Mr. Clean Blues

[William Bailer]

On Wed, 4 Sep 1996, Greg & Mary Ellen Newell wrote:

>On Wed, 04 Sep 1996 21:18:48 -0400 (EDT), Thomas C. Cobble wrote:
>
>>My Boss, Dave Campbell( Mr. Clean before the steriods and earring) asked me
>>to see if I could get some information ....   A long time ago, he used a
>>homemade
>>concotion to clean Soundboards.. Two of the ingredients were Boiled Linseed
>>Oil, and deNatured Alcohol.... He has forgotten the rest of the formula....
>>But he said it really worked super!!!!
>>
>>Do any of you (oldtimers) rember the rest of this witches' brew.???.. I
>>would really help    thanks   ..... Tom Cobble  RPT
>>

>
>Doesn't DeNatured alcohol disolve the old finish?
>				Greg
>Greg & Mary Ellen Newell

To all,

Cleaning, restoring, and stripping, are quite different processes, and
the "brew" that works best for one is not optimal for another.  There is
MUCH confusion about this issue.  Furthermore, soundboards are a special
issue because they often do not have the same finish as the rest of the
piano.  I often find shellac or varnish on pianos of any vintage, no
matter what the rest of the piano finish is.  In all cases, we must have
the following information in order to determine the proper "brew" to
use:

1.  The original finish, basically three choices:
      a.  Oil base (including all varnishes, urethanes, and rubbed oils)
      b.  Shellac
      c.  Lacquer
     (d.)(polyester and epoxies not an issue here with old pianos)

2.  What we want to do with it:
      a.  Remove it (strip)
      b.  Restore it by redisolving it
      c.  Restore it by "adding to it" (may also do some "redisolving")
      d.  Clean it

Until these questions are answered, one is just groping in the dark, and
good results will be obtained only by blind luck.

One further note:  beautiful old soundboard decals for which there is no
replacement can be preserved, by partial stripping or "cleaning."  This
greatly enhances the value of an instrument, or makes customers VERY
happy!

Bill Bailer

\\\  William Bailer                              wbailer@cris.com
\\\  Rochester, NY, USA                       phone: 716-473-9556
\\\  Interests: acoustics, JSBach, anthropology, piano technology