Piano finishing.

[Steve Dethick]

Hi all. New to this forum, and currently restoring a century old burr walnut piano that's been in the family for years.
I've become reasonably proficient at French polishing over the past five years or so, and have read Neil's book regarding vitriol finishing, although I'd never heard of it before.
Wondering if any of you guys could explain the process in any more depth, ie. how deep should the benzoin glaze be on top of the shellac, curing time for the glaze, does the talc act as a cutting agent on the glaze or merely sop up the oil??????

My apologies for the long post, but there seems to be very little material on the subject, and any insight is greatly appreciated.

Steve.

[Shane Watson]

Vitriol is acid. But i'll assume you know that...

Will leave this one for Neil to answer as he's the guru on all things french..we we..

[rsser]

Let us know how you go Steve.

Got one like it. Only trouble is the other half has been treating it with Marveer which I'm told has silicone in it.

[Steve Dethick]

Ern, this piano belonged to my great grandmother, and was bought secondhand in '45. Made in 1905 by Richard Lipp & Sohn. I'm no piano expert, but I'm told they were one of the best uprights ever made. It is the most beautiful european burr walnut, but was very shabby when we got it 15 years ago, and much worse recently, as we had a Saint Bernard, and slobber wreaks havoc with French Polish !

The original grain filler was the most vile yellow mud that lightened the darker tones in the timber, and obscured the lighter ones, hiding the beautiful contrast that only burr walnut has. It was easy to strip the old dark F.P. with metho, but the 'mud' required much heavy scrubbing with loads of metho and a scotchbrite pad to remove. Luckily the veneer underneath was near flawless with only one or two splits. I've grain filled using only my shellac & benzoin polish layer apon layer, rubbing back over and over till the grain is filled (no pummice or filler). This method is sooo laborious and time consuming, but the results are worth it! The timber seems to be almost 3-D.

If you have one of these old beauties, I say give it a go. It's a huge job, but the rewards are worth it. The materials and workmanship those craftsmen employed is of such high quality that not giving it new life is such a waste. Hopefully if the polish is not cracked or crazed the silicone will only be on top. I know that my Mum lovingly applied Mr Sheen over many years, but I encountered no problems in spite of it.

By the way, Tripoli Powder then Talc from UBeaut, each rubbed with a dry cloth and lots of elbow grease, brought those old yellow ivory keys up creamy again...There's the plug!!
Steve.

[rsser]

Thanks for sharing your techniques Steve ... sounds like a great result.

Ours is an August Forstner, built around the late 1800s and still being played regularly. There is some crazing unfortunately but the veneer is sound.

Think I'd better do a FP course before tackling it. Hate to mess it up.

[wombat47]

We also have a Lipp & Sohn piano in burred walnut. The finish is still in remarkedly good condition and it is a beautiful piece.

Unfortunately, the back-board is cracked (that is, the board inside the piano that the strings are attached to) and it is impossible to tune up too tightly. It is also in need of repinning (the holes in the back-board have worn away over time, so you put in bigger pins) but is not worth doing because of the crack. Since the piano has to be virtually cut in half to replace the back-board, it's a no go area.

Nevertheless, the three offspring learnt to play on it and it wasn't until the eldest became a Conservatorium student that there were any complaints about the fact that the whole keyboard is a semi-tone lower than a normal piano.

Sadly, this beautiful piano is destined for the scrap heap. But not yet!

[Steve Dethick]

Calling Neil!!!....

[Steve Dethick]

Wombat,

If your piano is the same as mine, you'll notice that all the veneers are cut from the same burl. That was what struck me the most, that the panels that face you on the top front are the same bookmatched piece used on the key cover, and the lower panel, and the top hinged panel is the same inside and out!! And then there's the joinery!!!! Just beautiful.

Imagine trying to find European Burr Walnut veneer of that size and quality nowadays, it would cost a fortune! Shame about the soundboard and pins, those are the unavoidables on old pianos there the humidity is not constant. We are lucky in that near the coast here on the Northern Beaches, the sea tend to moderate both the temp and humidity. Not always great for growing roses and french polishing, but good for pianos .