Just wondering how one of those Flitz cloths would work on copper to get them shiny again. James Grebe Piano-Forte Tuning & Repair Creator of Handsome Hardwood Caster Cups (314) 608-4137 WWW.JamesGrebe.com 1526 Raspberry Lane Arnold, MO 63010 BECOME WHAT YOU BELIEVE! pianoman@accessus.net ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ron Nossaman" <rnossaman@cox.net> To: "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org> Sent: Tuesday, November 16, 2004 9:21 PM Subject: Re: Polishing bass strings > >>Ok, you've had your fun. Now kindly lower yourselves to my level and >>respond to an honest question by an RPT with over 30 years of experience. >>Knowing my name won't help you answer my question. > > No, but showing up as an actual person with a real identity when you are > asking for help might just possibly give you some credibility and > validation you don't automatically have from behind the curtain. > Contributing, is the apparent implication that after 30 years, this has > just now come to your attention and become a concern. But perhaps I judge > too quickly. > > >>I'm talking about new or new-ish strings with some discoloration due to >>someone's fingers straying where they shouldn't, as well as brightening-up >>those strings that don't need to be replaced yet. > > Thank you. That's helpful, and puts it in a specific category. > > >>By the way, under my care is a Steinway "D" that came from the factory (in >>other words "brand-spanking new") with some sort of oxidation running >>across 6-8 strings. It looks as though someone took a sweaty hand and just >>wiped it across them. > > That's most likely exactly what happened. I've seen plenty of instances of > just this in dealers' showrooms, and in the new owners' living rooms after > the sale. > > >>And who among us hasn't left fingerprints on a newly-installed set of bass >>strings? >> >>Or perhaps technicians at your level don't do that sort of thing. > > I haven't, as far as I know. This has nothing whatsoever to do with my > "level" as a technician. It has everything to do with my personal bodily > chemistry and the severe lack of moisture in the epidermis of my digital > appendages - a condition that has no acknowledged snob value that I'm > aware of, just nuisance value when my fingertips split and bleed all > winter. > > To answer your question, I don't typically try to polish wrapped strings, > so I don't have a fool-proof answer for you. I do, however, question the > assumption that scratching the copper is necessarily undesirable. I can't > see where it would hurt a thing unless you chewed it up badly with > something coarse and abrasive, or generated loose liquid, dust, or fibers > that would get into the wrap. So if I was going to try and minimize big > purple hand prints on new bass strings, I'd scrub them down with a dry > Scotch Brite pad and hope for the best. If that didn't work, I'd learn to > love big purple hand prints. > > My name's in the header. Who am I talking to? > > Ron N > > _______________________________________________ > pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
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