Best way to polish a Ebony coloured Grand Piano ?

Question

I have a 6'4" Grand piano , done in Ebony (Black) it was made in 1914 by Richard Lipp and Sohns Germany.What is the best way to polish and buff the finnish? , it has some light scratches ect , but other then that just seems to look smudged at present.

Answer 1

There are commercial piano polisher kits that you might find at a music store or online. I would polish it with a microfiber cloth or something used to buff cars. If I were to polish my piano, I'd be more comfortable sending it to a professional to be cleaned, but that would be pretty expensive. Check out your music store or around the internet to find some polishing kits.

Answer 2

Pianos generally have a lacquer finishi &  buffing is commonly done as the final step in finishing.

If you are comitted to DIY, safest might be to just clean it .

A wipe w/ a soft cloth dampened w/ vinegar & water will remove light surface dirt.

Would get product recommendations from a piano shop for polishing products , but it still comes down to cleaning & buffing.

Very light  buffing w/ an auto polishing machine & a soft clean cotton buff may be enough.

Can be done by hand , but requires some time & effort to get the friction needed .

If there are still  surface scratches , might  continue light  buffing w/ a very fine (white) auto polishing compound followed w/ clean buffs.

Might try  looking for very fine compounds used on classic cars.

Doing more than that might damage the fine old piano finish.

Best regards