Basic question regarding cosmetic refurbishment of organ

[Bach>Meer]

Hi all

Could you advise why when I'm up in the Gods looking at the pipework of my organ, some of the pipes (wooden ones) are painted black and yet the windchest area is brown - left unpainted in natural wood colour - could it all be painted black to achieve cosmetic improvement? Am refurbing my organ and making it look better, giving the pipes a new spray of paint, the facade a new lick of paint etc.

thanks

[teddy]

Sounds like a labour of love. Will you be posting any pictures

teddy

[dll927]

What is "cosmetic" refurbishment? Except for whatever pipes are visible from 'outside', the color of the pipes isn't going to change much of anything else.

I'm not sure that repainting wooden pipes is a common practice. When the new Conference Center organ in Salt Lake City was under construction, some wood pipes purchased elsewhere turned out to be painted green. But nobody knows that from looking at the rather decorative facade. Would painting them pink make a difference?

In my experience, most wooden pipes I've seen seem to have something of a varnished exterior. But how many are really just their natural surface? What does painting do for the results?

Some older organs were treated to decorative painting of the facade metal pipes. But in many cases, those pipes were not functional in terms of sound.

[Krummhorn]

Be extremely careful in what you apply to the wooden pipes ... use the wrong paint, and you will greatly alter the sound characteristics of those pipes. Once the damage is done, there is no way to restore them as the wrong paint will have impregnated the wood itself, and then the only fix is to replace them.

If they can't be seen from the nave floor, they probably would be best left unaltered. Same would be true for the wind chest ... if it can't be seen, leave it be, at least imho.

Refurbishment of organ pipes is also best left to the professionals who do this for a living. Those people are well versed in organ restorations and have all the right tools and knowledge to take on such a task. Again, IMHO.