Couple of restoration questions.

[Tim Hodges]

I'm midway through my Rhodes project, picked it up on Saturday in a very sorry looking state (oxidised tines, harp rail, ripped tolex, candle wax everywhere etc)

First Question:

Anyhow I was wondering if there's anywhere I can get the existing tone bars re-anodised? Rather than purchasing roughly another 50 or so.

Second Question:

The lid to the Rhodes (73, Mk1) has got some very deep scratches on top 3mm deep. I've read somewhere that it's possible to restore them using epoxy, could someone elaborate on this process?

Thanks

Tim

[Ben Bove]

The plating process on the tonebars - honestly it's probably easier to pick up a full set on ebay cheaper.  You can probably pick up a very decent set for around $60.  Replating them will probably cost much more but I can't say for sure.

The refinishing of the plastic top - because it's textured, in order to fill the scratches the texture has to be removed and completely smoothed out, otherwise it won't match texture pattern.  You can either sand it down, fill, and paint with a vinyl / flexible paint or I've seen somewhere on there about a fabric wrap in all sorts of fun sparkle colors

[Tim Hodges]

bjammerz thanks for the comprehensive reply. I'll have a look around on ebay for the tone bars,  unfortunately the only set at the moment are going for £140

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Nearly-Complete-set-of-NOS-Fender-Rhodes-73-TONE-BARS_W0QQitemZ360177233874QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item53dc3c6fd2&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

but I'm sure some will come up at that price soon.

As for the top trying to recreate the pattern might be difficult, perhaps a smooth top finish would be a good idea. What sort of method would be best to get a smooth finish? wet sand paper maybe?

I'll post up a photo of the lid soon and show you the problem I'm dealing with

Thanks again for the help bjammerz!

Tim

[sean]

You don't have to buy new tonebars.  There is a simple option that you can do yourself:

Wash them in soap and water, dry them, and then sand down the nasty spots.  Any tonebar that gets sandpaper treatment gets washed again.

Then spray-paint them with Krylon Crystal Clear Acrylic or Clear Polyurethane.  Let them dry, and they will not corrode for a long long time.  They won't look perfect, but I have never seen a set of tonebars that looks perfect.  The chromate finish used at the factory is not known for consistent color.

Mount the tines back on the tonebars, and pop in some new chewy grommets, and move on to the next restoration task.  The tiny amount of paint will not affect the tone of your piano.

There is no reason that you couldn't paint them your favorite color.  Silver or gold paint would probably look good.  Light brown to match the wood might be fine too.  (I have the sick desire to paint the tonebars blue, and I guess you could be even sicker if you painted the sharps black and the naturals white.)

If you want museum perfection, then get them replated by Vintage Vibe.   If you buy used tonebars from ebay, you have no guarantee that they will be pristine and worthy of your Rhodes.

sean

[Ben Bove]

That's actually a good point sean... Unless they're absolutely disgusting and the metal is totally corrodded, you can probably just sand down the trouble spots as suggested and just spray seal the metal.  It probably won't make much of a difference but make sure to use a metal compound / cleaner before spraying a sealant.

If you do just want nicer original tonebars though, they do often come up on ebay for about a buck a piece, sometimes even cheaper.  Don't fall for the huge asking prices of some.  They don't break, and are often parted out.

[Tim Hodges]

Cheers for the reply Sean and bjammerz, they're not that bad some of the tone bars were completely white from oxidation but I've used fine sand paper to minimise the look, my main aim in the next year is to get the Rhodes looking brand new, so buying the bars off eBay is probably a good idea. I can happily wait for some to turn up so that's not a problem. As for the grommets that's right, I've just bought some off eBay as most of the treble section will need replacing due to the increased pressure.

Any suggestions for sanding the harp cover? and particular techniques I should use? thanks again for you help it's really appreciated.

T

[Rob A]

Tim,

Just as an interest check, what do you think a pristine set of 73 tonebars (no tines) would be worth to you? Guaranteed "pristine and worthy of your Rhodes."

Added:
Here's a pic these are from a 1970 harp, so they predate the cheesy plating:

[Tim Hodges]

Hi Rob

I suppose I'd pay somewhere in the area of about £70 for a pristine set. I have to admit that the Rhodes has a long way to come before it would be worthy of a nice set but it's getting there bit by bit. But I love the cheesy plated look, mainly because I've sanded down the harp and re-painted it a metallic gold so it all seems to match.

You can see what most of the tone bars are like in the below image, though the tines, pickups and the harp rail I've now completely refurbished and are sparkling. So it's really only the tone bars which need to be sorted.




Here's a photo of the scratched lid as well:



Though it hasn't come out that well:

[Rob A]

I see, you're not necessarily going for an original look.

[pianotuner steveo]

The pickups seem to be quite rusty-are they all like that? I dont think replating your tone bars will change the sound at all. Changing the grommets has more of an impact on tone/sustain.

[dnarkosis]

The following will not take the scratches out, but it can mask them to a certain extent:
http://ep-forum.com/smf/index.php?topic=4897

[Tim Hodges]

I see, you're not necessarily going for an original look.

Hmm I'm slightly confused here Rob, I'm attempting to restore it to a factory new look (i have too much time on my hands) from 1975.  So it will hopefully be the original look,  unless if you're referring to the original look of Fender Rhodes i.e '69.

The pickups seem to be quite rusty-are they all like that? I dont think replating your tone bars will change the sound at all. Changing the grommets has more of an impact on tone/sustain.

Hi Steve, yep all the pickups were truly awful when I first came across them and the sound conveyed it too, I spent the good part of a day using a dremmel on all of them and now they look brand new, the tone is much better too. As for the grommets, you're right I ordered some a couple of days ago from the US, I might see about purchasing those curved washers in order to make them last as long as possible. As for the replating of the tone bars it's purely cosmetic

The following will not take the scratches out, but it can mask them to a certain extent:
http://ep-forum.com/smf/index.php?topic=4897

I've been reading through your recommendations and they are excellent. The part with grommets and the washers was especially useful, unfortunately I placed and order with MCMaster and it seems they now only ship internationally to their large existing customers due to an increased complexity in customs. Thanks again for the cleaning suggestion, I'm trying to find a suitable epoxy resin to fill in the gaps and I plan on wet sanding down the cover then adding the epoxy, and to recreate the textured look use something like a kitchen cloth and press into the the drying epoxy.  

Tim

[Tim Hodges]

Also another quick question

I know I need 4 yards to re-tolex a stage model piano, I've found one supplier who sells it per yard which equals 36"x 54"

The width of 54" only seems to give 9 inches space (4.5 either side) will this be enough when it comes to re-covering it?

I'll be using the existing tolex as a template for the new roll.

Thanks again guys you've been a great help.

Tim

[dnarkosis]

Tolex corner template here:

http://ep-forum.com/smf/index.php?topic=5108.msg25242#msg25242

Some of this may be useful to you as well:

http://kosis.blog4ever.com/blog/article-42357.html

[Tim Hodges]

Perfect! you guys are amazing!