On Sun, Jan 10, 2010 at 12:18 AM, Paul Milesi <paul at pmpiano.com> wrote: > 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 > Hi Paul, I have, over the years, used Noxon, Nevr Dull, plain old jewelers rouge and Flitz all with excellent results. To retain the shine several light coats of clear lacquer or polyurathane for the pedals. A few oats of good old paste wax for the parts that are more "decorative" or aren't handled much. The paste wax will rub off if the part is touched regularly. Mike -- I intend to live forever. So far, so good. Steven Wright Michael Magness Magness Piano Service 608-786-4404 www.IFixPianos.com email mike at ifixpianos.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20100110/34b12573/attachment.htm>
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