[CAUT] Protek and Sluggish Dampers

[t.seay@mail.utexas.edu]

Hi Tim,

I remember this happening to me on a Baldwin grand, circa late 70s. After
observing much of what you described, I ended up removing the damper guide
rails and sizing the cloth with methanol and water. I inserted bridge pins into
each hole while I dried the cloth with a heat gun and that seemed to work just
fine. No further problems.

Good luck,

Tom Seay
The University of Texas at Austin

Quoting "Becker, Lawrence (beckerlr)" <BECKERLR@UCMAIL.UC.EDU>:

> 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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