Removing finish from a piano case has to be the worst job related to piano rebuilding. This old Steinway was refinished about 25 years ago, and was in bad shape because of some rough treatment in a school. I think the former refinisher figured you could hid a lot of defects with a lot of lacquer. And this case has LOTS of lacquer. It was one of the most difficult cases that I have stripped. What I found underneath was disappointing. Most of the veneer on the top of the rim and the cheeks was removed and not replaced, and corners were rounded excessively. Add to this the damage done at the school, and you have a project that is going to take a lot of veneer and case work to prepare it for the new finish. Because of it's age and the condition of the case parts, I plan to replace the legs, lyre, lid, music desk and key slip. These parts are available through Steinway or Vintage Case Parts.
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