Complete Grand cleaning

[Jon Page]

First remove dust with a dry cloth under the strings, and a cheap, 
small 1" paint brush
on the plate and tuning pin area. Once all loose dust has been 
removed from the board,
a damp cloth can be moved around with a flex steel perpendicular to 
the strings and tweezers parallel with them. Depending on how well 
bonded the haze is to the finish, multiple applications may be 
needed. Full strength of many cleaners can soften the finish on the 
board and remove it from the plate, I hate it when that happens. 
Dilute a degreaser such as Simple Green about 10:1.

To clean around the hitch pins, spray the area, or dip the brush into 
the solution
and work the cleaner in around the area. Not too much solution.  As 
you work the
solution in, pad the brush on a cloth to remove excess liquid, keep 
drying the brush until
the area is dry or use a compressor to blow the liquid back into a 
cloth, use a dry brush to burnish the finish.

Around the tuning pin area, use small squares of white ScothBrite or 
pieces of cloth
and tweezers to work the grime loose. Follow up with another square 
and clean solution.
Keep cleaning with clean squares and solution until they remain 
clean. Finish with a dry square.

In general an overall cleaning takes about 1.5 hrs. Cleaning the 
tuning pin field can
take up to twice that or more depending on the gunk bonded to the plate.

This is why periodic cleaning maintains a nicer piano and avoids this 
arduous task.
It also may mean that when/if you ever get the piano for resale, you 
have less work to do.
-- 

Regards,

Jon Page