Special considerations when coating musical instruments

A solution for the coating of musical instruments needs to carefully consider aspects which include shape and substrate, but also the priorities a customer has regarding lacquer, aspect, productivity and, above all, the acoustic quality once the manufacturing process is terminated. Our team has assessed all variables and we have developed custom-built finishing lines for harps, pianos and other musical instruments.

A musical instrument is often made up of many different parts, large – think of a grand piano – or small and made of both wood and metal such as a harp’s components: neck, body, soundboard, base and column, all of which form the frame. Many of these components require multiple layers of coating, sanding operations and special treatments.

Intervals between coating phases are strictly regulated as well as the application parameters. Often temperature excursions affect the quality of the process, but most of the inconsistencies come from the fact that a great deal of the process is entirely manual. Automation would bring a number of benefits…

• controlled timing of the process
• controlled process environment
• consistent coating performance