I have some early Wilcox & White Artrio Angelus parts soon to
rebuild that were finished in the dark red mahogany color common to
early player pianos.  The piano dates to just prior to Wilcox & White
switching over to black paint.

I assume the parts were first stained with a dark red aniline dye and
then top coated with clear shellac.  Or might the shellac have been
tinted with the red dye first?

What is the best procedure for cleaning and restoring this type of
finish on the various parts to make them look like new again?  I could
always just strip and refinish with semi-gloss black paint, but if
I can preserve the earlier red mahogany color I would prefer that.

Has anyone developed a good technique for restoring this type of
finish?

Thanks,
Dave Krall

 [ Interesting discussions of water-based aniline dye finishes are at
 [ http://www.popularwoodworking.com/article/aniline-dye-a-better-way-to-finish 
 [ http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Analyzing_aniline_dye_problems.html 
 [ and http://lumberjocks.com/shipwright/blog/20887  -- Robbie