Having had some experience with a variety of flood damaged pianos the only conclusion I can draw is that there is not one-size-fits-all conclusion that can be made. I've seen modern pianos with MDF cabinetry--but with polyester finishes--come through 18" floods pretty much intact. A few dead bass strings, perhaps, but generally is easily salvageable condition. Some old uprights assembled with animal hide glue have pretty much come apart while others survive intact. One Korean-built grand I salvaged had actually been found floating in four or five feet of water for a couple of hours. I assumed the action and keyset would be toast but after eight or nine months they needed rebushing and a few pins needed to be replaced but overall it ended up in surprisingly good condition. Another one ended up with its soundboard in pieces. So, go figure. My only really solid piece of advice is to wait a while. Once set of Kawai studio keys that were twisted around like a kettle full of spaghetti ended up straight and square after six months of doing nothing. Others that initially looked pretty good simply fell apart after a couple of months. Take each one as it comes. Don't jump to conclusions and always--Always!--wait a while. ddf Delwin D Fandrich Piano Design & Fabrication 6939 Foothill Court SW, Olympia, Washington 98512 USA Phone 360.515.0119 — Cell 360.388.6525 del at fandrichpiano.com — ddfandrich at gmail.com -----Original Message----- From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of richarducci at comcast.net Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2012 6:21 AM To: pianotech at ptg.org Subject: [pianotech] Flood Damaged Pianos List, I'm starting to get calls from clients who were flooded in Sandy. Can you advise about uprights and grands that were in a foot or more of salt water for days. I know strings can be cleaned with water rinse and blow dried, and coated with Balistol, pedals and brackets as well. What about exterior wood veneer ? What other areas need attention? I will be submitting estimates to ins. companies and don't want to miss anything. Rick Ucci Uccipiano.com 609-677-0444
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