PolskiSi

My parents recently bought an old piano, which, although is mechanically very sound (other than the need for a tuning), frankly looks like ***.

Some of the wood is warping in areas, the colour sucks (too dark), and there are also some wood chips in several areas.

I of course volunteered to refinish the piano. BIG MISTAKE!


Does anyone have any suggestions, or experience in wood refinishing, process for this, and so on?

Many thanks!

bbarbulo

iTrader: (2)

Ya, I like to work the wood... LOL ohhh... dirty man, sorry!

Ok, first of all, determine a budget... I recommend, because you have chips and warpage... to strip the veneer off using a knife/blade/scraper to get it all off... then sand it down and fill in the chips, and sand again. If the wood underneath is rotting or warped altogether, then replace it by making a new panel. Then, buy new veneer and use contact cement to put it on, don't buy the iron on crap. Then, stain and varnish. Voila, like new!

However!! before you do this, are you gonna play it or is it a peice of furniture for you?? Cuz if you're gonna play it, check to make sure the piano is in fact of metal construction not wood (the sound board)... cuz if the sound board is wood, it's most likely fooked, in which case it won't hold a tuning more than like 2-3 months, or whever the weather/humidity changes. Now, remember, just a metal part over the wood don't mean isht, you have to ensure the tuning pins actually go into the metal! If so, you're good to go It's a LOT of hard work, but it pays at the end. Use a router edging bit to finish the edges smooth And use a sponge to apply stain and varnish to make sure there are no strands/hair in your finish.

PolskiSi

I know its a pretty big project.

I won't be playing it, my mom and sister most likely will. My parents will be paying for all of the varnish, filler and **** like that, so money is not a problem. (Within Limits)

Will I be using a liquid stripper initially?
Most of the warpage is right on the edges, I was thinking of just stuffing a shitload of glue in the hole, and clamping it down for awhile. Will that work?

I'll take pics an PM you, let me know more or less what I'll be looking at please!
Thanks man

YES! it is metal construction. The actual interior components are in excellent shape (apparently), so I'm not too woried about that.

The exterior just needs a refinishing. One of my good friend's dad refinished 2 pianos in the last couple of years, one of them was a player piano.
I have to go over there and find out some more information.
I will be starting easy, once it gets warmer outside. I want to work on just the bench for now, and see how that turns out before I get into the actual piano.

Whiplash

ummmm..how old is this thing..

if it's that old and maybe worth something (if ya get my meaning.."Antique") leave it be or get it done PRO..
if not it won't be worth a whole hell of a lot on the market, should that be where it finally ends up....

bbarbulo

iTrader: (2)

SiV, generally speaking a lot of these pianos were made by small shops around Quebec and Northern Ontario, and unless it's a very famous shop, it's prolly not worth that much... many of these things are on the market now, and there isn't that much interest in them. It's no Stradivarius, that's for sure I doubt it has much antique value, esp being as raped as it is... (poor exterior condition).... IMO, a restoration will cost WAY more than the value it will add to this piano.

PolskiSi

Exactly.
It says Gourlay, Toronto on the seal. I don't think thats some sort of special shop.

We got it for $450, and apparently once refinished it would be sold at best for about $700. So defenitely not something to be considered of great monetary value. If it was, it would have been sold a long time ago.

My mom actually wants this piano, she played since she was 3 or 4 years old, and is amazing, she wanted a piano all her life, etc...I just have to clean up the exterior.