Complete Grand cleaning

[A440A at aol.com]

Stéphane writes:

<< I use water - vinegar solution routinely for cleaning the soundboards, up 

till now.  Isn't it so that a poison can be a cure, at the right dosis ? << 

 Greetings, 
        The classical definition of a poison is "too much",  so anything can 
be ok, depending on the dosage.  I wouldn't expect a light cleaning with 
vinegar to loosen a soundboard, I only used the example as one usage for the acid 
treatment I could understand.  
 
>>I find it very efficient, and I try to avoid touching the strings with the 

damp part of the rag, << 

      Yes, I would think for good reason, in that the acid of the vinegar 
would be a corrosive agent on piano wire.  I was more concerned with the idea of 
using it on a plate, where there would certainly be some small amount getting 
around the hitch pins, screws, etc.  I have seen plates with strange amounts 
of corrosion on them and now I wonder if exposure to vinegar might have been 
the reason, I don't really know, this is just surmising on my part.

 

>>Do you have a better way for cleaning the soundboard ?<<

       I don't know if it is better, but perhaps safer, or at least, less 
threatening.  I have used the commercial cleaner 409 on incredibly dirty boards 
to good effect.  I think it is a surfectant, but I have seen it lift the 
decades of coal dust/grime/spills, etc off of shellaced boards with no damage.  
Regards, 

 
Ed Foote RPT 
http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html
www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html
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