Whippen Cleaning

[Robin Hufford]

Gordon,
     Thanks for your well detailed procedure.  I am not sure I want to
try something that could eat right through my shoe and get to me foot,
but, judging from the Chickering Whippens this procedure produces an
amazing result.
     Later in the fall, or perhaps in the winter, I will try it on a set
of whippens removed from a 1920 O that, although only slight worn, have
the worse case of verdigris and general dirtiness I have everseen.  The
piano has long since had the action replaced and been finished but I
kept the old whippens, hammershanks, flanges and hammers, for whatever
reason, probably an irrational one, but mainly because they were so
unworn.
     I did experiment, several years ago, with dipping the frozen,
verdigrised, flanges in the water thin stripper made by Strip-Eaze as a
test to see if they would free up.  The test items are still free, now
three or four years later, or they were the last time I looked, which
might have been about a year or so ago.
     Were the flanges on the spare Chickering whippens I got from you,
which are now in such good shape, tight and corroded?
     Thanks again,
     Regards, Robin Hufford

gordon stelter wrote:

> --- Robin Hufford <hufford1@airmail.net> wrote:
> > Gordon Stelter,
> >      The spare Chickering Whippens I got from you
> > were amazingly clean,
> > including the  pinning.  I know you have mentioned
> > your treatment of
> > them here at some other time, which I, unfortunately
> > missed.  Would you
> > reiterate this process?
> > Thanks Robin Hufford
>
> Dear Robin,
>      Thank you for inquiring as to the method of
> cleaning which was used on these whippens. It is a
> radical method which may seem very hard to accept, but
> I have found it extremely useful: especially on
> obsolete parts.
>      I first tried this on the action of a gorgeous
> 1883 Weber rosewood upright which a rat had died in.
> The piano was not salvageable: at least I would not
> feel comfortable ever selling it! So I experimented on
> the very black, smelly and filthy action before
> discarding it.
>      Essentially, this method involves use of the very
> highly concentrated soaps which have recently come on
> the market, such as: "Purple Stuff", "Purple Power",
> "Super Stuff", and etc., which are generally sold as
> engine degreasers in auto parts stores.( Do NOT use
> "Greased Lightning", as it will make everything smell
> like dog urine, forever!!! ) But I get mine 75% off at
> an automotive paint store. WARNING!!! THIS STUFF IS
> STRONG!!!!!! The strongest types will eat your skin
> very quickly if allowed to sit, so go "Full Bug" with
> a face shield, carbon filter mask, rubber gloves,
> rainsuit, etc.. A mist of it in your eyes will give
> you a horrendous migraine. And rubber boots! Some
> fellow around here let it drip on his shoes, and ended
> up at the emergency room.
>      But it is just a soap. Albeit a very POWERFUL
> soap!
>      As it currently stands: 1)Get a quart of this
> stuff in the spray bottle, and a gallon for refills.
> 2)Hook up a good hose to the hot water outlet (drain)
> on your water heater, and run outside. 3)Take the
> action outside and blow out as much dirt as possible
> with compressed air ( downwind from your neighbors'
> laundry, please! ) 4)Loosen all flange screws a turn.
> 5)If an upright, remove spring rail. 6) Save a whippen
> and sample hammers, along with other felt samples.
> 7) Really spray this stuff all over the action. Drench
> it!!! You will soon see a revolting blackish brown
> ooze crawling out, dripping onto the driveway,
> resembling bad motor oil. This is the dirt, cigar
> smoke, cooking grease, coal dust, auto fumes,
> flatulence, bad breath, and etc. that the action has
> absorbed over the last century. Let sit for 5 minutes
> as you stare in disgust and amazement. 8) Take your
> hot water hose and rinse, blasting away the old felts
> as you go. Keep rinsing until most of the suds have
> quit. Repeat if necessary. 9) Dismantle the action
> quickly, using an electric screwdriver and laying the
> clean, wet, feltless parts on a screen placed atop
> four buckets with a box fan underneath, blowing
> upwards. By starting with loosening the screws
> beforehand, you have prevented them from crushing the
> flanges as the wood swells. 10) Quickly dry the action
> rails and hang up in a breeze, but not in the sun
> which would encourage warping. 11) Flip the parts
> frequently, until they feel dry. This does not take
> long. And you CAN do this in the sun! 12) Bring
> indoors and lay on paper towells atop a piano or
> something, in a dry room for a week or two. 13)Go
> clean the mess off your driveway. 14) Once fully dry,
> install felts in action parts. I use "Aileen's Tacky
> Glue" from the fabric store for action felts. About 10
> times thicker than supply house PVC, same otherwise.
> 15) Protek action centers and screw to rails. I
> believe that many do not find success with Protek
> simply because they are too stingy! Sometimes 2
> applications are needeed. Real soakings. The carrier
> will disappear from the wood when it evaporates, and
> you will have AMAZINGLY clean, fully functional parts
> which look ALMOST as clean as new!
>      I have used this method about 6 times with no
> apparent damage. Actions were milled from woods chosen
> for dimensional stability, and if a tiny bit of
> warpage DOES occur, it can easily be compensated for
> by normal regulation. Even jacks in balancier windows
> stay centered, so I have found. And I use this stuff
> for keyframes, too! With a brass brush to really
> loosen the filth. Just hang up to dry and don't
> regulate for a month or so while you do the case. If
> the frame swells 1/16" over its entire length, so
> what? Better than a stinking, filthy keyframe in the
> customer's immaculate living room.
>       Rarely some component will separate if it was
> milled from a laid-up board. But this is easy to fix
> with a drop of Titebond and a clothespin.  Most
> wonderfully, I have done this with REALLY gummed up,
> totally inoperable actions which came out with the
> action centers very nice indeed!_
>      Obviously, you don't do this to
> Mrs. Biffstoneworthington's 1901 Boesendorfer without
> practice! And I would not recommend it where quality
> replacement parts are available. But, for obsolete
> parts ( like player whippens ) or parts which are NOT
> available in quality replacements, it is a very useful
> alternative.
>      Practice on a junk action, and let me know if any
> refinements present themselves.
>      Sincerely,
>      Gordon
>
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