repairs to wood-work of b grand piano - mahogony (1895-1910_

[karen]

My piano tuner has taken the keyboard away for repairs...I would like to take the time out to try repair the odd scratches....any advice please?...have been told it is mahogony wood...
(i.e what to use..some wood came off the front..could be oak underneathe.
.do I buy some wood to overlay and stain.. and what type...or can one buy very thin mahogony...Would appreciate any replies..

[Colin Nicholson]

Hi Karen

This is a job for a professional really.

I can give you some general advice that may help you in the preparation stages only - but unable to tell you how to actually repair scratches & missing wood - due to not wanting any come-back/loads of other questions/ problems etc.... and not seeing your piano, its impossible to determine the correct procedures. The forum is for 'general advice' only - and you may need to contact a French polisher. Also you may end up buying the wrong products, and the money spent would be better to get a pro to do it. Some piano tuners however dont do wood!

Firstly - you can't just buy a tin of .... "Mahogany stain for a 1900 Grand piano".... doesn't exist. Also, the repair to any wood would be the same if it was for a piano or a table. Matching up the right colour for scratches is very difficult.

You need to determine the wood finish? .... natural/ polished/ semi-polished/ French polished/ waxed etc etc.... as anything you add may react to the old finish.

There are many different shades and colours for mahogany - there is no such thing as "Mahogany stain" .... eg.... Light/Medium/Dark/Red/ Victorian...... these are a few.

The thin strips of wood missing are called veneer - however, many pianos are veneered with a basic oak (cheap) veneer, then stained a kind of "mahogany" to make it look mahogany.... get my drift?? .... if you bought mahogany veneer - it may be a completely different colour & shade & grain effect.

When you see a scratch, its not usually the wood that is scratched, but the top surface of the french polish. If you decided to strip down the old polish, you will find the scratches miraculously disappear. Eg.... if you scratched a bare piece of wood with your finger nail - it will stay the same colour - no matter how deep.

If the wood is dented or gouged - then this is a different subject - but not covered here.

You then have to match up the colour of the stain - which may be a spirit/water/acrylic based stain - and often darken it to match your piano - like a artist doing an oil painting.

However - if its a quick DIY job, have a look on the internet for a scratch repair kit, or a small pot of Colron paint.... BUT! ...... your guess is as good as mine regarding the exact match you want..... and in most cases - even after applying this, you still see imperfections because the stain is not deep enough..

Hope that helps..

Colin

[karen]

thanks you Colin. You have helped me tremendously. I do not want to do any damage, so I think I will look for an expert to come and have a look. The piano lid is extremely heavy. I really can't understand how people cannot look after such a beautiful work of art..surely when moving one would expect the movers to cushion the edges so one now has to do major repairs...It is obviously people who do not know the amount of work that has gone into these piano s. I thought about the fact that one tree was grown especially....would that not be wonderful to have the history from tree all the way to instrument!
thanks you again for your direct replies. It certainly adds the spice!