Kevin DeSano started in the refinishing business at the age of 14, working for James Maggio at Maggio Custom Refinishing in Stoneham, MA (established in 1978). Jim had learned carpentry in the family business and first worked in the piano industry for Falcone Piano. Maggio Custom Refinishing provided refinishing services for M. Steinert and Boston Organ and Piano, among others. Fine furniture and other musical instruments were refinished there, as well as pianos.
Kevin says that learning the refinishing trade was a slow process, requiring experience in the many different steps with each step taking significant time to master. Eventually, he became lead sprayer of the shop, responsible for finishing fine instruments such as harps, drums, and Steinway pianos. The furniture refinishing part of the business also offered challenges and widened Kevin's range of skills.
In 1999, Kevin bought Maggio Custom Refinishing from James Maggio and Jim became a full-time employee of M. Steinert. Since then, Kevin has developed a clientele for un-finished furniture finishing and expanded into architectural wood refinishing and the finishing of new products.
To The Piano Rebuilders, Kevin brings excellent skills, good work ethic, and insistence on doing the job properly. He is responsible for all the incidental finishes in our piano restorations, including damper heads, soundboards, and the cast iron plates. But his principle role is to provide traditional hand-rubbed lacquer finishes for all our cases. Kevin also is skilled in polyester touch-up, an art in itself.
Maggio Custom Refinishing is now located in a 5000 sq ft shop with a fully enclosed spray booth and state-of-the art spraying equipment. Since 2008, Kevin has been teaming up with Jude Reverly of Absolute Piano and early in 2009, both Jude and Kevin joined Chris Brown, Mike Morvan, and Rob Bushell as part of The Piano Rebuilders.