[CAUT] VSProfelt vs alcohol/water/softener vs steam

[Fred Sturm]

It's also on the label.
Regards,
Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico
fssturm at unm.edu



On Mar 12, 2009, at 9:59 AM, Chris Solliday wrote:

> It's true, Bob M told me.
> Chris Solliday
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Jim Busby" <jim_busby at byu.edu>
> To: <caut at ptg.org>
> Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2009 9:20 AM
> Subject: Re: [CAUT] VSProfelt vs alcohol/water/softener vs steam
>
>
> Hi Fred,
>
> Silicon?? How do you know? I know that Yamaha uses some silicon (or  
> at least
> used to, according to LaRoy) in their flange bushing cloth. But  
> isn't that
> for lubrication? And if it indeed is silicon in the VS, wouldn't  
> that be a
> death blow if someone used it in the wrong place. i.e. anywhere near  
> or
> closely connected to a tuning pin? If it is true maybe a warning  
> label is
> appropriate?
>
> BTW, since you taught us the steaming method in addition to  
> whatever, I've
> too have found more stability than with any solution alone.
>
> Regards,
> Fred
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf  
> Of Fred
> Sturm
> Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2009 8:08 AM
> To: caut University Technicians
> Subject: [CAUT] VSProfelt vs alcohol/water/softener vs steam
>
> I finally found the opportunity to do a comparison of VSProfelt with
> an emulated mixture of alcohol, water, and fabric softener. I did
> wippen cushions and key bushings on an upright. For the key bushings,
> I also did a comparison with my usual steam method.
> My emulated mixture was approximately 12% softener, 18% alcohol, and
> 70% water (the figures are a result of adding to a 5 mm line for
> softener, 15 mm with 70% isolpropyl alcohol, and 40 with water - those
> lines being cumulative. This was not utterly precise, just a
> convenient guess, and then I did the calculations of percentage). I
> think the VSProfelt is actually lower in alcohol and higher in
> softener, and it also has silicon oil added in some formulation. VSP
> is milkier looking than what I made, and it doesn't wick quite as fast
> into the felt - hence my guess about more softener and less alcohol.
> Results? A tie. VSP works quite nicely. So does a mix of alcohol,
> water and softener. I couldn't tell any difference in the results
> whatsoever, other than the lubricant in VSP.
> The tie was between VSP and my emulation solution. Steam was
> significantly faster, and slightly more effective - key bushings only
> in this case. I think the more effective part came from the steam re-
> expanding the wood where it might have been squeezed/eased previously.
> For the bushings I had the keys in two Spurlock clamps. I applied the
> liquids using a tapered, pointed paintbrush (in preference to a hypo
> oiler, that takes longer because of the need to apply to each side
> separately). I did one key clamp with liquids, the other with steam.
> For the liquids, I alternated between sharps and naturals for the
> different solutions, changing the alternation when I changed from
> balance to front rail. The full steaming and ironing process took
> considerably less time than applying the liquids and inserting the
> cauls.
> I'll send a separate post following with photos of the steam process.
> Regards,
> Fred Sturm
> University of New Mexico
> fssturm at unm.edu
>
>
>
>
>
>