First of all, everyone please keep your fingers crossed for me.
I'm going to start installing my Ampico mechanism in the piano this
Thursday after a complete restoration.  I have checked everything on
the bench but am nervous about the final results with nuances that
I can't verify with my vacuum source.

Those of us who are in this business as a hobby don't have to face this
dilemma very often but it seems to come up to the professionals often
enough.

In the case that Stephen Kent Goodman brought up, I personally would
not object to the modification if you can overcome the stained wood.
The finish here has already been changed and if at some time the
instrument should pass to the hands of a customer more concerned with
the original appearance, it can be changed back with no problems.
(That's my assumption, correct me if I'm wrong).  In general, if a
customer wants a change that can be corrected later on, I think that
it's his instrument and he can deal with it as he pleases.  I personally
would object to doing something that is a permanent change without a
compelling cause (such as the original was destroyed and the case must
be rebuilt anyway).

I must confess that in restoring my Ampico, the finish is two shades
lighter and one shade redder than the piano was when I bought it.  The
interesting thing here, however is that when we had the piano completely
disassembled, we got to a piece of wood that had pretty much never seen
the light of day and it's color was very close to what we had chosen.
Time, oxidation and the sun had changed the color of the finish.

Eliyahu Shahar