Pianotech

Years ago I contacted friend who is a professional antique furniture restorer about a pre-civil war walnut "harvest table" that we still use as our dining room table to this day. I explained that I was planning on sanding it down and coating with urethane, but I wanted to check with him before going ahead with it. His response:

"Yes I have few suggestions I would be glad to offer. First buy a safe, put all your sandpaper in the safe. Lock the safe. Throw away the key. Bury the safe. Never, never take a piece of sandpaper to a piece of furniture of that vintage. You will ruin its value and appearance wiping out 200 years of patina. If you use sandpaper it could cost our friendship.:-)

Second, review the first step and commit it to memory."

I had a good laugh. In the end, I adopted his instructions and used a chemical stripper with 0000 steel wool and a varnish to make the table durable while preserving the patina. 

When I restored a 1907 mahogany Steinway O with a local rebuilder, we used a chemical stripper and we didn't hesitate to sand (by hand). I then French polished it and the result was beautiful. It had previously been badly refinished, so the patina wasn't really a consideration. But on a historic piano with fine veneer that was not previously sanded and refinished, what are your thoughts on maintaining the patina and keeping sandpaper out of the equation? Is there a standard approach to this? Let's assume the veneer is in good condition.

Thank you!

Years ago I contacted friend who is a professional antique furniture restorer about a pre-civil war walnut "harvest table" that we still use as our dining room table to this day. I explained that I was planning on sanding it down and coating with urethane, but I wanted to check with him before going ahead with it. His response:

"Yes I have few suggestions I would be glad to offer. First buy a safe, put all your sandpaper in the safe. Lock the safe. Throw away the key. Bury the safe. Never, never take a piece of sandpaper to a piece of furniture of that vintage. You will ruin its value and appearance wiping out 200 years of patina. If you use sandpaper it could cost our friendship.:-)

Second, review the first step and commit it to memory."

I had a good laugh. In the end, I adopted his instructions and used a chemical stripper with 0000 steel wool and a varnish to make the table durable while preserving the patina. 

When I restored a 1907 mahogany Steinway O with a local rebuilder, we used a chemical stripper and we didn't hesitate to sand (by hand). I then French polished it and the result was beautiful. It had previously been badly refinished, so the patina wasn't really a consideration. But on a historic piano with fine veneer that was not previously sanded and refinished, what are your thoughts on maintaining the patina and keeping sandpaper out of the equation? Is there a standard approach to this? Let's assume the veneer is in good condition.

Thank you!

See the two articles by Watson and Eschete.

https://ptgfoundation.org/resources/archives/

Years ago I contacted friend who is a professional antique furniture restorer about a pre-civil war walnut "harvest table" that we still use as our dining room table to this day. I explained that I was planning on sanding it down and coating with urethane, but I wanted to check with him before going ahead with it. His response:

"Yes I have few suggestions I would be glad to offer. First buy a safe, put all your sandpaper in the safe. Lock the safe. Throw away the key. Bury the safe. Never, never take a piece of sandpaper to a piece of furniture of that vintage. You will ruin its value and appearance wiping out 200 years of patina. If you use sandpaper it could cost our friendship.:-)

Second, review the first step and commit it to memory."

I had a good laugh. In the end, I adopted his instructions and used a chemical stripper with 0000 steel wool and a varnish to make the table durable while preserving the patina. 

When I restored a 1907 mahogany Steinway O with a local rebuilder, we used a chemical stripper and we didn't hesitate to sand (by hand). I then French polished it and the result was beautiful. It had previously been badly refinished, so the patina wasn't really a consideration. But on a historic piano with fine veneer that was not previously sanded and refinished, what are your thoughts on maintaining the patina and keeping sandpaper out of the equation? Is there a standard approach to this? Let's assume the veneer is in good condition.

Thank you!

Years ago I contacted friend who is a professional antique furniture restorer about a pre-civil war walnut "harvest table" that we still use as our dining room table to this day. I explained that I was planning on sanding it down and coating with urethane, but I wanted to check with him before going ahead with it. His response:

"Yes I have few suggestions I would be glad to offer. First buy a safe, put all your sandpaper in the safe. Lock the safe. Throw away the key. Bury the safe. Never, never take a piece of sandpaper to a piece of furniture of that vintage. You will ruin its value and appearance wiping out 200 years of patina. If you use sandpaper it could cost our friendship.:-)

Second, review the first step and commit it to memory."

I had a good laugh. In the end, I adopted his instructions and used a chemical stripper with 0000 steel wool and a varnish to make the table durable while preserving the patina. 

When I restored a 1907 mahogany Steinway O with a local rebuilder, we used a chemical stripper and we didn't hesitate to sand (by hand). I then French polished it and the result was beautiful. It had previously been badly refinished, so the patina wasn't really a consideration. But on a historic piano with fine veneer that was not previously sanded and refinished, what are your thoughts on maintaining the patina and keeping sandpaper out of the equation? Is there a standard approach to this? Let's assume the veneer is in good condition.

Thank you!