[pianotech] Cleaning and Polishing Brass Pedals & Face Plate, etc.

[pmc033 at earthlink.net]

Hi, Paul:
    Yes, the steel bristles will scratch the brass.  I prefer to use Brite Boy or Brasso.  Years ago, someone posted a home made formula for dipping brass parts, which I made up from Chromic Acid and something else I can't remember.  I have some in the shop.  If you dip any brass or copper in that solution, in 10 seconds it will be clean.  It literally melts corrosion away.  But it doesn't burn the skin (though it stains orange).  You might search the archives for brass cleaner.  There are similar brass dips available commercially.  
    As far as coating the brass after polishing, I think Mohawk makes a special plastic spray coating just for the purpose.  The downside is that after some time, there will be spotting under the coating, so you'd have to remove the coating to polish it again.
    Good luck.
    Paul McCloud
    San Diego


----- Original Message ----- 
From: Paul Milesi 
To: PTG Pianotech List
Sent: 01/09/2010 11:18:37 PM 
Subject: [pianotech] Cleaning and Polishing Brass Pedals & Face Plate, etc.


I am wondering about cleaning & polishing brass pedals, faceplate, screws, etc. from a 1930s Steinway S.  I know brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, and that the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties (thank you, Wikipedia).

I know copper is a very soft metal.  Is this relevant when choosing how to polish brass piano parts?  I’ve generally used Noxon and a cloth to clean brass or nickel-plated parts, or to polish key pins.  Now I’m wondering: Are the pedals and faceplate a softer metal than, say, the wire bristles of a wheel?  Will the [steel?] bristles scratch the brass?  Should I stick to a cotton polishing/buffing wheel with a compound or rouge?

The wire seemed to clean the inside of the plate just fine, and it didn’t seem to affect the surface (the brass seems pretty hard), but I don’t want to scratch the front unnecessarily.  Would you treat nickel-plated pedals differently?

Finally, I’ve read about but never tried, coating with a clear lacquer after polishing.  Do you recommend this for pedal parts, including rods?  I have some Minwax Clear Aerosol Lacquer (“Clear Gloss”) in a spray can.  Would this be the right stuff, say one light coat?

All suggestions and info appreciated!  BTW, this 70+ year-old piano lives in a school practice room, if that makes any difference.

Paul Milesi, RPT
Washington, DC
(202) 667-3136
E-mail:  paul at pmpiano.com
Website:  http://www.pmpiano.com
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