FinishingStations of the Steinway

Creating the Mirror Effect

To achieve the even and highly polished finish on the outer surface of the piano, the Steinway craftsmen leave nothing to chance. They apply up to six layers of polyester coating on all wooden surfaces of the instrument in order to allow the sanding, buffing and polishing, and it takes three weeks for a one-millimetre-thick layer of paint to dry.

The workers need around four sanding and seven polishing runs to evenly sand back the polyester layer to half a millimeter. The grinding and polishing process is repeated until the Steinway grand piano has its world-renowned glossy shine and mirror finish.