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Here's one of my before and after
Photo 1 (Start new project


Photo 2 (Case almost done)


Photo 3 (Lost interest)


Sometimes projects don't end up in a living room!
Instead they get the Saws-all treatment!

Ok, here's one for you. I made this picture for my Facebook page and website for my customers to see that we do more than just tuning.

Here's one I posted to show my customers what a keytop recovering can do for their piano.

Came across this on my computer the other day.
Thought of this thread.
This Steinway was bleached out like no other cabinet I have ever seen.
It also received a total rebuild inside.

Beautiful job, Rod.

Is the case mahogany or walnut? The shop photo differs from the home photo.

(And yet, the piano was returned to the fireplace, heating vents, and windows.)

The piano is mahogany. You could hardly tell what it was when bleached.
She purchased a piano cover, new window coverings and UV protected glass for her home.
She does not use the fireplace and the vent has been blocked.
This home sits over the water, looking down from her sundeck you can see starfish.
One of the most valuable lots for its size in Vancouver, right beside the Vancouver Yacht Club.

That's quite the tranformation. Was there much damage to the veneer? That much sun damamge can leave the wood looking like barnboard. By the way, what is the little box under the piano, some other type of humidity control?

I assumed that the little black box was a satellite speaker or sub woofer. I certainly could be wrong.

The little black box is a speaker.
No major damage to the veneer, once stripped and sanded it just took some creative staining to get it all right.
You would never know it was sun damaged.

Nicely finished, is "bleached" used for sun whitening the finish and wood color?

I thought I was only with bleach solutions (as for ivories)

Hi, nice pic, I said it yet but you may wish to space your keys prior to the picture... Better looking immediately.

We will often say the sun bleached the.....
Ultra violet rays are very damaging.

Reds especially are prone to fading when exposed to light.

Hi all - Just put the finishing touches on the smallest / plainest refinishing job done to date in our shop. Kind of fun, really. Stripped it down to bare wood and applied a brushed-on ebony finish.

Here's how it looked to begin with:

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Here it is now:

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A modest job, to be sure, but what the customer wanted - her piano now matches her speakers. Have a good week, everyone. Chuck

Hey Chuck,

Did it cross your mind to apply a Bosendorfer logo on it?

Looks Great! What is it?

Hi Marty - I'm sure that would fool a lot of people. I could make it a Henway, however. I get a lot of calls for one of those.

It's actually a Bremen spinet. A great piano for 1st or 2nd year piano students living in cramped quarters, but that's about it. The lady who owns it loves it, however,(because it's so cute!) and that's good enough for me. Chuck

Hi again, Marty - Here's one that might trip up a few people with a Bosendorfer decal - a bit classier looking, at least once it was finished. Here's how it looked when it arrived at the shop:

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When it was done, it was a pretty little piano - much more so than the little Bremen spinet we did up in black:

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Anyway, the thing I like about being a shop focusing on family instruments is the variety. We rarely see the same model of piano twice, which keeps life interesting.

Have a great week up in Minnesota - stay warm! Chuck

Hi all - Cold afternoon here in Iowa. Fired up the heater, put on the last episode of "Breaking Bad" (finally got to the end - really liked how it ended), and spent some relaxing time recovering a set of worn back checks. Good times!

Before shot:

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During shot:

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After shot:

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Have a great weekend, all. Chuck

A few years ago, a good friend of mine called me and asked if I knew of someone who could haul a couple of old grands away from the church where he was the choir director. Of course, I said i'd do it. One was a 1937 Howard baby grand that really was ready for the landfill (Kenny ended up coming and getting it to practice working on while he was going to school to become a tech - his next door neighbors still have the piano and love it), and the other was a 1923 Chickering 6' Centennial Grand. The Chickering had been rebuilt, but not refinished, sometime in the not-too-distant past; it had been restrung, the sound board refinished, and the action worked on, including a new set of hammers. It was missing a music desk and lid prop, and was butt-ugly.

Another friend of ours lost their home and possessions in the 2007 Witch Creek fire (it, combined with the Harris fire, burned over 200,000 acres of San Diego county), including their old Steinway M. Another friend and I decided we would refinish the Chickering and give it to them for a housewarming present when their new house was built.

Here it is in the early stages of refinishing:




And here it is, in their new home:



I know the new music desk is a little over the top, but they like it. We traced the desk from a Steinway square grand, and copied the shelf from my 1925 Chickering Ampico A.

Jim - Quite a housewarming present - a beautiful job! Chuck