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Thanks for the great feedback and thoughts, and a big special thanks to Sam for providing the picture of "bigfoot."

And, for the record, it looks like I am falling into camp 3: It doesn't look like a lacquer satin, but it can still look nice. (At least when done well.)

You might love it once it's in your home, and the lighting will make an enormous difference.

If the bench is the same finish, maybe you could take it home and see?

I had a small white piano before this (black laquer) one. I did NOT want white but was talked into it. I could not beleive how great it looked in the room.

You might be surprised.

For anyone curious, this is what a high-gloss bubinga piano looks like after it's been refinished to satin ebony:


[img]https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzISW8OYwizRSm1qNmQxVlY0eDJOZVdncmtxU3NMNUpaUlhV/edit?usp=sharing[/img]

[img]https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzISW8OYwizRQjktVHVOWGQxcE1ZUE9QQ010NVNPb3RVQUlB/edit?usp=sharing[/img]

[img]https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzISW8OYwizRNnhzYmZHWjVEZnd4bkd3S3lEM3pXWVJQdGVB/edit?usp=sharing[/img]

For anyone thinking about doing this, turns out the key was to work the arrangement through the dealer. The refinisher gave me the price of $2800. I'm a one-time job for him. He gave the dealer the price of $1900. (Not bad at all.)

I'm beyond happy with the job.

Also, in case anyone is additionally curious, we had them satinize the bubinga bench via the scotchbrite method. From what we had read here, we knew it wouldn't work out well, but we were curious. Nope. Not a good idea. It looked like the bench was covered in a film from a bad cleaner, or kind of like the stage after you apply wax to your car, but before you buff it out. Hope some googler in a similar predicament will find all of this useful some day.

Thanks all for your very good advice and help. When I started this thread I wasn't seriously considering this option, but I got just enough knowledge here to help me move forward and I'm glad I did.

That is amazing! I would never have thought just changing the finish would make a piano look like a phone!

All I link to are 403 errors.

Come use my computer. They look great and I'll be working in the yard for the rest of the day.

(But, seriously, I'll work on this.)

If the piano still looks like a phone or 403 error, let me know.

I like the wood tones but the Bubinga is a too busy for me too. I like it better now. Congratulations to you and your wife on getting your new piano.

(Did they leave the name off the fallboard?)

It looks beautiful!

(The links are working now.)

I might have been tempted to hide less of the bubinga, like Perzina do on this model:

http://www.freeburgpianos.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Perzina-T-188-Bubinga-e1390506512936.jpg

Or just adapt the rest of your house:

http://tours.tourfactory.com/tours/media/scene/big2/00/22/57/76/22577676.jpg

But I admit I'm biased towards unsubtle wood finishes and I'm not a fan of satin.
I think that black finish probably suits your existing room better though; a wood finish might not work with your wooden floors.

Yes. I didn't really care about having a name on the fallboard. We can still get that done later if we want.

There are several ways to achieve a "satin" finish on a piano.

The traditional satin finish came about way back when the only viable finish material was brushed varnish. After the varnish had cured in a heated room for however many days or weeks were required the surface was scraped and/or rubbed with "glass" paper to the desired flatness and then polished with ever-finer grads of glass paper.

This process morphed over to lacquer finishes after the end of "the war to end all wars" and manufacturers needed a way to use all that nitrocellulose.

Hand rubbed satin finishes remained the standard piano finish until more sophisticated finishing materials came along and it was possible to really polish the surface.

Now it is difficult to find a rubbed finish because of the additional hand work involved. But they can be done. As has been pointed out most sanded/hand-rubbed polyester surfaces do not look all that great so one common solution has been to coat the surface with polyester, sand it flat, recoat it with lacquer and then rub that. These finishes look pretty much like a traditional hand-rubbed lacquer finish.

A cheaper way to achieve a satin finish is to spray the piano with a material -- usually polyester -- having what are called "flattening agents" in them. These go on quickly and require no hand rubbing at all. The problem with them is that they are virtually impossible to touch up after minor scratches or other damage. The whole panel will have to be recoated after the damaged area is repaired. It is bad enough if a panel such as a keycover or a lid is damaged but if the fixed casework or a grand rim is damaged the whole piano will have to be moved to a qualified finishing shop for repairs.

ddf

Daniel, You had a great looking piano.

Now you have a "nice" piano.

I wouldn't have dared to even modify the original finish, although I must accept that maybe it was a little too much.

In that case, I would have looked for a black piano.

IMHO.

As I'm fairly certain this particular piano was on my own short list at one time, frankly I'm shocked that someone could/would do this to a perfectly fine and beautiful finish.

But to each their own. That you enjoy it is what matters. May you have many happy years with your new piano.

I couldn't read the fall board -- what brand is it?