Protecting plain wire from rust

[Mark Schecter]

Hi, David.

Do you use liquid or gooey Protek on the rag? What about the area around 
the tuning pins? Seems like it would be easier to treat the whole wire 
before installation, but then you'd be getting your fingers gooey and 
contaminating the pins while winding coils. But if one soaked the whole 
coil in liquid protek, then let it dry before installing, maybe that 
would solve both problems?

Do you have any thought about Pure-sound wire?

Thanks!

-Mark

David Love wrote:
> I use Protek while stringing on a rag to wipe along the length of the
> strings after installing each group of unisons.  I'm especially careful to
> get coverage along where the trichord dampers will contact the lower tenor
> area to help prevent corrosion under the dampers and inhibit the development
> of whooshing.  Since I'm still using Roslau wire (haven't switched over to
> Mapes Gold Wire yet) and it's fairly dirty, it does clean off that blackish
> film and might leave a "Protektive" coating for awhile.  I'm not sure if it
> really does anything in the long run or not but I figure it couldn't hurt.
> 
> I agree that it does help rendering and often use it in the same manner as
> you describe.
> 
> David Love
> davidlovepianos at comcast.net 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
> Of Mark Schecter
> Sent: Friday, March 24, 2006 9:16 PM
> To: Pianotech
> Subject: Protecting plain wire from rust
> 
> Hi, all. Here's something I've been wondering about.
> 
> In pianos with rusty strings, I use Protek on the strings where they 
> pass under the capo, and where they pass through the agraffes, as well 
> as on the counterbearing felt, to help ease rendering. It works, and 
> seems to keep on working for at least a few months, maybe longer. I have 
> often wondered if there is any substance (such as, oh, maybe, Protek?) 
> that people use on clean, shiny strings to prevent rust or tarnish ever 
> developing? I could imagine taking whole rolls of wire and dipping it in 
> a bath of XYZ-stuff before stringing, or sponging it on in the piano.
> 
> We are instructed to coat practically every other metal surface in every 
> device in our lives (think car) with something or other, so why not 
> piano strings? I guess we could expand the question to include 
> copper-wound bass strings, too, if anyone has any thoughts about those. 
> I'm interested to hear people's ideas.
> 
> -Mark Schecter
> 
> 
> 
>