This piano was given to me in the early 1990s and looked like it had been painted black. Actually, it was just that the finish was so old that the varnish had darkened and crackled. Again, knowing nothing about Antique Roadshow and the value of original finish, I started taking off pieces that could be unhinged and removed. When moved to the house, it was rolled about 5 feet into the house and hasn't moved since as it's very heavy. Thus, trying to refinish pieces instead of the whole thing. I tried to sand off the old varnish to keep some of the original stain/color.