cleaning

[pianotune05@comcast.net]

---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment
Hi Dave,
Thanks for the ideas on cleaning.  I've seen some pretty dirty pianos.   Have a great day.  
Marshall

-------------- Original message -------------- 
From: David Nereson <dnereson@4dv.net> 

> John Formsma wrote: 
> 
> > Marshall, 
> > 
> > Carry a little package of "Handy Wipes" to clean your hands after you 
> > finish. You can get them from just about anywhere. 
> > 
> > John Formsma 
> > 
> > pianotune05@comcast.net wrote: 
> > 
> >> Someone out there mentioned a vacuum. Are you guys referring to 
> >> those little Dirt Devil type? I'd like to vacuum out a piano 
> >> especially behind the knee board. Also, is there something useful to 
> >> clean pins, the plate and even the strings? My hands are black when 
> >> I'm done tuning. 
> >> Marshall 
> >> ps. I was writing up the invoice on Friday with dirty hands, not that 
> >> I mind dirt, but I want to look professional. 
> > 
> > 
> 
> Not "Handy Wipes," but "Wet Ones" in the round plastic can. They 
> even make anti-bacterial ones. 
> The little Dirt Devil-type vacuums are too small and not powerful 
> enough except for a cursory cleaning on top of the keys, perhaps. I 
> went to a used vaccum cleaner store and found a Hoover Shoulder Vac (has 
> a shoulder strap) for about $40. I leave it in the car, along with the 
> brush attachment and crevice tool (thin nozzle). 
> For the tuning pins, I use a 1 in. paintbrush to loosen the dirt 
> while vacuuming with the crevice tool, and I have another brush with the 
> bristles worn way down which I use on the bridge pins, hitch pins, 
> stringing braid, embossed details, etc. For the strings, the brush 
> attachment get most of the dust and the paintbrush gets in where the 
> hose attachment won't fit. For in between strings, to dust off the top 
> of the bridge (uprights), I use a thin glue brush with the handle 
> flattened. It has masking tape wrapped around the end of the ferrule so 
> as not to scratch soundboards. For the plate, I just dust it with a 
> rag. If it's really dirty, I'll spray 409 or similar cleaner on a damp 
> rag and use that. For rust on strings, I use Polita, the "ink 
> eraser"-type chunk of rubber with abrasive in it, available from Schaff, 
> I believe. Steel wool's OK, too. With either, you have to vacuum up 
> the rubbings. 
> For the soundboard tools, I use the T-shaped squeegee-type tools 
> along with a soundboard steel (wrapped in shrink tube) to push a dust 
> rag around under the strings. Sometimes I'll dampen it with a dust 
> control spray, or even use a damp rag with 409 on it if there are 
> spills, stains, etc. 
> After cleaning, if my hands are too dirty for just a disposable 
> wipe, I'll ask the customer if I may wash my hands. They never 
> refuse. Just don't make their freshly scoured kitchen sink look like 
> one in a gas station. What I would like to see is some kind of "fuzzy 
> snake," like wind instrument players have for cleaning trombones, 
> saxophones, etc., that one could push down (or up) the length of the 
> long bridge on uprights. It would have to be able to slip between the 
> plate struts and strings somehow. I suppose one unison could be 
> loosened or removed for access in extreme cases. --David Nereson, 
> RPT 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________ 
> Pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives 
---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/4e/c8/67/03/attachment.htm

---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--