{"id":7470,"date":"2021-12-09T23:15:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-10T07:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandysglobaleyes.blog\/?p=7470"},"modified":"2021-12-09T23:15:00","modified_gmt":"2021-12-10T07:15:00","slug":"refinishing-a-piano-covid-projects-from-a-newbie-perspective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandysglobaleyes.blog\/?p=7470","title":{"rendered":"Refinishing a Piano. Covid Projects from a Newbie Perspective!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

During the lockdown periods<\/strong> caused by the global Covid 19<\/strong> pandemic, you may feel confined but you have choices. As a Life Long Learner<\/strong>, I decided to use the extra time to try something completely new<\/strong> to me–refinishing a piano<\/strong>! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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My first refinishing project was to refinish my 1936 piano! <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

My Doherty<\/strong> Canadian<\/strong> piano<\/strong> was created in late 1936<\/strong>. It has lived a challenging life being bumped and moved many times. I purchased this piano (well used) in the 1980’s when I was studying classical music, then my son also learned to play using this instrument. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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My piano prior to its most recent move. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Since the last move in 2017<\/strong>, the piano had been sitting in our garage<\/strong>. Boards were stained with water spots<\/strong> and there were multiple grooves and dents<\/strong> in the wood finish<\/strong>. Yet, when I removed the plastic cover and opened the keyboard lid, the sound<\/strong> was still quite reasonable<\/strong> and keys were not sticking<\/strong>! It was time to rejuvenate this amazing instrument and welcome it into our new home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Views from the initial stages of refinishing the piano<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

