Key attack!!!

As you may have guessed by the title I've got going on the proper restoration of the keys now. As those of you in the know, most concert grand pianos have 88 keys (7 1/4 octaves). Some smaller pianos have 85 (7 octaves) some even smaller uprights have 76! And of course, not forgetting the stupendous Bosendorfer Imperial with the 97 keys - a full 8 octaves. The extra keys on that one are at the bass end and are all painted black so that the pianist knows where the normal piano stops. It's very useful if you're trying to attract the attention of a passing ocean liner having those notes as it sounds just the same as the horn.

Anyway, the keys weren't in such a bad state to be honest. The rebushing went well and all of the damper bushing felts at the back of the keys were added (that stops a "clunk" every time you press the damper pedal). So I looked at the black keys and thought that they looked relatively tired. Best part of a century's worth of grease from playing and sitting in dusty environments and the like. I tried to scrape the worst of the grease off but it didn't work very well. I ended up opting for sandpaper. That was FAR better but of course, once again was painfully slow going.

I got down to the original ebony colour and to my dismay saw that it was much browner than I wanted... Back to my piano restoration bible. Hmm, I've got to get black spray-on laquer have I? Right, straight to the local hardware store. Didn't have what I wanted. Went into the city and to the major retailers there like B&Q, Homebase, Wickes et al and they weren't able to help either. Bugger! So, ended up back in the local hardware store and did a bit of busking with the idea. I bought a can of matt black spray paint and asked if they had any spray-on laquer. No. However, they did have wood laquer. "That'll do!" I said. Got home and sprayed the black paint on. To be honest, I wasn't too hopeful. I left it overnight and went back in the following morning - it looked fantastic!!! I did a second very light coat and left that for several hours to dry. Once dried I applied the laquer with a brush. When I left it last night it looked very good indeed. I'm just about to go out to the garage and have a look to see how nicely it has dried. I believe you've got to add a few coats and sand down after the last coat. Hopefully I'll get the result I'm after. I've got my fingers crossed that I've struck lucky with this as if I have it is more through luck than judgement!