Cleaning keys again

[gordon stelter]

No, it really isn't. I recommend that all tuners take
a junk action, and experiment themselves.( And inform
me of any refinements )  After the action parts are
thoroughly dry, there will be no discernable
alteration in their dimensions ( or certainly nothing
normal regulation does not attend to ) and you will
have clean, bright, odorless parts ready to refelt,
lubricate and install. Actions are built from woods
known to be resistant to warping, and I have never had
any problem. Even grand jacks line up in the balancier
window just fine, after all is dried out thoroughly.
And you save tremendous amounts of time normally spent
scraping off old felts, while beathing yuck.
    Sincerely,
    Gordon Stelter
    P.S. For gluing on action felts I like 
"Eileen's Tacky Glue", or equivalent, available from
craft and fabric stores. It is a PVC glue FAR thicker
than the watery stuff supply houses sell. Holds the
felt first time, every time.
--- David Ilvedson <ilvey@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> Come on, this is a put on, right?
> 
> David I.
> 
> 
> 
> ----- Original message
> ---------------------------------------->
> From: gordon stelter <lclgcnp@yahoo.com>
> To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
> Received: Tue, 13 Aug 2002 16:24:21 -0700 (PDT)
> Subject: Re: Cleaning keys again
> 
> >    Thanks for asking!
> >    I'm very tired now and may not relate this
> >well............but it all started when I brought
> home
> >a GORGEOUS 1885 Rosewood Weber.... that a rat had
> died
> >in!
> >     After nearly dying myself ( I had put it,
> >uninspected, right next to my bed!!!) I started
> >wondering how to sanitize such messes. 
> >    The Weber was toast....no hope there... but I
> >experimented with it, and this is what I developed:
> >1) Have an OUTDOOR area to dismantle pianos, FAR
> away
> >from your shop! Covered. A portable car-port is
> great,
> >and an old aluminum bakery "box van" works better,
> as
> >you can later drive it to the car wash and hose it
> >out.( Sending old pencils, paperclips, etc. into
> the
> >sump. ) If you have neither, get several slabs of
> >rigid foam insulation and tarps to cover the piano
> at
> >night, if you can't dismantle it in one day. Do not
> >use woven plastic tarps with grommets alone, as
> they
> >are not completely waterproof. Put a thick plastic
> >drop cloth underneath, then the foam, then the
> woven
> >tarp held down with weights or bungees. 
> >2)Dismantle the piano and blast everything out
> >thoroughly with compressed air, when the wind is
> NOT
> >blowing towards your neighbor's pie safe, new paint
> or
> >clothesline!
> >3)Remove your sample hammers, other hammers ( if
> you
> >will use new butts) and the hammer and spring rail.
> >4)Go get a gallon of "Super-Clean" from an auto
> parts
> >store, ( auto paint stores sell an equivalent, far
> >cheaper. I get mine $3/gallon!)
> >5)Hook an industrial grade rubber hose up to the
> drain
> >cock on your water heater, and run it out to the
> >driveway, or somewhere you don't mind the runoff
> >contaminating ( they claim this stuff's
> >"biodegradable" but I wouldn't want it in my
> garden!)
> >6) Set the action on the driveway or somewhere your
> >neighbors will not scream about, spray the Super
> Clean
> >all over it with either a hand-held squirt bottle,
> or
> >an insecticide pump-type dispenser. Let it soak in
> >about 15 minutes, then HOSE DOWN THE ACTION!!!!!!! 
> > ( frame and wippens ) with hot water.  An
> abominable,
> >reeking, meftic brown ooze will slobber all over
> the
> >place, the color of old motor oil, along with the
> >action felts ( as you blast them away ). Keep
> blasting
> >until the suds die down, repeat if necessary.
> >8) Dismantle the action, and place the pieces on an
> >aluminum screen in the sun, or in a breezy place (
> I
> >use window fans) flipping them regularly.
> >     I suppose you could dismantle the action
> first,
> >dunk the pieces in super clean, rinse and dry, but
> I
> >prefer the convenience of an assembled action,
> which
> >allows aiming the water jet directly at stubborn
> >felts, etc..
> >     But you don't want to let it dry assembled, as
