Keith, As Jim stated, silicone is soluble in naphtha and that would make a good cleaning agent (naphtha also does a good job of removing lithium grease that some idiot applied to a keybed.) I have also noticed some products on the market for neutralizing silicone before applying a new finish. This might be an avenue to check into before moving forward. While this may be what she thinks she wants, and I'm not particularly familiar with this particular formulation that was applied, I've seen literally hundreds of pianos treated with the silicone/naphtha solution that work wonderfully and have exhibited no ill effects since it was applied (as long as 20 years ago.) Two major manufacturers, that I know of, reccomend the use of silicone as a lubricant and don't seem concerned about ill effects. Maybe some input by some factory reps on actual research into the positive versus negative effects would be helpful. I know I would like to have a little more info in order to make an informed decision. Hope this helps. Allan Gilreath, RPT Gilreath Piano & Organ Co. Berry College Gilreath@aol.com
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC