[pianotech] Piano rusting at the beach

[Paul McCloud]

Hi, Rob:
	(From  down the road in San Diego...)
	The client should have purchased a string cover, which would have
prevented the rust on the strings.  What's done is done, but I bet if they
got one and kept the strings dry, they would stop rusting so much. 
Moisture is going to feed the rust.  I would also put Music Sorb under the
cover too, which would absorb moisture.  As far as cleaning the strings,
you aren't going to get it all especially around the tuning pins.  But you
can make it look better using polita cakes.  These were invented for Polish
birthdays.  Ok, maybe not.  Around the pins you can use a wire brush
chucked in a drill.  I think the supply houses used to have some kind of
coil cleaning device and  compound.  Haven't used it, tho.  I've used a
Dremel with a wire brush (steel or brass) to clean around the bridge pins
and other tight places.  
	Bass strings will clean with steel wool but don't let it get stuck in the
windings.  Rub along the string and not across it so that won't happen.  
	If they don't have a cover, or keep the salt air out of the piano, you'll
be restringing it sooner than later.  I've contemplated using Extend on
rusty strings, which is a spray that turns the rust black, but prevents it
from returning.  I think Wim had some kind of stuff that he used to keep
rust from happening inside a piano.  Though I'm not sure it would work on
an open grand piano.  Check the archives or... Wim, what was that stuff?
	Paul McCloud
	San Diego


> [Original Message]
> From: Rob McCall <rob at mccallpiano.com>
> To: <pianotech at ptg.org>
> Date: 02/28/2011 12:22:27 PM
> Subject: [pianotech] Piano rusting at the beach
>
> Greetings List,
>
> I went down to a town north of San Diego over the weekend to evaluate a
2004 Kohler & Campbell KGC650 for possible purchase by a client of mine.
The home is literally across the street from the beach.
>
> What I found was a level of salt air corrosion and rust on the strings
that I might expect to see on a 50 year old piano. All bare wire strings
were completely orange. The bass strings had discolored and had a splotchy
pattern on the copper. If the client purchases it, he is interested in
having it completely restrung. In addition to the strings, I noticed a
surface corrosion (speckling, for lack of a better word...) on the bridge
pins, hitch pins, and to a lesser extent on the tuning pins. Also, most of
the "brass" screws had discoloration, along with what looked like verdigris
on the pedals. The sostenuto pedal had a plastic cover still on it, and
under the cover it was bright brass.
>
> The home had a humidifier which kept the house and piano at around 50%
humidity all the time.  The regulation, cabinet, hammers, action,
soundboard, etc. are all in good condition. Pretty much anything that
wasn't made of metal was just fine.
>
> My plan is to remove all the rusty strings and use that opportunity to
give the rest of it a good de-rusting.
>
> My question is...  What is the best way (chemical, steel wool,
treatments, etc.) to remove the rust from all the pins, etc.? Once cleaned
of all visible corrosion, will it have a propensity to rust again, faster
than would normally be expected? Is there anything hidden that I should be
looking for? 
>