<!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 6.00.2800.1515" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Thumper,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I just finished a set of sharps on a = Chickering Upright. They were Ebony, but weren't very uniform. Once I stipped off = the, several, coats of "paint", I cleaned with 3M pad and Lacquer Thinner. = Then sanded with 400 w/d paper, (tops/fronts/sides). Then I stained them with = Black stain. Once the stain had done it's job, I finished with 2 coats of Tong = Oil. They looked marvelous, IMO. The time it took was a lot, but the end = result was great and the client was very happy. (The direction I got from the = client, was to "put the keys back the way they were new".) Generally, the higher = grade pianos of yore, used very good Ebony and it's well worth the effort to = preserve them, if possible. Saves some smuck cutting down another S.A. Rain = Forest Tree!</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Regards,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Joe Garrett, R.P.T.<BR>Captain, Tool Police<BR>Squares R I</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>