Piano repair and restoration

Repair and restoration of the piano is required if the instrument has lost its attractive appearance due to age, frequent use or inadequate storage conditions (a room with high humidity and sudden temperature changes). While restoring antique pianos requires professional skills, some problems can be solved on your own using the methods below.

Due to long-term use of the piano, various types of breakdowns occur.

• Key wear. In the process of use, the middle of the seeds is gradually erased, which leads to a loss of shine, the formation of roughness, depressions and holes.
• Looseness of keys. As a result, the unity of distance is disrupted, which leads to a knock when playing.
• Dirt on the keyboard, resulting in hard key movement or binding.
• Hammer head wear due to an increase in the depth of the furrows of the cloth, felt and leather, which form the garnish of the mechanics. In some cases, complete replacement of felt and other fabric elements is required.
• Felt loosening on hammer heads, garnishes, which complicates the work of piano mechanics.
• Rust on pins and springs. In addition to obstructed movement, a malfunction becomes a source of squeak and squeak.
• Deformation and misalignment of parts, which disrupts the coherence of the interaction of the hammer heads.
• Breakage of individual parts and springs.
• Damage as a result of the vital activity of moths, kozheedov, mice and other pests.

Most faults in mechanisms are eliminated according to a similar scheme. Disassembly and damage inspection first.If the defect is small, it is corrected, with a serious breakdown, the part changes.

Working with the keyboard begins with cleaning up debris. Then it is necessary to adjust the distance between the keys, sometimes using a special ruler.

The electronic piano differs from the acoustic analogue in the mechanisms of sound production. Therefore, here the need for repair is determined by a different list of faults.

• Spontaneous triggering of sound signals, which is more often caused by sinking. But it doesn't hurt to check the processor and the pulse generator.
• Sinking of the key associated with the breakdown of the mechanism that returns the part to its original position. Here the issue is solved by replacing the key.
• No sound from pressing a key. Fault testing begins with testing the power supply and power amplifier. If the voltage deviates from the norm by more than 10%, diagnostics of the connecting connectors and the power supply itself is required.
• Errors when switching style, timbre and sound frequency. They cause oxidation of the contacts, manifest themselves when using the tool outdoors or in a room with high humidity.
• No signals when plugged into the network. The cause of a malfunction may be a short circuit due to unstable mains voltage, blown fuses or failure of the power supply.

Digital pianos malfunctioning is usually due to poor build quality or improper operation.

Professional synthesizers are built to last. Therefore, their parts fail less often.

To restore a piano with your own hands, you will need disassembly tools, sandpaper (or a sander), wood paints with brushes, stain, primer, polishing.

The work is carried out in several stages.

1. The instrument is disassembled first. This is necessary because the chance of damage to the mechanism is reduced. And the body parts are easier to process. To eliminate difficulties during assembly, the moving parts of the piano are collected in bags or numbered with pieces of paper.
2. Now it is necessary to remove the old black coating. To facilitate the work, the piano lacquer is wetted with acetone and covered with polyethylene to completely dissolve. The remains of the composition are removed with a spatula. When working with engraving patterns, you will need to use more acetone, spreading it over the indentations with a brush. You will need a bamboo stick to remove the polish.
3. The opened layer of wood must be leveled with sandpaper or a grinder. Then you need to get rid of wood dust. It can be removed with a vacuum cleaner or blown off, and then wipe the surface with a damp cloth.
4. The wood is checked for large cracks before recoating. They are removed by filling with a mixture of wood chips and varnish.
5. Now wood stain is applied to the wood. To avoid tonal stripes, the composition is applied in the thinnest layer. After drying, the procedure is repeated several times. The depth and saturation of the color, as well as protection from adverse factors, depends on the number of layers of stain.
6. Several layers of paint are applied on top. It is important to choose compositions for furniture, not walls or cars. It is permissible to use a matte or glossy composition.
7. After drying, the surface is varnished. For such work, a polyurethane waterproof varnish is recommended, which protects against mechanical damage. According to its properties, the composition should be combined with stain and paint in order to exclude chemical reactions that spoil the created image. To make the tool look decent, after each applied and dried coat of varnish (8-10 in total), polishing is required.

If the piano is considered not only as an interior item, in addition to the restoration of the case, the mechanical component is checked. Used parts are changed, broken elements are restored if possible, extraneous squeaks, knocks and ringing are removed. After a comprehensive restoration of the piano, the acoustic properties will not be inferior to the analogue, recently rolled off the assembly line. Disadvantages will be noticeable only with a thorough professional examination. And the eyes of the hosts and guests will see a well-groomed, carefully preserved instrument with a touch of antiquity.

People who are professionally involved in the restoration of instruments recommend paying attention to a number of nuances.

• Estimate the cost of the piano. Refurbishment work is expensive, so it is important to first assess the feasibility of the work. The restoration is indicated for instruments up to 30 years old, as well as antiques with an unusual design. The year of manufacture can be determined by the serial number indicated on the case, and the manufacturer by external elements. In case of difficulties, it is worth contacting a professional expert.
• Inspect for damage. Severe damage by moths or carpenter beetle larvae can make restoration impossible or costly. If the cost of the restoration exceeds the cost of the instrument, it is best to consider a replacement option.
• If the piano is not valued in the millions, and we are talking about a small repair, you can do it yourself. When restoring a rare instrument, mistakes made by a beginner often have irreversible consequences. Therefore, here it is better to entrust the work to a reliable master.
• When planning to repaint a tool for the interior, you should pay attention to the materials used. Paints, varnishes and stains must match each other in quality and properties. Then the result will look decent and natural.
• The scope of restoration work is largely determined by the quality of instrument care. For example, a piano placed in a room with high humidity and temperature extremes, suffering from moths, mice and other pests, will be in a worse condition than an instrument of a similar age that is properly maintained.

To summarize, piano repair and restoration are procedures that are resorted to in order to preserve a favorite instrument. Musicians are more interested in acoustic properties, as well as the quality of the mechanical part.

You will see how to restore the piano with your own hands in the next video.