backchecks

[A440A at aol.com]

inre backcheck leather removal, William writes: 

<<  The old felts are attached with hide glue (yeah!) and are easily removed 
by saturating (carefully) with a mixture of water and your favorite 
surfactant.  I generally use wallpaper remover, about 10:1 water to remover.  After a 
while (hour, two?) they will basically fall off.  Saturate and wait.  >>

Greetings, 
   I replace a lot of older Steinway leather, and I was taught a different 
approach that has worked well in 99% of all jobs.  Just lift the edge of the 
leather with a knife, making the division right in the glue line, and pull up.  
The leather will tear loose at the glue line, leaving a slightly fuzzy nap on 
the wood, and with a single swipe of a good sharp file, you have a perfectly 
smooth surface that will take the new glue readily.  The work goes quickly and 
very cleanly.  
  There are some vintages, (as in the 60's, where the glue isn't hide, and I 
ain't sure about the "leather") that simply will not tear off, but the pre-war 
pianos are unusally easy to work on.

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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