[CAUT] Protek and Sluggish Dampers

[Becker, Lawrence (beckerlr)]

Tim et al.-

I have had something come up this last week where Protek CLP was present,
though not necessarily the culprit.  It was the first time I had seen this
piano, a 1966 Baldwin M scale.  I was hired to tune, but noticed that when I
pressed the damper pedal and released quickly, two dampers were slow to
return.  I put Protek on the guide bushings, worked the dampers a few times,
and all seemed in order.  Two days later, prior to a run-through of the
customer's recital (he plays violin), he called to say one damper would just
stay up in the air, and not return without being pushed back down.  I
returned and found that damper extremely sluggish, and several others slow
as well.  I hadn't written down which dampers I'd put the CLP on; I don't
know if they are the same notes.  

These dampers are sluggish due to friction with the guide bushing; no flange
friction problems or sostenuto interference.  I removed the offending
dampers, ironed the bushings with a bridge pin in a rheostated 25-watt
heating iron, sprayed a little TFL-50 on the bushings, and polished the
damper wires with 4/0 steel wool.  Initially only three dampers seemed
sluggish, but two more slowed up while I was working, so I treated them too.
The day after his run-through, the customer called to say yet another damper
had initially not returned, though after pushing it back down, they got
through the program.

I suppose I need to iron all the guide bushings, but why has this started
now?  (Really-I don't think it was my tuning technique.)  It is toward the
end of our heating season here, and we have had rain recently.  I couldn't
tell if the damper wires were contaminated; they felt greasy, but it could
have been my imagination.  It just occurred to me to check the upstop rail.
What else?  And again, why now?

Advice hereby solicited.

Lawrence Becker, RPT
Piano Technician
College-Conservatory of Music
University of Cincinnati

 -----Original Message-----
From: 	Tim Coates [mailto:tcoates1@sio.midco.net] 
Sent:	Monday, March 21, 2005 11:09 PM
To:	University Technicians College
Subject:	[CAUT] Protek and Sluggish Dampers

Has anyone ever had dampers become sluggish after applying Protek to 
damper guide rail bushings?  I checked the archives for both Pianotech 
and Caut.  I don't see any mention of this happening.

Tim Coates
University of South Dakota
University of Sioux Falls

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