I truly sympathize with anyone whose customer wishes to essentially
vandalize a fine old instrument.  It's a really tough situation.

This is one of the problems when you make a business out of a
hobby/obsession.  One of the reasons that I had a moderate amount
of luck in electronics is that it was never a hobby for me -- always
a business.  If a customer wanted something weird done to a Fine Old
Amplifier or something, it didn't bother me a lot.

But since I'm an enthusiast in many other areas, I can easily see the
problem that a fine craftsman would have with someone who wishes to
paint a Steinway a nice lime green to match the rumpus room furniture.
You need the business, but at what cost to integrity?

I don't think that there's any good solution.

Mark Kinsler
Lancaster, Ohio USA
http://www.frognet.net/~kinsler