My husband has experience with refinishing and agreed to assist me if I required help. I hoped to complete this project as independently as possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step One<\/strong> ….Watch YouTube videos about refinishing<\/strong> furniture including hints from piano specialists. I discovered there are so many opinions and diverse thoughts about the refinishing process. It appeared more research was necessary! Hardware stores and paint\/stain sections<\/strong>, were visited and information<\/strong> was requested from “experts<\/strong>“. (Or at least most felt they were experts). More videos were observed. I discussed my thoughts and plans<\/strong> with my husband. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Step 2 \u2014 good ventilation area and necessary supplies! <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Step Two<\/strong>… Prepare your working space<\/strong> in a well ventilated location<\/strong> and purchase the necessary supplies<\/strong> for the refinishing job. (Be prepared for many future trips to stores to obtain more supplies as necessary). If you do not own the necessary tools<\/strong> …purchase what you require or borrow from your very supportive husband! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Step 3\u2013 Removing boards to work on the bench! <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Step Three<\/strong>…Remove<\/strong> as many boards<\/strong> as possible without damaging the workings of the piano. The boards are much easier to clean, sand, strip, prepare, condition, stain, and top coat when they are horizontal<\/strong>! Remove<\/strong> the hinged metal strips<\/strong> from the boards. Select the finishing color<\/strong> you wish to achieve–stain or paint. I selected Espresso<\/strong> stain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Choosing your stain color–I picked Espresso<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Step Four<\/strong>…Prepare to get dirty<\/strong> and look like a version of Darth Vader. P.S. I worked on this project nearly every day for close to 6 weeks<\/strong>. I consumed a bag of clean rags, 2 boxes of steel wool, sand paper, paper towels, several pairs of paint gloves, brushes, wood filler, putty knives, and containers of stripping solvent, wood conditioner, stain, and poly finish. Refinishing a piano is a labor of love and it is not cheap<\/strong>! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Darth Vader look alike! <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Step Five<\/strong>…Removing the old existing stain<\/strong>\/color off the wood boards was a fascinating process. Some boards had terrible water stains from plants which had been sitting on the top of the piano. After stripping the previous finish off the boards, I was shocked at how new the boards looked. Strip and sand. Strip and Sand<\/strong>. It took 3 or more attempts at stripping\/sanding each board to achieve a clean new wood surface. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Step 5\u2013Strip and Sand. Repeat. Repeat. … <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Step Six<\/strong>…Fixing the grooves and imperfections<\/strong> in the wood. It is really hard to make the areas where filler is used match the wood color when it is stained, so we sanded out<\/strong> some imperfections and only used filler<\/strong> where it was really needed. My husband assisted with this. I found this part a bit tricky. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Step 6\u2013Fixing grooves and imperfections. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Step Seven<\/strong>…Adding colour<\/strong> to the wood. Don your Darth Vader attire because the process of adding wood conditioner and stain<\/strong> was very stinky! Without good respiration support<\/strong>, you might feel light headed and probably have quite a bad headache. Drying time for each application is specific and I needed to repeat the process 4<\/strong> times<\/strong>. Each application made the stain finish a bit darker in color. I was aiming for Espresso, but could not get quite as dark a shade as I had originally hoped for. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Step 7\u2013 Adding colour (wood conditioner, stain, repeat…..) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Step Eight<\/strong>...Protective coating<\/strong> time! I chose to use the Poly Wipe On<\/strong> Protective coating on the wood. This process also required several coats. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Step 8–Protection Top Coat with Wipe-On Poly<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Step Nine<\/strong>…Now comes the fun part! (I say in jest!). You return to the piano<\/strong> and start the entire process from the beginning on all the vertical surfaces\/boards on the piano! <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Steps 9 and 10–Sophia supervises in the garage while the remainder of the piano is refinished. My husband assists masking the delicate internal sections. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Step Ten<\/strong>…As all the liquids tend to run on vertical surfaces<\/strong>…Make certain you carefully mask <\/strong>any sensitive areas (such as the keyboard) with plastic protection and cover your floor area<\/strong> with sheets to catch the dripping mess! We actually used large cardboard boxes from our appliances on the floor below the piano. They worked well and I preferred the cardboard to slippery drop sheets or plastic on the floor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Step 11 + . I spent many hours kneeling on my new cardboard floor! <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Step Eleven +<\/strong>… Repeat steps 5 to 8 on all vertical boards<\/strong> on the piano. My working area moved from outside to inside the garage during this time. I required additional lighting and needed to open the garage door for ventilation. Occasionally, our cat Sophia would sneak inside to check on the piano refinishing progress. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step Twelve<\/strong>…Moving the piano<\/strong> from the garage inside the house to its new location<\/strong> in our foyer on the first floor. This was such an exciting event! Finally, we reattached all the finished boards<\/strong> in their correct locations and I reattached the 2 hinge pieces for the keyboard cover and top section of the piano. Here is a short video about this stage of the project! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nhttps:\/\/videopress.com\/v\/4n8W8TpV?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata\n<\/div>
The final resting location for the newly renovated piano! <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I must confess I felt pretty proud of my<\/strong> first attempt at refinishing<\/strong> a piece of furniture. Many people have been shocked that my first project was so complex. I honestly had no preconceived ideas about refinishing, so I just naively jumped into it. I learned a great deal. Made mistakes. Tried different methods. Asked for assistance when I required help. Thanks Mark!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Next step… piano tuner then fun duets with my mom! <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This project kept me busy and engaged during the Covid pandemic lockdown. Now when I look at the piano, or tinkle its ivories, I feel a special attachment to this instrument. We spent a great deal of time getting to know each other! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So….Why not try something new? Perhaps you might enjoy refinishing something in your home? Stay safe and keep optimistic. Cheers <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During the lockdown periods caused by the global Covid 19 pandemic, you may feel confined but you have choices. As a Life Long Learner, I decided to use the extra time to try something completely new to me–refinishing a piano! My Doherty Canadian piano was created in late 1936. It has lived a challenging life […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7471,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,52,66,88,90],"tags":[128,194,228,239,240],"class_list":["post-7470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-covid-projects","category-musical-instruments","category-re-finishing-a-piano","category-try-something-new","category-vancouver-island","tag-canada","tag-life-long-learner","tag-piano","tag-re-finishing","tag-re-finishing-furniture"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandysglobaleyes.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandysglobaleyes.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandysglobaleyes.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandysglobaleyes.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandysglobaleyes.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7470"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sandysglobaleyes.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7470\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandysglobaleyes.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandysglobaleyes.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandysglobaleyes.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}