We got Easter Off 2027! Yay.
Sadly, none of us were able to book the Paparoa track; all positions filled/ gone
looking for suggestions ? = instead; there gotta be plenty of; right?
2 x adults and 2 x 13 yr olds
As a young bloke? loved the smooth sound of Hank Mobely, Lester Ypung Stan Getz; I bought a cheap,alto in my late teens - tried hard *alone* with a couple lessons here and there =mostly about 'how to read music'.
Never played with others
never in a band.
The squeals and squeaks were awful.
Stopped playing before I ended up in Rehab; picked it up again - with a more expensive sax - but still alone mostly, before the Internet.
The sound = to mine ears? was still awful.
Nothing smooth , rarely Bluesy, not something I'd be proud to produce in front of anyone ever
Learnt from - You know 'Tune a Day' stuff - with 'ONE page at the beginning about embochure or some such that meant nothing to me.
Finally 5 years ago? I paid a lot of money for a good Tenor, got lessons every week, trawled the internet and finally understood. the importance of ME making the sound
, the sound I want to hear, but rarely ever could.
My point? eventually? I just stopped.
The sax sits in a cupboard, call9ng me ; but I will NOT pick it , pull it out - I cannot stand the sound I make .
Makes me feel sad - truly Blue :-(
As stated : *someone* placed food on top of piano. Dog- trying to get up & and get it? Our food-obsessed Lab jumped up again &again , scratching the finish -also 'again and again ( see photo's). For 50 years, The Mrs has cared for this gift form her Grand Ma ( moved it from house to house for 30 of those years). Has been pristine , until now. my Wife sad? my life's utility = down.
edit : "so old - they used candles for illumination? I'd say the finish is therefore shellac :-("
Q. how to repair?
Claude (Ai ; LLM ) reckons
"The scratches are in the finish only — not gouged into the wood itself. The white/light lines are where the dog’s claws broke through the surface coating, exposing lighter material beneath. The wood grain underneath appears intact. This is very repairable, especially on a warm mahogany like this.
The second photo shows the full extent — there’s a lot of fine scratching across that broad flat rail, which is actually the easier surface to work on.
Recommended approach for this piano
Given its age and sentimental value, I’d suggest a two-stage approach:
Stage 1 — Try this yourself first
Get a dark walnut or mahogany scratch cover (Howard Restor-A-Finish is the gold standard for this). Apply with a soft cloth, working with the grain. It penetrates into the scratches and colours them to match. On a finish like this, it often makes surface scratches nearly invisible. Follow with a good paste wax (Renaissance Wax or Briwax in a matching tone).
This alone may get you 80-90% of the way there on the fine scratches.
Stage 2 — For the deeper lines
The more distinct gouges in photo 1 may need a burn-in stick or fill marker in a mahogany tone, then buffed. Mohawk makes good products for this.
What I’d avoid
Don’t sand anything. Don’t use generic furniture polish. And don’t try to strip and refinish — that’s a much bigger job and changes the character of the piece.
Honest recommendation
Given what this piano means, it’s worth also getting a quote from a furniture restorer (not a piano tuner — a wood finisher). The labour cost on finish-only repair like this is usually not enormous, and the result will be better than DIY on something this important.
The Mrs has kept it pristine for 50 years. It can be made to look very close to that again. "
Thoughts?