I alway find it amazing just how small the internet has made the world. I purchased a Charles Walter piano in the Indianapolis area within the last couple of months. I was given the name of Jacob Emch as the person who refurbished the piano. Much to my amazement, I found a video of my piano being refurbished. Maybe one day (in several years) I’ll playing it as well as Jacob did. Thank you for the video and the great job on the overhaul.
Thank you for sharing this process; very interesting to see how these pianos are restored. And wow, I never thought an upright could have such a beautiful, warm, rich tone. What a fantastic piano. Also enjoyed your little performance of Chopin's scherzo no. 2 in B flat minor at the end. :)
Love your videos, Jacob! You show all the exciting parts without the tedium so many piano restoration videos get bogged down in. This Charles Walter sounds amazing. I used to play one from time to time and was impressed with its sonority and clarity. Beautiful playing on the Chopin!
I’ve been refinishing pianos for the last 40 years. I’m always trying to find better solutions, better finishes, faster more consistent techniques for getting that nice brushed patina look. I have a Steinway B ebony I’m redoing, and a Baldwin 5’6” mahogany. I’m using ML Campbell precat for the Baldwin, and Mohawk for the Steinway. I try to find local experts on finishing, but there just isn’t anyone around anymore. You go to the finish supply stores and the ignorance of their products is shocking. I can’t even find spray gun advice for my Binks guns! What is your experience??
Here’s my experience 2 weeks ago: I called a local company and asked for a “regular, nitrocellulose lacquer, not precat” (exact words), “60 sheen, clear” So I got it, the pale has some numbers and letters and says “60 sheen”. I start spraying, and realize it’s not lacquer, but conversion varnish. I have 3/4 of the piano sprayed already. Thankfully I had some fast catalyst I mixed in extra with another coat and hoped and prayed if I sprayed another coat on top it would kick off the first coat. 2 hours of my time wasted. For black, I’m using wurdack currently, but it’s so soft, it’s very difficult to sand. (Not the same company as my experience up above.) I’ve heard Bradley is easy to sand and stays black. I’m going to try that on my next piano. I’ve switched back to Mohawk for my regular lacquer needs- as what I order on their website is exactly what I will get, no chance for a screw up, which I’ve been on the receiving end of many. Cheers
Thanks! 5 coats of clear on top of the black. Sanded up to 1200 then machine polished will give you the high polished look. It wont look as good as modern polyester finishes though 😞
Thanks! I have a Fuji spray system with a 1.0mm tip. Sometimes I’ll use a .8mm tip. Before this I used a 16 dollar spray gun from harbor freight and it got the job done. In my case, I don’t have a big air compressor set up, so I was constantly waiting on the air compressor to keep up. The turbine system gives clean, dry air every time (that doesn’t run out) so that’s why I like it. -Jake
It’s a “grand transporter”- I don’t think they sell them anymore :( they always had problems with the jacks. I had to change mine out in less than a year.
I hope you don't mind being asked about your process. I'm an amateur refinishing a piano with lacquer, and I'm getting some conflicting information about best practices. I've been building black lacquer layers and sanding inbetween. My first question is do you spray, sand with say 220, recoat, then sand with 320, recoat, then sand with 400, etc.? Or do you spray, sand 220, 320, 400, etc. and then respray? Also, once I'm finished with my pigmented lacquer and ready to apply the clear coat, do I sand before doing so? Thanks for sharing your videos.
Hi there, Marc. Thanks for the inquiry. It may benefit you to watch my recent video of me refinishing a Mason and Hamlin. In that video, I spray a post catalyzed lacquer primer/surfacer which fills the grain and sands easily. Then sand it smooth up to 600. Then I spray black topcoat several layers thick, a couple coats a day, several days, without sanding in between. The thinner in the topcoat dissolves the previous coats and it chemically bonds with it. You can scuff sand if you wish to remove any little bumps caused by dust. Then I let it dry for a few weeks, sand it through the grits up to 600-1000 and finished off with steel wool/synthetic steel wool. (Some will spray several coats, sand with 180/220 until the orange peel is gone, then spray a light coat with a bit of retarder and get it to lay out very flat, and after that final coat has dried, it's so flat they can start with 600 grit.) The traditional method by Steinway, Baldwin, M&H, etc. does not involve a clear coat. You can use polish on a rag, in the direction of the grain, or even on your steel wool, if you're going for a satin "luster". Wipe off excess with a microfiber. If you're going high gloss, you only need a few coats of color, then build up the clear so you can sand through the grits, buff, and polish. (if it's traditional lacquer.) Black lacquer doesn't buff up to as high a sheen as clear does. This is my understanding/experience, anyway. Hope this helps. Jake
Thank you. Good eye! Walter changed from putting American Pratt Reed actions in their verticals to the Langer actions in the mid-late ‘80’s. Glad they did… The grands have a Renner action.
Thanks! It’s an air powered in-line sander. You can get a new single pad in-line sander from harbor freight. They don’t sell the dual pad sanders like this new anymore :( I found this on eBay.
Terrific video, Jacob. In a future video could you please discuss your suppliers of the different felt sizes, their use on the instrument and also various hinges, screws, lid /fall board bumpers. It took several months to aguire bumpers for my Yamaha G5 from the Yamaha dealer. Thank you.
How long do you wait before a rub out? I just touched up a ebony satin music desk with huge dents in it. I’ve been starting my rub outs with pumice and a damp cloth, especially on a small piece like that. I recently watched a guitar repair channel and they wait 10-30 days for the lacquer to cure before they wet sand it. I think it does reduce the amount of corns and clogging.
I think the “correct” answer is when you put your nose on it, you can’t smell the lacquer. I wasn’t going for perfect on this one, so I only waited a couple days. I can still smell the lacquer when I walk by the piano and it’s been about a week since I sprayed the last topcoats. Also, I would have needed another few coats if I planned to sand out the orange peel, which invariably adds more dry time.
does it matter what method you use to apply the primer/topcoats since you’re going to sand it anyway? i’m trying to repair several spots on my piano but i’m having trouble replicating the finish.
Repairs are a bit different. You’ll likely have to rub the entire piano to get the repairs to blend in. Sometimes I just pour the lacquer on the spot and wait a day to sand. Sometimes I’ll brush it on.
@@JacobEmch91 my issue is that the marks are through the finish with bits of wood showing. should i just try a black laquer? if so, is there a brand you recommend?
If it’s on a flat surface like the lid, you can pour in multiple coats a day apart. If it’s on a vertical surface like the outside of the rim, sometimes I use a hard wax fill. Check Mohawk’s RU-vid page for their instructional videos.
