Verdigris on Bass Strings & Hammer Heads

[John Ross]

I always wondered what caused that blackness at the strike point. But I 
would forget, by the time I got to the PC, so never asked.
John M. Ross
Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada.
jrpiano at win.eastlink.ca
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Joe And Penny Goss" <imatunr at srvinet.com>
To: "Pianotech List" <pianotech at ptg.org>
Sent: Wednesday, May 31, 2006 2:50 PM
Subject: Re: Verdigris on Bass Strings & Hammer Heads


> Hi Conrad,
> And the reshaping or filing of hammers.
> If the piano were mine to try and there was the understanding that 
> what we
> are about to try was experimental I would use Goose Juice to clean the
> strings, using a white Scotch Pad ( the finest ) and reshape the 
> hammers so
> that there is minimal re-contamination. The best route however IMHO, 
> would
> be to replace both hammers and strings.
> Something in the air or in the felt has caused a chemical reaction 
> with the
> copper.
> On some local farms near here there is so much sulfur in the water, so 
> that
> if the house is air tight, the strings turn black at the strike point.
> Joe Goss RPT
> Mother Goose Tools
> imatunr at srvinet.com
> www.mothergoosetools.com
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Conrad Hoffsommer" <hoffsoco at luther.edu>
> To: "Pianotech List" <pianotech at ptg.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, May 31, 2006 10:48 AM
> Subject: Re: Verdigris on Bass Strings & Hammer Heads
>
>
>> At 12:21 PM 5/31/2006 -0400, you wrote:
>> >List.  What cleaner works best on removing verdigris from bass 
>> >strings
>> >(grand), at the strike point,
>> >and the crud is also on the hammer heads.  I looked through all my 
>> >filed
>> >list discussions on the
>> >subject and could not find "for bass strings".  Don't want to ruin 
>> >the
>> >copper.
>> >Did find suggestions on using brake cleaner and starter fluid, but 
>> >would
>> >appreciate a sure thing
>> >on this question.
>> >Many thanks up-front.
>> >Gordon Holley
>>
>>
>> I hate to be flippant, but the only SURE thing is replacement.  You 
>> may
> get
>> lucky with some sort of better living through chemistry, but I know 
>> that
>> _MY_ kind of luck would produce dead strings which would need 
>> replacing
>> anyway...
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Conrad Hoffsommer - Keyboard Technician
>> Luther College, 700 College Dr., Decorah, Iowa 52101-1045
>> 1-(563)-387-1204 // Fax 1-(563)-387-1076
>>
>> - Right now, I'm hoping to live until my age matches my golf score,
>> - Until then, I'll have to be content to have my IQ match my 
>> handicap.
>>
>