Celebrating 25 Years in Business   Home  |  Pianos  |  Comments  |  Feedback  
Home of the one and only Fandrich Vertical Action that plays like a grand.

Fandrich & Sons provides several choices for refinishing of your piano. We offer the traditional black finish in a hand rubbed satin lacquer and a clear finish in a hand rubbed satin lacquer. We can change your piano's current finish to a colored wood or black satin.

During the black lacquer process, the existing finish is stripped from the piano using a mild, non-destructive stripping method. Next, the piano case and parts are washed, dried, sanded and prepped. Any repair work is done at this time. We then apply a pore filler to reduce the amount of wood pores that may be visible in the finish. The filler is then sanded smooth and reapplied if necessary. Several coats of wood sealer are applied before the color coat. This is sanded smooth and will keep the color coat from being absorbed by the wood. Color coat is applied. The color coat is allowed to dry and is hand rubbed in a three step process to achieve a beautiful satin finish.

The clear lacquer process differs from the black only when applying the color. At Fandrich & Sons, we use uv resistant, non-grain raising stains in primary colors only (red, yellow, blue and black). This gives us the ability to match any natural wood color you choose for your piano's new finish. This color stage is applied after any needed repair work and before any sealer.

When a piano is constructed at the factory to have a black finish, the wood parts used are not always the same wood type. When changing these piano's to a wood finish, there may be some parts that contain varying grain patterns than that of the primary wood. On this type of piano, a darker stain color is recommended.

We realize that a complete refinish is outside the budget for some and we can provide excellent alternatives to bring back the beauty of your piano's existing finish. The options available to you will depend on the current condition of your piano's finish. Please contact us for more information.

"When I started looking for a vertical piano I set out to get a good one. First, I read Larry Fine's book cover to cover. Then I went to 15 piano shops in the San Francisco Bay Area and played about 50 pianos from 14 different piano manufacturers. I also used the Internet to ask questions of registered piano technicians on their opinions of the tuning stability, manufacturing quality, serviceability and general opinions of the pianos I had played. Finally, I retained a consultant, the president of the local piano technician's guild, to supplement my musician's-ear approach to evaluating pianos. He told me not to make a decision before going to see Darrell Fandrich's pianos. By far the single most important factor, however, was my own ears. I played many vertical pianos that were over $20,000 that were uneven across the scale. I played many others that, despite the illustrious name on the fallboard, had part but not all of the tonal qualities I was seeking. Basically, at a premium price I could find brightness and tonal clarity or I could find warmth and richness. But I couldn't find both these qualities in one instrument. Until I visited Darrell Fandrich. I chose the 49" Wilhelm Steinberg vertical piano outfitted with the Fandrich & Sons action. I found this piano to have a superb action, very smooth scale and a sound that integrated the best of the European clarity and American warmth that I had been seeking. I didn't make this decision on price, but I was pleased that the piano that really made my heart sing was less than half the price of what the instruments I was comparing it to sell for. I was also very impressed with the 6'11" Fandrich & Sons grand. I have played many, many Steinway B series grands over the years. (In fact, it has also been 20+ years since I played a really good New York Steinway.) But the Fandrich & Sons grand had it. It had the same kind of singing lyricism as a really good New York Steinway prepped right. I was thrilled. And to think that this piano sells for $26,000! If I had the room in my house for a grand I would have taken the piano home with me right then. My advice to other piano shoppers is that Fandrich & Sons pianos are targeted at a particular segment of piano buying population; Those that:

1. Have good enough ears to recognize a really good instrument when they see it
2. Are driven more by musical considerations than those of status aka 'fallboard fixation'
3. Are not sufficiently wealthy to eliminate price from being an issue to which they pay attention

If you find yourself in the same category as I then you owe it to yourself to try out Fandrich & Sons pianos and let your ears be the judge. I flew all the way from San Francisco and am delighted I did."


-- Terry Tippie
Contact information available upon request.