Graphite removal

[Brian Holden]

Thanks Jim for your excellent ideas.  What I finally did was rub the keybed
and frame with an alcohol soaked cloth.  The idea was to get rid of the
greasiness and not worry too much about the appearance.  You can still see
where the graphite has been, but it's now as clean as a whistle, making it
easy to work with.  The Grand by the way is a rather nice Welmar.  Cheers
Brian Holden NZ

-----Original Message-----
From: harvey <harvey@greenwood.net>
To: pianotech@ptg.org <pianotech@ptg.org>
Date: Sunday, 28 November 1999 9:13
Subject: Re: Graphite removal


>Brian, I particularly enjoy using powered devices wherever possible. With
>that in mind, and if the 'eraser' thing is working, I'm thinking along the
>lines of a small powered eraser used by draftsmen. Those look like a Dremel
>Moto-Tool, but are a dedicated machine. I suspect it would cost too much to
>gear up for this, and the eraser nibs are pretty small too. So...
>
>Thought #1: Think about a small diameter eraser (wheel) mounted in an
>electric drill. I've had several variations of these wheels in the past,
>but can never seem to find the same device twice in a row. I remember one
>such wheel being called "Cratex", or something close to that.
>Unfortunately, that one may have contained an abrasive as well -- much like
>Polita polish for piano strings.
>
>Thought #2: Failing anything that plugs in the wall or runs off batteries,
>skip to the chase and get a sanding belt eraser. These work quite well as a
>regular eraser. They're simply larger versions. Most Home Depot type places
>have them for less than $10US.
>
>Thought #3: The poor man's version of #2... a crepe or rubber shoe heel.
>Some really desperate folks have even been known to use old sneakers to
>clean sanding belts.
>
>Jim Harvey, RPT
>PS: That wouldn't happen to be a Kawai piano, would it? I saw one where
>everything was graphited just as you described.
>
>
>At 09:44 AM 11/27/99 +1300, you wrote:
>>Thanks fo the tip.  The good news is:  I've just tried it and it really
>>works!  The bad news.......... it'll take me ages to get it all off.  I
was
>>hoping that I could go over it with a cloth with something on it to get
the
>>job out of the way within a few minutes.  Thanks for the excellent
>>suggestion though - at least I know all is not lost.   BH
>