But while we can replace hammers or wind new strings in your own workshop, some processes are much more difficult to recreate. Our team strives to ensure that Grand Piano Lab has all the conditions for a full cycle of musical instruments restoration.

The construction of a new, fully equipped paint booth has recently been completed, which is a huge step forward for our workshop. This means that we can now coat grand piano bodies with polyester varnish.

The fact that we can now carry out the painting process ourselves allows us to closely control each stage of the work, improving the quality of the finish. The process can be adapted to the specific requirements of each instrument, taking into account its individual characteristics. Now we no longer need to outsource this work and depend on external contractors. Our specialists now have the opportunity to experiment with different techniques and materials, which opens up new horizons for creativity and an individual approach to each instrument.

There are virtually no spray rooms in the music industry in Belarus capable of working with polyester varnish, as this process is very specific, and the materials require a special approach.

When using a dry booth, polyester quickly clogs the filters, which leads to their frequent replacement and makes the process economically unviable. The advantage of our design is that the extraction is processed through water. The walls form a kind of waterfall, and all the dust and suspended particles that float in the air are absorbed by water.

We can say that in this room we created a kind of laboratory conditions, since working with black gloss requires near-sterile conditions. To work with it, you need perfectly clean, filtered air of the required temperature to prevent foreign particles from getting into the coating.

Our specialists that work in this room wear special anti-static hooded suits that don’t attract dust.

To prevent coating defects, the design of the booth is based on the principle of excess pressure, i.e. more air enters the booth through the supply ventilation than exits through the extractor. Due to this effect, dust from other rooms can’t get into the booth, because it kind of pushes it out.

At Grand Piano Lab, we use polyester varnish in our restoration process, and this is the coating traditionally used in factories. We strive to achieve a result that is as close as possible to the original factory one.

Working with this special varnish for the purpose of restoring musical instruments is significantly different from working with other materials, for example in the furniture industry. This self-priming varnish forms a thick layer of coating on the frame or lid of the piano, and the entire thickness of the layer is the varnish itself.

This coating has two main advantages:

• Glossy surface. No other varnish, except polyester, provides such a mirror-like, perfect coating that looks noble and expensive and shines on stage under the spotlights.

Before starting the actual restoration, our specialists take all necessary technical measurements of the grand piano, then the instrument is disassembled, and two processes are carried out simultaneously: the actual technical work and spray-painting. Spray-painting is a multi-step process.

After applying the first coat, the varnish dries for about 15 minutes until it's tack-dry, then two more coats are applied at the same intervals, and then the entire surface dries for two full days. The entire painting procedure consists of at least three such cycles, including intermediate sanding, so that a total of 9 layers of varnish are applied.

As a result, the thickness of the coating reaches about 1 millimeter. This is a fairly thick layer, that allows to achieve a perfectly smooth surface.

At the final stage of painting, the grand piano should shine and be perfectly glossy, so that you can see your reflection in it, like in a mirror.

At Grand Piano Lab, we strive not just to restore musical instruments, but also to create unique works of art. The commissioning of the new spray room is an important step towards ensuring a full cycle of restoration. The conditions created in our spray room bring the process as close as possible to factory standards, which allows us to work with demanding materials and achieve impeccable results.

Every grand piano we work on is not just restored, but given a new life, while preserving its history and character. We are confident that, thanks to our efforts, the music performed on these instruments will sound great for the foreseeable future, delighting their owners and listeners.