding sealer (after 400 grit sanding), but<BR> when I tried this, the black lacquer would not take, it is almost completely<BR> transparent.  I tried to repeat the step with 100% lacquer and it is<BR>still very transparent.  It would take about 5 coats to cover it<BR>completely and it is not recommended to use more than two coats thick.<BR><BR> Would you have any suggestions on how to make the lacquer cover the old<BR> color of the piano.<BR><BR> Any advice would be appreciated.<BR><BR> Thank you,<BR> Steve<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>-- <BR>Steven Ellemberg<BR>Project Director, California State Parks Store<BR><A href="http://store.parks.ca.gov">http://store.parks.ca.gov</A><BR>PRIDE Industries<BR>Creating jobs for people with disabilities<BR>Office: 408.842.1478 Cell: 916.847.1390 Fax: 408.413.5305<BR></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>