Verdigris fix

[Susan Kline]

>>s......I used Protek generously on the hammer flange bushings.  The 
>>action freed up nicely on both pianos.  One of the pianos was a "D" which 
>>had not been played for 25 years and had been moved from Viginia (wet) to 
>>Helena, MT (dry)   It would not play....hammers just dropped back 
>>slowly.  The Protek did the job and the piano has been in use regularly 
>>in St. Helena Cathedral ever since....6 years or so. The other is an "O" 
>>that I bought and sent to my daughter in Silverdale, WA.  It works just 
>>fine too.   One comment:  The swing check on the "B" showed some variance 
>>in the friction, but it never did get much of the green stuff .... at 
>>least not as much as the ":D".  Haven't had any complaint from my 
>>daughter.  My 2$ worth.
>>Dick RPT MT

To add to the data: our family S&S A had verdigris from years and years in 
a Connecticut farmhouse. It came to me in California, and I rebuilt it with 
help from Bob and Marcia Davis. We replaced the hammer flanges and shanks, 
but left the wippens. The action worked but had a somewhat sluggish 
feeling. It went to my sister in Colorado, and on a visit I repinned most 
of the wippen flanges. This was about five years ago, and it has been fine 
since.

Example 2: a 1941 S&S A lived in South Carolina, and got extremely bad 
verdigris. When it got given to the Newport Arts Center, someone else 
repinned it, but it seized up within a year. I replaced the parts ... the 
point being that in Newport the humidity is somewhere between the high 40's 
and low 60's, and repinning was ineffective.

My theory: verdigris forms much more readily in damp climates, but doesn't 
recur nearly as badly in dry ones. Possibly (just possibly) some old parts 
may be reusable if repinned or rebushed, once the piano has been taken to a 
dry climate.

Does anyone have any corroboration or contrary evidence? And does anyone 
have a Steinway which went to a very dry climate like Montana when young, 
and never developed any verdigris?

Thanks --

Susan