Sun bleaching

[classic-keyboard]

Many older pianos I've looked at have suffered from fading. I was wondering if modern polyester finishes are any more resilient to UV? 'Ebony' - i.e. black - seems to be the colour of choice for cheap new grands. Presumably this is the cheapest finish to do, because the grain of the underlying wood isn't going to be seen - but also I assume ebony isn't liable to fade. I've also seen several old grands which, when being restored, have been re-polished in polyester rather than as original. Is this just a matter of taste, or is it also because the polyester resists fading?

I'm trying to keep 'appearance' fairly low down on my wish list but my next piano is going to have to live in a very bright triple-aspect south facing room so...

[Silverwood Pianos]

UV strips all colours away eventually. Black is one of the most expensive to complete as solid colours show more imperfections. With wood grain finishes a lot of mistakes and imperfections can be hidden especially when using nitro finishes.

The clear poly over the black colour will go cloudy when exposed to UV. If exposed to direct sunlight continuously the top coat can eventually crack in long lines similar to pond ice or perhaps craze similar to snakeskin. I have come across both types due to UV exposure or sunlight damage.

Best of luck,

[classic-keyboard]

Thanks for that answer. You're saying that all finishes, old and new, are similarly at risk from the sun? Where my piano lives (and its replacement will live) I can just about avoid any direct sunlight on it but as I say the room is very bright.

[Silverwood Pianos]

Any colour subjected to sunlight or UV is stripped away; bleached out by the sunlight or indirect sunlight. This is ongoing even on cloudy days. Solid colours may take more time to lighten but eventually do so. One does not realize the black has faded until such time as a chip or repair that involves the colour barrier is completed. Then the difference in the new black versus the old black can be viewed.

At times, depending upon how much UV damage there is, the colour difference will be quite dramatic upon completion of the repair.

The bigger problem lies with the damage to the outer clear coat always applied to solid colouring. Once the outer coats go cloudy then the finish begins to give a tired appearance.

Also important to be mindful that close to light sources such as this cause not only damaging UV but also the heat exchange. This will result in making the sounding board fluctuate and that in turn will cause some tuning instability.

A white linen sheet or cotton sheet thrown over the instrument will assist in protecting the colour from damaging rays, along with helping to deflect the heat changes.

[Colin Nicholson]

That's some good info there. I'm no means an expert on poly finishes - a novice! - but would imagine its an extra 'pane of glass' for light to filter through. Not sure if a light filter screen might work like shop windows?

I have just recently restored a Bechstein upright, and both front feet (front parts facing you] were badly chipped and veneer missing. Down the left side was almost a very dark rosewood, yet the right side of the piano was a pale - mahogany look. Due to each side of each foot being exposed to different levels of light I had a tricky job trying to match the stain/colour for the new veneer. Had to go slightly darker than the light side to compromise.... and customer didnt want a full strip down and re-stain & french polish. After looking more closely - it could be possible that the dark side was 'wedged' up against a wall and possibly the other side exposed to just normal light in a room? .... not sure if the sun was bleaching on it.... but the 2 sides are like chalk & cheese.

[joseph]

On my Bluthner - and many pianos of that age I've seen (c.1910-1920) that haven't been restored - the colour was almost light honey colour, appearing somewhat yellow with bloches of some things I don't know what all over it. Then, under the fly lid it was slightly darker, but not much, and down the left side it was also slightly, but not much darker.

Then, if you take the fallboard out, there is a strip, about half an inch all the way along it, of the original deep red stain that was applied when it was new. This is the part of the piano that hasn't been to exposed to any light except for when it is being tuned, and I must say the piano would look stunning if restored to that colour all over. Then it would be ready for another century of sunbleaching.

[Gill the Piano]

You can get a film to fix on your windows which filters out UV ; I have a client with a rosewood Bechstein who used it and another with lupus, a medical condition rendering her v. sensitive to UV. Google 'UV window film'.

[classic-keyboard]

I have thought about UV film. There are two windows and two sets of patio doors in the room, so it would be a sizeable cost to do. I'll look at it again if I end up with a piano that looks good enough to warrant it. As Silverwood says, a white sheet would be cheaper!

My 'scrapper' Collard grand is a non-unattractive honey colour - but the music desk, inner rim, end cheeks and fallboard interior are all very dark mahogany. Even after 99 years such a massive colour change astonishes me. Pity the piano's past saving.

[Silverwood Pianos]

Colour tinting to match boards can be tricky to accomplish. Usually one has to go slightly darker that the original colours to get everything to match well. For boards that have lightened it is important to see which part of the colour spectrum is missing.
Most of the time it is reds and greens as they are the strongest colours. For solids such as black, white or grey can be added to make the touch up look “aged” to match the older finish. Black, exposed to sunlight over time, becomes charcoal.

I use a shading gun with a regulator valve that has no gauge attached inline underneath the gun handle. This way I can turn down the air pressure and air brush a lot of colour on for shading/ tinting.

For solid colours simply add more solid and then top coat to flatten the job out and make the repair invisible.

Here is a good example of sun bleaching that had to be corrected along with considerable damage to the music desk.

At the bottom of this blog posting there is a link to a photo album of the instrument. I just checked on the link and it is working correctly. If anyone has any problems viewing the photos let me know.

For the photo album, left click on the first photo to open up the album, and read the text included over on the right side. Go forward or back using the arrows at the bottom of each photo. Here is the link to the blog posting and photo set.

http://silverwoodpianos.blogspot.ca/201 ... ianos.html

[vernon]

Back to basics.
In the factory one is presented with all the case parts in front of you preparatory to staining.
The rule is ; the vertical panels(top door bottom door sides) are given two coats of stain and then wiped off..
The horizontal parts fall top etc are given one and wiped off.
job done.