Rusty Strings: Polita vs. sandpaper

[Thomas D. Seay, III]

>If one was to attempt to clean the rust off of the strings in a piano, is
>there a preference as to whether polita steel polish or sandpaper should be
>used? ( I have misplaced my polita, and I was debating the efficacy of using
>400 grit sandpaper as a substitute.)

Polita would be better than sandpaper. However, an alternative would be to
use one of those green Scotch-Brite pads. They work well and they don't
leave near the mess that the Polita does.
>
>Perhaps someone who has a high powered microscope handy could answer this
>question, but does either polita or sandpaper leave scratches on the wire
>surface or weaken or damage the wire?

If either one were to damage the wire, I would suspect that it would be the
sandpaper, although I don't have any empirical evidence on which to base
this opinion.
>
>Also, is there a rust inhibitor that may be safely used to coat the strings
>as a protectant after such a rust removing procedure is carried out?  Would
>Protek, or petroleum jelly or any other substance be used for this purpose?

Some people use a light coat of machine oil (emphasis on the word "light"),
applied with a cloth, on the strings as the piano is being strung. I'm not
certain that's a good idea, but lots of people do it. If you apply anything
heavy, such as petroleum jelly, you run the risk of attracting more dust
and gunk on the strings. I don't believe you would gain anything by doing
that. DO NOT apply anything to the bass strings.

Good luck.


Tom Seay
t.seay@mail.utexas.edu
The University of Texas at Austin