rusted piano strings

[Scott Jackson]

In all this discussion, no-one has mentioned the rusty strings being a cause
of bad sound in the piano. I'm often amazed that pianos with really bad
looking strings don't sound worse. Is this true, or am I deceiving myself?

Scott Jackson


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Farrell" <mfarrel2 at tampabay.rr.com>
To: "Pianotech List" <pianotech at ptg.org>
Sent: Tuesday, February 19, 2008 2:23 AM
Subject: Re: rusted piano strings


> The life of the strings will be maximized by leaving the rust on. The
> formation of rust on the exterior of metal provides some insulation
against
> the migration of oxygen to the unrusted metal. Removing the rust will only
> expose the bare metal to the environment more and promote more rapid
> oxidation.