I have found a piano to buy but it has some marks on the case which have been poorly repaired and some surface scratches. I am interested in buying the piano and either getting the case repaired or reducing the price accordingly.
How much does it cost to have these kind of things repaired? It is a piano black finish - probably polyester - on a 1980's Kawai US-50
Refinishing piano case
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For reference, should anyone else be looking for polyester repair costs, I have had a quick chat on the phone with a french polisher.
Inevitably they wanted to take a look before discussing it, but such is life and after some gentle prodding they started to open up.
I would describe the damage I have as a chip in the polyester finish about 3/4 of an inch long. Someone has then used a fill in brush to mask it. The best way I can describe it is thus...it is like a stone chip on a car which has been touched up with a touch up brush...the paint has not only gone into the chip but also around the chip and so the chip is still visible and there is now a raised portion around it albeit it is now a uniform colour.
The concensus from the french polisher is that a perfect repair could be attempted but would be costly but a good repair could be done taking about 2-3 hours and costing £50-£100.
As a result of these discussions I have bought the piano with a discount of £200 which I hope will give me enough head room to get a decent repair. It is certainly worth the full price once repaired.
For reference, again, it is an early 1980's Kawai US-50 (predecessor to the K-80 of today - or thereabouts), with perfect action, a beautiful treble and to-die-for bass, they had to tear me off it in the showroom, and I now owe them £2,799
I have tested about 20 pianos in the last few days so I may as well give a run down of the final contenders for my cash: (my opinions remember)
1980's Yamaha U1 - good action and solid sound but lacking in bass and treble ring due to limited size of case. Dissappointed given the reputation of these pianos as professional instruments - action was very consistent though compared to similar aged european instruments.
Yamaha U3's - Played two of these side-by-side, both late 1980's models asking £2,999. One was dull toned, the other was brighter and both had fantastic action but overall there was a lack of clarity of tone and the bass sounded muddled when playing complex chords. The bass was nice in isolation but the treble was not bright enough for me. I do like bright, clear piano tones though
New Kawai K-2 - This was a very nice piano, perfect action and nice tone. Just too small a sound for my liking due to limited size of case
1980's Kawai KS-1A £1,999 - In same shop as new K-2. This was an eye opener, if I was limited to this budget I would have bought it. Wonderful bass tones (large case again), solid treble and lovely consistent feel. On top of that the case has been refinished so this was beautiful gloss black. Looked around on the internet and could find little or no information about this piano at all. Kawai range still remains a mystery to most of us, it seems. EDIT: You can buy this at Sheargold Pianos in Maidenhead if you want, they offered me a cup of tea and are very knowledgeable
Then the one I bought. The US-50 has a slightly strange vertical fall board and sticky-out bit at the front which is odd and not particularly attractive but the result is a sound akin to a grand piano and with a 132cm/52" case it's no wonder.
Would love to have compared the US-50 to a Yamahe U5 but alas there's none around at the moment so I didn't get to.
Let's hope it sounds as good when I get it home...a bit worried it might not...
Inevitably they wanted to take a look before discussing it, but such is life and after some gentle prodding they started to open up.
I would describe the damage I have as a chip in the polyester finish about 3/4 of an inch long. Someone has then used a fill in brush to mask it. The best way I can describe it is thus...it is like a stone chip on a car which has been touched up with a touch up brush...the paint has not only gone into the chip but also around the chip and so the chip is still visible and there is now a raised portion around it albeit it is now a uniform colour.
The concensus from the french polisher is that a perfect repair could be attempted but would be costly but a good repair could be done taking about 2-3 hours and costing £50-£100.
As a result of these discussions I have bought the piano with a discount of £200 which I hope will give me enough head room to get a decent repair. It is certainly worth the full price once repaired.
For reference, again, it is an early 1980's Kawai US-50 (predecessor to the K-80 of today - or thereabouts), with perfect action, a beautiful treble and to-die-for bass, they had to tear me off it in the showroom, and I now owe them £2,799
I have tested about 20 pianos in the last few days so I may as well give a run down of the final contenders for my cash: (my opinions remember)
1980's Yamaha U1 - good action and solid sound but lacking in bass and treble ring due to limited size of case. Dissappointed given the reputation of these pianos as professional instruments - action was very consistent though compared to similar aged european instruments.
Yamaha U3's - Played two of these side-by-side, both late 1980's models asking £2,999. One was dull toned, the other was brighter and both had fantastic action but overall there was a lack of clarity of tone and the bass sounded muddled when playing complex chords. The bass was nice in isolation but the treble was not bright enough for me. I do like bright, clear piano tones though
New Kawai K-2 - This was a very nice piano, perfect action and nice tone. Just too small a sound for my liking due to limited size of case
1980's Kawai KS-1A £1,999 - In same shop as new K-2. This was an eye opener, if I was limited to this budget I would have bought it. Wonderful bass tones (large case again), solid treble and lovely consistent feel. On top of that the case has been refinished so this was beautiful gloss black. Looked around on the internet and could find little or no information about this piano at all. Kawai range still remains a mystery to most of us, it seems. EDIT: You can buy this at Sheargold Pianos in Maidenhead if you want, they offered me a cup of tea and are very knowledgeable
Then the one I bought. The US-50 has a slightly strange vertical fall board and sticky-out bit at the front which is odd and not particularly attractive but the result is a sound akin to a grand piano and with a 132cm/52" case it's no wonder.
Would love to have compared the US-50 to a Yamahe U5 but alas there's none around at the moment so I didn't get to.
Let's hope it sounds as good when I get it home...a bit worried it might not...
If you had asked how much to repair this in the first place, you'd have got an accurate answer! A complete refinish of an entire upright in black poly would be nearer 1K!!andysmee wrote:For reference, should anyone else be looking for polyester repair costs, I have had a quick chat on the phone with a french polisher.
I would describe the damage I have as a chip in the polyester finish about 3/4 of an inch long.
Then the one you tried was a munter. A good one would not have disappointed.andysmee wrote:I have tested about 20 pianos in the last few days so I may as well give a run down of the final contenders for my cash: (my opinions remember)
1980's Yamaha U1 - good action and solid sound but lacking in bass and treble ring due to limited size of case. Dissappointed given the reputation of these pianos as professional instruments - action was very consistent though compared to similar aged european instruments.
The Kawai that you ended up with was good value though. It's a good model, being as you deduced, their erstwhile competitor to the Yamaha U5, and one of the best that they produced in terms of tone and musicality. A shame that they also decided to copy the U5's foul Americanised casework, but their lack of aesthetic judgement is your gain in getting exellent value. They are very difficult to sell on because of this however, which will be why your dealer priced it so fairly. This is an ideal piano if you intend keeping it a long time.
You have discovered the excellent qualities of the current K-range I see!
lol...I realised you meant the whole casePianoGuy wrote:Nearer 1K for polyester I'd have thought.
I didn't realise you'd be able to give me a more detailed estimate, sorry. I assumed (wrongly!) that I wouldn't be able to get a ballpark figure for a small repair without someone seeing the piano...As for aesthetics...I intend to keep it so I will be quite happy to play it with my eyes closed if necessary