Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Do you mind hairscratchs on brand new grand piano?

I visited the piano shop again to check cosmetic status then found several hairscratches on the both rims next to music rack.
I forgot to take photos. I circled the area which has several micro scratches. Music rack was wrapped with protection film in last week but it was peeled off in this week. Do you mind hair scratches on those area(red circled area)if you buy brand new grand piano?

My mom likes to tell me the history of how it took 10 years to my dad to purchase a leather jacket. He used to go into every shop he found around and never was happy with any of the jackets, because of the most bizarre and insignificant details.

I'm afraid you are going that way.

As Alfred Brendel (certainly a discerning pianist knowledgeable in matters of piano mechanics) wrote, ultimately the piano is an instrument and not a fetish.

For many, it is sometimes both.

We can't tell how bad the scratches are in your picture since it's not a close up. If they bother you but would buy the piano if they weren't there, I'm 100% sure the dealer will remove them for you prior to a sale if you request this. Check the whole piano first so their touch up person can make one trip to remove all the scratches that bother you.

Micro scratches are inevitable for any piano, unless you rope off the area in which the piano resides and never play or practice on the piano, and always keep children and pets completely away. Then the piano becomes a shrine rather than an instrument. There are brands of piano polish that when applied correctly can remove the micro scratches, sold here on PianoWorld’s site. I found a super gentle polish used on collectors cars that is fantastic. I buy microfiber cloths for my vehicles and my piano ( kept separate of course).

I've been in the piano business for let's just say well over 50 years.

I've never seen a perfect piano, either cosmetic or otherwise. It's just a matter of where and how hard you look.

Once you've got it in place use some Cory product if you feel compelled...

Tony, having read your threads and posts here, I see that we have something in common, you and I. We are both "perfectionist", to an extent ,at least. It (being a perfectionist) is be a blessing and a curse.

Over the years, being a perfectionist has help me achieve a high level of success in my working careers, with close attention paid to detail, craftsmanship, and professionalism, along with many other positive things that are beneficial, in many different areas, and life in general.

On the other hand, being a perfectionist has also caused me a lot of grief, worrying and fretting about minor things that really didn't matter. Or worrying about things that mattered, but was not something I could do anything about.

If the micro scratches bother you, as others have said, ask the dealer if they can polish them out for you. If the false beats bother you, and the other imperfections, look for another piano. If there is not a better piano to be had, within your budget, either raise your budget or buy the Kawai grand, with the minor scratches, (if they can't or won't fix) and false beats.

Also, FWIW (for what it's worth) if you can't be completely satisfied, learn to be semi-satisfied/partially satisfied. That is the only thing that has kept me sane all these years (well, not the only thing, but one of them).

Good luck!

Rick

Good advice given to you. Don't worry about the small stuff. It is an instrument that you will use, scratches ,dings and dents are unavoidable and part of a piano aging.

Everyone has different expectations. If you don’t want a new piano with scratches, then naturally you don’t have to buy it. Your choice.

The question in the title of the thread is irrelevant. What does it matter whether others "mind" or not? It's your choice not ours.

Regards,

Regarding scratches, if you were buying a car new, you wouldn't want to see scratches on it. That said, in certain lights, you may well see polishing scratches, the odd imperfection, and if there was anything that really bothered you, you might ask the dealer to buff them out. The danger with that of course is that the buffing out may risk more scratching.

The more scratched and used the better for my taste, even when brand new. That is one reason I like satin pianos; I can't stand shiny pianos.

This is DEFINITELY a "to each their own" question, but since you asked, and I assume generally, that is my answer.

If you are looking for an answer or validation, then only you can answer that.

Some of those exquisite perfect paint jobs cost more than a brand new Kawai GX2.

Having been in retail sales right after high school Id say our OP is just frightened “pulling the trigger”. No piano can ever achieve true perfection and even if it did, it wouldn’t stay that way.

I think life is too short to worry about a couple of hairscratches on a beautiful piano just begging to be played!

I agree, but, in the context of the OPs previous threads and posts, this piano is not for him; he is finding reasons not to purchase it but hasn't realised that. IMHO.

This problem is not so complicated. Just have the dealer's touch up person remove the scratches that bother you.

You can avoid causing new scratches to a large extent by carefully dusting the piano with microfiber cloths without applying any pressure and protecting the music desk when playing. The simplest way to do this is to put around three thin sheet music scores on the desk to cover it and then put the score you're playing on top of them. The only place where it's not possible to completely avoid scratches is the fallboard, but scratches there can be buffed out and mostly avoided if you keep your nails short. All the above I know from personal experience. I am quite fussy about keeping my Mason BB in very nice condition, and after 15 years it looks almost the same as when it was delivered.

... and then when the piano arrives in the home and the blanket is removed and the piano is handled by the delivery team .... ?

He can either ask the dealer to touch it up again or hire a touch up person privately. This is assuming he's not examining every inch of the piano from a few inches away. Once the piano is in his home, unless there are other people living there who may touch the piano it's relatively easy to mostly avoid additional scratches except on the fallboard.

I used to use that, as well. Now I just dust. 😂