liftrod lubricant

[John Formsma]

Clyde,

<<<You may know what I'm referring to if I mention "crunchy snow."  I
heard this used to describe those many tiny ticks that occur almost
simultaneously in an upright piano from friction between the liftrod and
the felt on the damper lever tails, as the sustain pedal is depressed.
I haven't done this in a while, but I used to take the liftrod out of
the action and use a graphite spray, then burnish it and replace, and
that worked great, even though it turned the liftrod gray.
But I can't find the stuff now.  I may have used it up.  Maybe the
hardware stores  have it -- I don't know.  In any case, what do you
recommend? I want a permanent fix.>>>

I always clean and polish the liftrod with Flitz, then apply a small
coating of Protek MPL-1. I bet any lubricant would work, and probably
just cleaning and polishing makes the ticks go away.

John Formsma