I need advice

[Gevaert Pierre]

Hi,

I heared that soot could affect iron (more than the finish), so maybe it
should be good to take a close look at the strings. I've also heared that to
avoid damage on iron parts, the soot should be removed within three weeks?

Otherways, I would clean the piano the same way as you suggested.

Regards,
PierreGevaert
Belgium
----- Original Message -----
From: Greg Newell <gnewell@ameritech.net>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Monday, August 09, 2004 6:48 PM
Subject: I need advice


> Greetings gentle list folk,
>          I just received a phone call from a nice woman who wants me to
> clean and possibly buy her 6' 7" Bosendorfer grand. The piano is 25 years
> old but I do not as of yet know the model. I'm guessing there was only one
> model that was this size but I don't know for sure.
>          This unfortunate customer had a house fire in April that started
> in the basement and burned through some of the floor joists on the first
> floor. This happened 2 rooms away from where the piano sits. There is a
> layer of dry soot on the lid but there is no finish damage that the owner
> can detect. There is no damage to the walls or outlet plate covers
> (plastic) in the same room. I wonder, 1) what to clean the piano with. I'm
> thinking just a vacuum cleaner and perhaps some forced air once the
> majority is removed from the vacuum. and 2) what is an estimation of it's
> current fair market value. I realize that there isn't too much to go on
> here but an approximation or range of numbers would be more helpful than
> nothing.
>          There was apparently no insurance rider on the piano so I'm sure
> that the owner would like to get as much as possible. She is currently
> looking to replace it with about a foot shorter Petrof. It seems that the
> local dealer here is not interested in the Bosey. I don't know why. Not
> sure if they've even seen it but probably not. Since there is no visible
> damage to the piano from the fire I'm guessing that the two things to look
> for are acidic soot and or glue joint failure which may not be seen for
> years. Anything else?
>          Would really love to hear your take on it's approximate value,
the
> best way to clean it and whether or not it might be worth while to get
> involved. Seems odd to me that the dealer wasn't interested. I'm all eyes
> .... to possible drawbacks and or previous experiences. Thanks in advance!
>
>
> Greg Newell
>
>
> P.S.  Thanks to all who posted about the Chickering Quarter grand. It
> turned out to be in fairly decent shape needing refinishing but had scale
> 135 which is understand to be the better of the two. I mentioned a street
> value of $500 after it's actual value of "exactly what you can get someone
> to pay you for it."
> Thanks again!
>
> Greg Newell
> Greg's piano Forté
> mailto:gnewell@ameritech.net
>
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