Silicone & naphtha

[Kent Swafford]

Newton Hunt wrote, meaning to say silicone, with an "e":

>DO NOT get any form of silicon near a piano.
>
>Silicon is NOT a lubricant, it is a strain reliever.  
>
>Silicon is like dripping a barrel of BBs from the rafter of a warehouse.
>They will be all OVER the place in no time.  Silicon travels in every
>direction possible and will get into places like tuning pin holes to
>relieve the strain between the pin and the wood.  New pinblock required.
>
>	Newton

I think it is obvious that silicone can damage pianos, no dispute 
whatever.

I believe the most common damage done to pianos by silicone, however, is 
by way of spray furniture polish containing silicone.  When I come to a 
piano which looks highly polished and young beyond its years I can be 
reasonably certain that the piano has been sprayed with  polish and will 
have 1) dead bass strings and/or 2) snappy, loose pins.  Refinishing 
pianos that have been spray polished can be miserable.

As for silicone and naphtha, I still carry it, and still use it - 
sparingly and carefully in limited situations where Protek isn't quite 
the answer.

Kent Swafford