Micro fine teflon powder

[MITCH KIEL]

      I use powdered teflon on knuckles all the time. Here's how:
      I pull the grand action, put the front edge of the keyframe in my lap,
then lift the back of the action till it's almost vertical and the hammers fall
back. I use a brass brush (on most new pianos I'm more gentle and use a "hard"
toothbrush with shortened bristles) to gently raise the nap of the knuckles.
Then I apply micro-fine powdered teflon to the knuckles with an artist brush. I
work it into the leather by brushing parallel to the shanks. I believe this
pushes more powder into the leather, improving lubricity and how long it lasts.
Don't use your fingers; they're oily and anyway you'll smudge teflon everywhere
later. Next, gently place the action back down onto the keybed and gently put
the shanks back down onto the whippens. Playing the notes a few times burnishes
the knuckle leather back down to its previous smoothness and seems to seal in
the powder.
      I do this on almost every piano I service, new and old. I think it's a
*big* improvement in the feeling of letoff for very little work. In some
mid-level brands it's the only cure for squeeky knuckles. I also do a similar
procedure to vertical hammer butts.
      Additionally, I sometimes like to put powdered teflon *into* (by raising
the nap of the felt before applying) bearing felts, especially whippen cushions.
I too use a large pipe cleaner to apply it to keybushings and balance holes
(don't forget to use McLube on the keypins too).
      I rub powdered teflon into keybeds (rub perpendicular to the grain to get
it in there) followed by painting (or spraying) McLube over the powdered teflon;
it seems to make everything slicker and seal in the powder. Lastly, gently
burnish with ScotchBrite.
      I've given up on aerosol cans (stinky and bad spray pattern) so I buy
McLube by the quart and put it in small bottles with a finger-powered sprayer
(like the ProLube bottles, except I don't really like ProLube as much -- takes
too long to dry).

      As you can tell, I love teflon powder. It's WAY better than talc. As far
as I know, micro fine powdered teflon is only available from Spurlock Specialty
Tools (707-452-8564). Other powdered teflons (like Hoppe's) don't seem to work
anywhere near as well; it's probably a different grain size. I buy teflon in all
3 bottle sizes Bill Spurlock offers: Smallest (.75 ounce) for tuning kit, medium
(2.5 ounce) for supply kit, extra large (10 ounce) for shop.

      Mitch Kiel, RPT