Advice on Wood and Finish

I have a grand piano. I want to try to match the finish as close as possible on a coffee table I plan to build. I have heard that the majority of pianos are made from laminates. I don't plan on building a coffee table out of laminates. My next thought is maple I just don't want any grain. Next problem, what is the finish I use? I tested some black ebony stain letting it sit many days before the each finish attempt. I was not happy with anything. I plan on using black gloss paint for the color finish but are there any suggestions on the following; wood-paint-lacquer?? :confused:

Smooth the wood out as much as possible(grain fill etc etc)then seal it with some shellac, then spray it using black automotive 2pac acylic then cut/buff it like you do on a car!

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Originally Posted by kbvette

I have a grand piano. I want to try to match the finish as close as possible on a coffee table I plan to build. I have heard that the majority of pianos are made from laminates. I don't plan on building a coffee table out of laminates. My next thought is maple I just don't want any grain. Next problem, what is the finish I use? I tested some black ebony stain letting it sit many days before the each finish attempt. I was not happy with anything. I plan on using black gloss paint for the color finish but are there any suggestions on the following; wood-paint-lacquer?? :confused:

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this isnt an answer to your question, but how unreal would it be to make a grand piano to scale as a coffee table :)

If you don't want any grain and plan to paint the table you could use craftwood/customwood/MDF (whatever name you use for this product over there).

What are your capabilities regarding finishing? Do you have a spray gun/booth? The old piano finishes were nitrocellulose lacquer, but good luck getting anything worthwhile in California, due to the AQMB restrictions on VOC's.

Have a look at www.targetcoatings.com for ideas and tips spraying water-based finishes. The new generation of water-based are reputed to be very good, and I hear guys speak of 'piano finish' results.

Greg

MDF would be the easiest material to start with to get a top finish.
If not use the closest grain timber to make it easy to fill the grain.
No point trying to get a top finish unless you have a real good surface to paint, especially black.
You should be able to buy nitrocellulose lacquer to finish as per the piano.
Bill Hersh sells it for old car restorers.
Use a sanding sealer then the lacquer and finish by pulling the sprayed on lacquer (about five coats) with a pad soaked with a mixture of the lacquer thinner and metholated spirit. The piano finishers softened the lacquer and shifted it into the grain if the timber untill they got it perfect. Its the same process as fench poishing.

If you use 2 pack car enamel use a primer for such paint as per auto finiishing rub it with 800 abrasive paper paper and spray with the black enamel and hardener.

You do need booth or at least a dust free area and a good mask to spray it.

If yopu are unfamiliar with these paints seek out a auto spray painter.

I have done several timber pieces for No 1 son for his stereo and you can get a grand piano finish or better but you do need the experience to do it easily.

I can offer a partial solution to making your coffee table look like the piano. If you make the coffee table out of wood with high tannin content (e.g. Oak), it is possible to stain the wood to look like ebony. The stain acts almost instantly and can be made easily at home.

You will need very rusty iron and white distilled vinegar. I use steel wool, washed with dishwashing detergent to remove any residual oil. I will allow the steel wool to soak in water for a few weeks to get very rusty. To accelerate the rusting process I use an aquarium pump to aerate the steel wool forcing the oxygen to react faster.<O:p

After rusting the steel wool, remove the excess water. Cover the steel wool with white distilled vinegar and allow the vinegar to do its magic for three weeks. The container should be covered but with a breathing hole.

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Finally, strain the mixture through a coffee filter twice. The first straining should remove any solid steel wool or rust particles. The second straining, using a fresh filter paper, is to remove any remaining suspended solids. This solution has a shelf life of about a month.

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Prepare the wood by raising the grain and sanding. Brush or wipe the stain onto the wood and allow the stain to dry. If the stain raises additional grain, remove the raised grain with very fine sand paper or steel wool or plastic sanding pads. (Scotch Brite in the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com[IMG] /><st1:country-region w:st=[/IMG]US</st1:country-region>)

The wood can be finished with almost any type of lacquer, polyurethane, varnish or shellac. <O:p

One bit of caution. The staining process is a chemical reaction. Multiple applications of the stain will not darken the result. Apply the stain heavily and the color achieved is the final color.
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