Applying the Finish

Now that the keyboard is balanced and leveled, all that remains is to put some protective finish on the ebony. Over the years I’ve tried just about every finish known to man. Shellac, polyurethane, wipe-on poly etc. For me, the best one for this application is Bio Poly Natural, which is a wonderful, environmentally friendly, wipe on finish. You can purchase a pint of Bio Poly from Earthpaint.net. Three coats of the Bio Poly followed by a single coat of spray on satin Polyurethane and you have a beautiful keyboard. It gives me the nice soft even sheen I’m looking for, while letting the ebony look like wood instead of plastic. A Tung Oil finish can be used instead of the Bio Poly if you wish.

Here’s the procedure I used on this keyboard:



Then brush on 3 coats of satin water-based Polycrylic or shellac on the arcades, sanding lightly between coats with 320 paper. This protects the arcades without changing the natural color of the wood.