> >the flange screws will leave iron stains on the
> action
> >parts, and rust in the wood. ( though the tops will
> be
> >clean and very shiny! )
> >     Once the wippens have dried, you will have
> VERY
> >clean parts which almost look brand new!!! Ready
> for
> >refelting! This is especially handy for player
> pianos,
> >and others with unavailable parts. Or just to save
> >money. Remember, that the wood used in actions was
> >chosen for hygrometric stability and, I have found,
> >will not warp if dried correctly. One or two
> flanges
> >may separate if machined from a glued up lumber,
> but
> >that's no big deal. Just reglue them. ( Clothesins
> >make good clamps for this ) I have also found that
> >this process frees gummy center pins BEAUTIFULLY---
> >just right, in fact, for all but concert work!(
> Once
> >they are lubricated during reassembly with Protek
> ).
> >     At this point I am  sure that many of you are
> >laughing hysterically at what an idiot I am. To
> which
> >I humbly reply  SHUT UP AND TRY IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> >Take a filthy, junk action, and try it yourself! 
> YOU
> >WILL LAUGH NO MORE!!!  No more days spent scraping
> off
> >old felts while breathing stinking, disease bearing
> >filth!!! No more guilt from placing filthy actions
> in
> >the homes of hygienic, unsuspecting customers ( who
> >would scream if they ever looked inside Grandma's
> old
> >"restored" upright! )No more guilt from very
> possibly
> >giving their 5 year old daughter some nasty 
> >( usually respiratory ) disease as she is forced to
> >practice on it! Think about it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> >     Back to the case.
> >     I don't try to mic wires in the piano. I take
> a
> >sample from each unison, lay it between 2 strips of
> >duct tape and mic them all at once. 
> >     Once the plate is out, I strip the case, have
> >masked over the tuning pin holes. Old uprights
> usually
> >use shellac on the soundbaord, which washes right
> off 
> >lacquer thinner, blasted from a spray gun. I don't
> use
> >straight alcohol as it can weaken hide glue joints.
> >Don't forget the back. The crap on the back ( old
> >uprights ) can take a day to remove by this method,
> >with 3 gallons of lacquer thinner, using a bottle
> >brush to scrub between the posts and board, etc..
> What
> >collects at the bottom of the posts can
> periodically
> >be dumped out by tipping the piano on its back. I
> get
> >a mountain of those big cardboard boxes furniture
> >stores throw away for it all this to slop onto,
> with a
> >big plastic tarp underneath. The boxes then can be
> >left in the sun to evaporate off the thinner, and
> >discarded or burned. 
> >     Keybeds are especialy nasty, and I generally
> use
> >superclean, scrub and hose on them, drying rapidly
> >with rags and breeze. Not in sun! And never use
> >chlorine bleach inside a piano, as it will make
> things
> >rust---forever. I have thought of oxalic acid for
> >keybeds ( & keys? ), but not tried yet. Anyway,
> >several coats of paint ( epoxy's best) on keybed
> will
> >hold in any residual stench-----unless there has
> been
> >pervasive rodent habitaton, in which case NOTHING
> but
> >a gallon of kerosene and a match will cure it (
> after,
> >of course, removing the keys and knocking out the
> >leads which can be dumped in the used wheel weight
> bin
> >at your local tire store ).
> >     The keyframe can similarly be scrubbed with
> Super
> >Clean and a little brass detailiung brush, hosed
> and
> >hung up to dry. Remaining odor held in with spray
> >paint, after putting soda straws on the keypins.
> Here
> >again, presence of paint should actually help keep
> >action in regulation.
> >     Disclaimer: Wear serious protective gear
> >throughout this process, including rubber boots.
> >SuperClean will burn a hole through your skin if
> >allowed to set. A mist of it in your eyes will give
> >you a torrid headache! I go "Full Bug" --- knit
> hat,
> >raincoat with hood, gas mask, face shield (AND
> >goggles), elbow length serious chemical protectant
> 
=== message truncated ===


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