It's fast!  no added moisture to the sticks, and it works. (not that the little moisture would hurt anything...)  With 110 instruments here, I work on speed rather than mixing some solution together to get the same results. 2-3 scrapes with the blade, and on to the next one. Paul <table width=100%> <tr valign=top> <td>From: <td>Rob McCall <rob@mccallpiano.com> <tr valign=top> <td>To: <td>pianotech@ptg.org <tr valign=top> <td>Date: <td>10/02/2011 02:39 PM <tr valign=top> <td>Subject: <td>Re: [pianotech] Cleaning keystick sides</table> <hr noshade> I notice everyone seems to scrape the sides with some sharp implement.   Whenever I do a cleaning under the keys, I always give the keysticks a good cleaning.  The last time I did this the sides were pretty disgusting.  Since I already had a rag with a 6:1 water to white vinegar solution on it (which I use to clean the keytops), I tried it on the sides.  It took just a bit of back and forth rubbing and the junk was gone!  Very quick, and with little effort.  I don't know if it's quicker than scraping, but it worked quickly for me and I didn't have to break stride on the cleaning process. Regards, Rob McCall McCall Piano Service, LLC <a href=http://www.mccallpiano.com/>www.mccallpiano.com</a> Murrieta, CA 951-698-1875 On Oct 02, 2011, at 11:00 , Paul T Williams wrote: Scrape with a razor blade.  Gross to think about what it is, though! Paul <table width=100%> <tr valign=top> <td width=19%>From: <td width=80%>David Boyce <<a href=mailto:David@piano.plus.com>David@piano.plus.com</a>> <tr valign=top> <td>To: <td><a href=mailto:pianotech@ptg.org>pianotech@ptg.org</a> <tr valign=top> <td>Date: <td>10/02/2011 12:04 PM <tr valign=top> <td>Subject: <td>[pianotech] Cleaning keystick sides</table> <hr noshade> What do folks prefer, for cleaning the sides of keysticks, when replacing key coverings, or  when key coverings are OK and you just want to clean the sides? Best, David.