8/11/2023 0 Comments Paint it black piano notes![]() ![]() If sanding is the removal of finish, polishing then is the removal of scratches. Successively the finish is removed until the surface is smooth. The diagrams above show both side and top profiles of finishes. While we think of sandpaper as rough grit, finish sanding uses really soft papers. To be able to cut the finish to level, several grades of paper are used. Sanding is the removal of material until the surface has become a dull gray. But the sheen must be taken down first and be made level before polishing can begin. If the finish is smooth and flat, the subsequent finish will reflect perfectly. The reason? It all has to do with light reflection. Ironically, this means sanding the polyurethane to a dull gray. The only way to reflect light perfectly is to level or sand the finish until all of the layers are smooth. What’s the difference between shiny and level? A sprayed “out of the gun” finish will be shiny but not smooth like a mirror. ![]() Against the light, this ripple effect blurs the mirror quality. When you look up close to a surface that has been sprayed, there are anomalies from the spraying application and drying process known as orange peel (which looks rippled like an orange). The piano industry however is held to a much higher standard. It’s pragmatic when millions of cars are being manufactured annually. The automotive industry robotically sprays car finishes that are so good “out of the gun” that most are left that way. You can get decent finishes but not perfect finishes “straight out of the gun” meaning that it’s left as-is when the spraying is completed. Spraying a finish in a dust free, properly ventilated room still does not make a perfect finish. When a piano has been sprayed, it is definitely shiny but it is also textured. Shiny simply means that there is reflective sheen in the finish. There is a big difference between shiny sprayed finish and a levelled finish that has been polished. All pianos must have some sort of wood substrate construction that is perfectly smooth (either medium density fiberboard or laminated layers of wood for The first step in achieving a perfectly smooth finish is to have perfectly smooth wooden parts. “Substrate” refers to what’s underneath the finish. If you’re interested in how they do that, here are the basic steps in making perfect piano black: The reflective qualities are a testimony to not only innovation but manufacturing prowess.Īs I’ve had opportunity to visit some piano factories, I’ve learned that piano finishes are not as much about applying the perfect finish in a dust free environment but more about levelling and polishing the black polyurethane finish to perfection. Just like a mirror, the piano reveals any and all slight imperfections. Achieving the perfect piano black is an exacting process. This is evidenced by the fact that the majority of piano sales today are finished in high polish black.īut how do they achieve this mirror finish? Piano parts are not dipped in some magically smooth plastic coating and come out looking this way. In recent decades, with the advancement of technology and engineering, piano finishes have been perfected and there is now an association with “modern piano” as being black. But jet black has been overtaken by “piano black” as the example for the deepest, darkest, smoothest finish of comparison. It was referenced as the benchmark for black as early as the 1700’s. Have you ever heard someone describe an object as being “jet black”? Jet is derived from the French word “jaiet”, a process that dates back to the 1300’s where lignite (a type of coal) was polished to a deep sheen. ![]()
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