I personally get in a hurry to hear some instruments play so they get
a 'sixties rebuild.  On some really nice pieces I have the plating
redone, but I do not plate parts that were originally painted, such as
Seeburg roll frames.

If a piano is in really good condition and will polish to some extant,
I leave them in original condition.  Some pianos are so rusty and dirty
that they have to be replated.

I do not have items chrome plated as this is incorrect.  Watts nickel
plating is the correct plating method for most old coin piano parts.
If money was not a problem then I would have all my pianos rebuilt to
look like they were when new.

These opinions are my own as a collector of old coin operated pianos
and not a restorer.  The little restoration work that I do for others
usually has everything done to look as if was in pristine condition but
not necessarily brand new looking.  I like pianos to look original and
not brand new.

The pianos featured in the new book by Art Reblitz may look new in the
pictures, but they're not.  They still have the charm of an old antique
carefully maintained.  Pictures in a book tend to make things look
better than they are in real life.

Don Teach