Do-It-Yourself: Piano Restoration

Disassembly

1). Open the piano to gain access to the harp. On a grand, simply remove the lid by removing the hinges and lifting it off. On an upright, you'll have to remove the top, the back and slide up the front depending on the size of the piano. Uprights differ vastly by manufacturer and model, so you'll have to rely on intuition.
2). Un-string the instrument. You need a tuning hammer for this. Gently turn the pegs counter clockwise.
3). Un-screw the harp. On a grand and an upright, there will be bolts that hold it to the frame.
4). Lift the harp out of the piano. On a large grand, the harp can weigh close to a ton. You'll need help to lift it.
5). Remove the soundboard. This should just lift out once the harp is out. This is basically a thin wooden sheet that has arches underneath it to keep it in shape. This is what amplifies the sound of vibrating strings.
6). Remove the action. On a grand, if you remove the fallboard (this is the piece that covers the keys and it usually lifts out,) you should be able to simply slide out the action. This is the part of the piano that connects the keys to the hammers.

1). Pluck the hammers with a needle if the piano was too sharp sounding before the restoration. This will soften the hammers and give a rounder more pleasant sound.
2). Lacquer the hammers if the piano was dull sounding before the restoration. This will harden the hammers and brighten up the sound.
3). Straighten the hammer shanks if they're crooked. This can cause strange sound issues. To straighten the shanks, apply a little heat from a lighter and slowly bend them back into shape. If they're severely warped, you may need to purchase new shanks.

1). Use epoxy to fill any smaller cracks.
2). Sand down the smaller cracks after they've been epoxied so their level with the rest of the soundboard.
3). For larger cracks, you'll need to insert a shimming tool into the crack and glue in a replacement piece of wood that you've cut to fit.

1). Use a paint stripper to strip the paint off the piano. Note that the piano must be completely disassembled to do a complete case overhaul like this.
2). Use epoxy or fiberglass to fill any gouges in the case.
3). Sand down any gouges that have been filled with epoxy or fiberglass so that they're level with the case.
4). Respray the piano. You'll need an airbrush if this is going to look even.
5). Allow the paint to dry. Spray it with whatever finish you want. Glossy lacquer or satin finishes are popular.