refinishing an old piano

17 years ago

Hi

We just received as a gift an old (c.50 years) upright piano from my mother in law. I cannot tell what kind of wood it is (it's not walnut, pine or oak, I can tell that much), but is is stained, not painted. Also, its wood - not plastic, but does have some veneers. Maybe mahogany?

The piano is a very small upright and I doubt it was an expensive, high end model even when new.

It's varnished with many scratches and scores, but none of the peeling or bubbling sometimes seen on older varnished pieces. Some panels/sections/pieces are stained darker than others for a decorative contrast.

I want to do a quick and easy re-finish job. I have fairly low expectations and do not expect to make it look like new. Also, if some or even most of the scratches remain visible, so be it.

I was thinking I would:

1- clean well, removing all old dust, dirt, oils and grease.

2- do a very light sanding job all over

3- pay special attention sanding and smoothing to any chipped corners/edges

4- one or two coats of a stain seeking to match the original color, going a little lighter if need be, not a little darker

5- top it off with a coat or two of varnish.

I don't think I need to worry about the acoustical qualities of the finish. The piano is for our children to learn on and play at home, not for the audience at Carnegie hall. (Of course, if there is something that I must avoid at all costs or else it will devastate the sound of the piano, please warn me!)

I have never re-finsihed anything and do not have a lot of time to do this project. Ideally, not counting time waiting for coats to dry, it should not take more than 5 hours.

Q: How does my plan sound, in general?

Q: Do I need to remove/strip ALL of the old varnish before I re-stain? Candidly, I don't have the space, time or resources to use a furntiure stripper.

Q: Are there any adequate finishes that combine a stain and a varnish in one?

Q: is there a simpler way - such as a high gloss wax/polish that could simple be wiped on, buffed and polished?

Thanks!

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Comments (6)

Jon1270
17 years ago
You certainly could wax the thing to restore the shine, though wax is heat and moisture sensitive so it's not great for surfaces that get touched alot. Do the scratches go all the way through the top coat and the stained wood to reveal a line of lighter-colored,unstained wood underneath?

Mahogany does sound likely, but I'm skeptical that the topcoat is varnish. I'm not a piano expert, but my guess is that it would've been finished like a piece of furniture, probably with lacquer. If you want to repair the existing finish then you'll need to figure out what sort of finish it is. Shellac (a possibility but, I'd think, unlikely) and lacquer are both fairly easy to identify because they will redissolve in their original solvents. If alcohol (solvent alcohol from the hardware store, not rubbing alcohol) dissolves it then it's shellac. If lacquer thinner softens it, then it's lacquer. (lacquer thinner will also dissolve shellac, but alcohol will not immediately soften lacquer, so do the alchohol check first.) If neither alchohol nor lacquer thinner immediately affect it, then it's probably varnish.

Generally, I'm hoping the damage is just light surface scratches you can deal with by buffing or waxing or other minimalist approaches. Repairing lots of deep scratches that go all the way through the film or, worse, all the way through the stain too, would not be a 5-hour project even if you had done it before.
lindac
17 years ago
Quick and dirty??
Get a can of mineral spirits ( paint thinner) and with good ventilation, wipe the piano all over ( not the keys!) until the rag or paper towel you use doesn't show any more dirt. This will remove all greasey and oily dirt.
Let it dry and wipe all over with a solvent based ( as opposed to water based) stain in the color you like. I would choose a color as close to what is there as possible. Repeat the stain if needed.
Linda C
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dainaadele
17 years ago
Don't worry about damaging the sound of the piano. So long as you leave the soundboard alone everything will be fine. The soundboard is the wood board behind the piano. (The side that will probably be to the wall.) I did a similar things to my first piano.

When I bought for $200,the piano legs had been replaced at one time and the bench did not match either. In my case I had the time to strip off the original finish. I put the darkest stain I coud find, several times, and then poly for at least 3 coats. By the time I was done you could not see that the wood no longer matched. I hate to say it, but 5 years later I sold it to our postman for $700. It looked that much better! He thought he was getting a deal! Grin.
dgmarie
17 years ago
Use Old English Dark Wood polish and scratch cover. I used this on my furniture and kitchen cabinets and it WORKS MIRACLES. I am in Luv with it. I would try it in a heart beat and I bet you'll like. It costs all of $4.50! Forget the sanding and staining. You'll be biting off more than you want to chew.
kmealy
17 years ago
Here is an article that may help:
http://www.homesteadfinishing.com/htdocs/savingfinish.htm

Here is a link that might be useful: Saving the Finish
sombreuil_mongrel
17 years ago
Hi,
I liked the saving the finish article, except that 220 grit is way too abrasive (IMO) for anyone who hasn't done this before; IOW, it will be entirely too easy to sand thru sharp corners and remove the stain underneath, not just the finish. I start with 800 grit wet/dry abrasive, lubricated with water+Dawn detergent. This gets off the worst alligatoring. I proceed up thru 2000 grit, at which point new shellac can be padded on, and the piece waxed, as described in the article.
Thanks.
Casey