One of the things the owner wanted was the very nice rosewood color. As you can see here and in the next couple of photo's is the severe sun bleaching.
It looks as though the piano was very close to the window where it recieved direct sunlight. Notice how only the front of the piano is bleached.
This a closer view of the bleached area
As we did the planning, one of the challanges was to bring back the original color. Staining seems like an option but rosewood is such a beautiful wood with tremendous contrasting colors. Staining didn't seem as though it would bring the wood back the correct way..
It was decided to take the long route. Inspection reveals just how thick the outer veneer was and the flowers are solid rosewood. We decided to sand the wood back to reveal the original colors.
Here you can see how the sun bleached the top of the arm and the bass side of the fall board.
Seeing this view it is hard to imagine refinishing the piano. The finish was not the original, although it looked good the finish was very fragile and the pores of the wood had turned very light. You can not see that from this view.
In later photo's you will see that the original rosewood color is considerably richer and more contrasty than what you see here.