Vertigris

[Ron Nossaman]

>Ron also mentioned "I wonder too if the residual
>lanolin in the bushing cloth didn't aid and abet the verdigris
>formation."
>
>Well lanolin is present in all wool, especially freshly shorn. Anyone
>is invited by to help when we shear.  You can be the bag tamper.  You
>will come out with your shoes very oily from the lanolin.  If lanolin
>were the cause of vertigris, ALL centers would exhibit vertigris, not
>just the ones from the one brand.  
>
>Richard The Butch Wax Kid  NOT
>


BZZZZZZZZZZZZRRRRRRRRKKKKKK! Wrong! Thank you for playing. I didn't say it
was the cause, I said it possibly contributed to the formation. When you
start mixing organic compounds - in this case tallow, and lanolin - you
often get something with entirely different physical and chemical
characteristics than are exhibited any single ingredient. Take, for
instance, Nitric acid, Sulfuric acid, and Glycerin. Nobel mixed the
resultant with diatomaceous earth and invented dynamite. On a less dramatic
and more pertinent scale, very old swamps can eventually render down into
oil, from which paraffin can be extracted. That waxy component of verdigris
may be merely the result of the interaction of the original applied
lubricant and the lanolin already resident in the wool bushing, with the
salt from the applied lubricant supplying the green by attacking the brass.
The reason you don't see it in every brand of piano is simply that every
manufacturer did not use the same applied lubricant. The reason you mostly
see it in hammer centers may mean that that was where it was mostly applied
in the first place. This is just like anything else you can name regarding
pianos. The answer is probably something much too simple to be as
entertaining as a series of random wild guesses or industry legends. The
biggest problem is trying to find the proper place to stand while you look
at the problem.

     
 Ron Nossaman